July 7th--First Day of Classes

This morning we finally got our own internet access codes. As for our security cards, they were supposed to be ready today, but they're not, which means that if I leave tonight then I'm going to have to call the RA to be let back in for the third night in a row when I told her that I would have my card today. I'm afraid that she's not going to like me but hopefully we'll be moving to our permanent residences soon. For lunch today, we went to a restaurant on campus called Pimento, which is a buffet that serves homemade food. It was very delicious and is definitely somewhere where I will eat again. After lunch, we met with the medical students and they showed us around their buildings. We saw an anatomy museum where a lot of the students study. They had models of all the organs in the body, and they had several cadavers of both adults and fetuses. It was actually incredibly sad to see the fetal cadavers and to see just how tiny their bones are. Every organ on the adult cadavers and the models were all labeled in order to help students to know what they're studying. It was a really neat place and I'm sure it's extremely beneficial to have that resource available to them.

Once we got to class, it began like countless other classes I've had before: the professor had no idea how to use the projector. Good to know it's not just American professors that aren't technically inclined. As for the lectures themselves, they were very informative but the presentation definitely could have been more interesting. We learned a lot about pediatric mortality and thermoregulation in babies. It was pretty easy for us to follow along with the professor, but it was even easier for the med students because they had all the notes for the semester printed and bound for them, so a lot of students didn't pay much attention. Tomorrow morning we will meet the students for more classes. The English students won't actually begin their rounds in the hospital for two weeks. Currently the Afrikaans students are at the hospitals and next week it's possible that we could be joining them for a bit. I'm looking forward to actually getting into the community and seeing the medical care first-hand.

As for the campus itself, it's pretty nice. Everything is fairly spread out, so it's a lot of walking to get anywhere, but unlike App, it's all pretty flat, for which I am very thankful. There are lots of grassy areas and trees, but also there are lots of stray cats. Everywhere I go, I pass another cat. Yesterday I passed an entire litter of kittens just hanging out behind a building. I have no idea why there are so many here, but I enjoy them when I see them. The weather has been really nice. It's been in the upper 60s-low 70s and most of the day it feels like early-mid October. Nights are a bit chilly, but I have been fine wearing a regular jacket and haven't had any need for a heavy coat yet. Everyone we've spoke to about this weather has been shocked by how hot it's been. Normally their winters are much colder, which is what I was expecting as well. The food hasn't been that different at all. The only real difference I've noticed, is that if you're at an American cookout, you have your portion of meat, some potato salad, some chips, and other lighter side dishes, but at a Braai, you have your portion of meat, with three sides of more meat and then some bread to go with the meat. It's pretty delicious though, so I'm not complaining. This weekend we're scheduled to go on a tour of the city and then maybe go see some lions and cheetahs, so I'm pretty excited!

 Adorable tiny kitten.

Lots of adorable tiny kittens.