First Days in Africa

I have arrived in Africa!

I met my first new friends in Detroit – they were boarding the same flight to Amsterdam connecting to Cape Town.  After the 6 hour flight followed by the 11.5 I arrived in Cape Town!  It turns out 11 people in my group were on the same flight.  We were taken to our apartment complex where 2 of my roommates were (they arrived a week ago) – Kenyatta and Rebecca.  Emma would arrive the next morning.  On the roof of the apartment complex (the 19th floor) the view is absolutely incredible.  Table Mountain is on one side with Lion’s Head and Lion’s Rump.  The other direction is the harbor and the Atlantic Ocean waterfront.  I live in the city center area which is called the city bowl because we are surrounded by Table Mountain.

Saturday morning Kenyatta, Rebecca, and I went to the Biscuit Mill.  It is a trendy place where they have an open market selling crafts and all sorts of foods. I had yet to get any Rand so Rebecca bought me a mango-orange smoothy.  When we returned Emma had arrived so I had a roommate.  That night 16 of us went to dinner together down on Park St. We managed to take 2 cabs with 8 per cab which was a tight squeeze.  After dinner we had margaritas at the Fat Cactus, which were very cheap.

On Sunday a group of us went down to the waterfront.  It reminded me of San Francisco. There is a huge shopping mall and lots of places to eat on the harbor.  We heard some local music and then ate with Table Mountain in the background.  It was almost a full moon so the reflection from the Mountain was impressive.

Monday I started work at the Paediatric AIDS Treatment for Africa.  We were driven there in the morning by our coordinator who introduced me to my boss – Daniela.  The office is in Mowbray which is a 15ish minute bus ride from my area of Cape Town.  I will be working from 8-4:30 Monday through Friday.  I work with another girl, Vivan, who is a pharmacist from the UK.  We have to leave our apartment complex at 7:20 to walk the 10-15 minutes to the bus station.  Then we catch the 7:40 bus to Mowbray and walk 5 minutes to our office.

PATA has a small office in Cape Town and over 144 clinics in over 15 different countries in Africa. They all have a team of a doctor, pharmacist, councilor, and nurse along with a new person called the expert patient. I am not sure yet what my task list will be at work, but I have learned a lot about HIV and AIDS all over Africa.  Monday night I went to a play called “Brothers Size” at the University of Cape Town.

Today my alarm didn’t go off so I woke up when Emma’s did at 7:10.  I was still downstairs at 7:20 which I thought was impressive.  From now on I am setting multiple alarms just to be safe.  It was also the first day it rained, thankfully not in my rush this morning.  The wind and rain combo is pretty fierce and it makes it colder out.  It is winter so the weather is usually around 60-70 degrees.  We have a sauna up on the 18th floor so the roomies and I go up there and admire the beautiful view and warm up.