I have black feet

So, today is Monday, January 18th and it was my first day of school that i have had in 10 years. (nearly) I have been to lots and lots of meetings in my life where we all just sit around and listen to someone talk but not really listen because we all know the secretary will send out notes later and tell us what we need to do. Those meetings, are where i made most of my grocery list and weekend plans. Today was different. Today i HAD to listen. Today is when i learned that my life will never be the same. Today is when i learned that i can NOT pronounce half the names of my fellow students. You try saying leritedeknbsd and not sound foolish. I referred to so many people as "hey friend" today that i almost felt bad. Especially since they all got my name right, although it sounds more like "IDEE" but that is fine..i will answer. Today is when i realized that i have to be up at 6am everyday from now till forever (or so it feels like) Anyone that knows me and my sleeping preferences, knows that if i am to wake up, i would rather it be in the pm, then the am. I pray that i will get used to it fast!

Today started at 6am when my alarm went off. Sort of. I went to bed last night at 11:30pm and awoke at 1:30am wide awake. Ready to start my day. I thought that i had just beat my alarm. (even though it was pitch dark outside) i checked my clock and was VERY surprised to see that i had 4.5 hours left till my alarm went off. Sadly, i did not go back to sleep. I was too nervous to take a sleeping pill for fear of not waking up for class, but tonight i will not be so stupid. Tonight, i might even take TWO sleeping pills! My bed is...um...ok...i guess. I have one slim mattress that when i am laying on it i can feel exactly where each board is and approximately how wide each is. I think the sleeping pills might help me with that tonight. I have inquired about a second mattress and have been promised one, but there is no timeline as to when that promise will be fulfilled. So, till it comes to pass, i shall just have to get along without it.

Anyways, so it's now 5:45 am and i decide that it's stupid to just sit in bed when it hurts and i can't sleep. I should get up and get ready for the day and and just find something productive to do with myself as long as i'm awake. Good plan, but hindered. On thursday when i got here to Cape Town and i turned my cell phone on, i was able to figure out how to turn the alarm on, and luckily i turned it on for 6am. However, i now can not remember how to change it. So i must wait till 6am to turn my alarm off. Everyday! I shall sometime have to just sit and read the book, but it's not something i find highly important at the moment. So, i got out of bed and sat at my computer and tried to access online and my skype. I am having issues with my skype..but whatever. Then at 6am, my alarm went off and i hit "dismiss" and off to the showers i went. I HATE SHARING A BATHROOM! I had to bring my little bag of all my toiletries that i needed for the shower. Use them and then put them back in my bag. There are 4 shower stalls and as i was the only one up out of bed at that time, i was able to have my pick! The shower curtains are see-through. Not what i would have chosen, but what the heck, this year is about new experiences, right?

I showered, dressed and was ready to go for the day within a half hour. Now why i thought it would take me two hours i do not know. Class started at 8:00 and it was now 6:40. I thought about climbing back in bed to see if i could sleep a bit, but i had just done my hair and didn't feel sleepy, so i passed on that. I ended up wandering downstairs for a while and then coming back to my room to play around online. Nothing exciting.

8:00 i went over to classroom 1. There are 7 classrooms total. I met a few other new students and became acquainted. In all, there were 11 new students that showed up today. We are supposed to have 17 in total. Out of the 11 that showed up, there are 4 nations represented. American, African, Swedish and Ethiopian. There might be more, but i am unsure at this time. Out of the 17 new students in my class, 3 of them are girls. Oy Vey! The way school works here is that each class stays together the whole year and takes the same classes. So if i was to stay for the full 4 years here, i would be with the same 17 people in every class every year. We have classrooms assigned to us and then teachers change. Interesting.

We reviewed the schools policies and mission statement and such things. Learned about the history of the school and where the vision is for it. All very interesting. We had tea time with the school staff and were introduced to everyone. We got a tour of the building (of which i found boring as i already know my way around seeing as i have been here several times) then we had lunch, and then registered and made sure that our accounts were paid. After that, the afternoon was ours to do whatever we wanted! I took my laptop to the IT guy and he set me up with the proper wireless network, as well as got my skype all fixed!

It is now 5pm and i have the evening free. These next few weeks are going to be fun filled and long. I am excited!

Here are some pictures of my dorm room before i got to it with my stuff!







Now here are some while i am unpacking!!!










And this is my room all done! I have not hung anything on the walls yet, but i will sooner or later!








This is what i see out my window in the early evening.


This is my new found friend in my room. I named him Lenard!!! (however, Lenard ran away this morning. i am hoping that he comes back soon!)






I want to say Thank You to all of you who are encouraging me. I need it and i appreciate it. Things are hard right now and i'm going through a lot and knowing that i have friends that believe in me makes it a little easier.

Prayer Requests:
1. Peace about the decision of moving over here and starting school
2. My sleeping pattern will kick into "African time"
3. That my freshman class becomes friends easily and we form a bond that will last all year long



P.S. Even if you are wearing shoes around here, your feet end up nearly pure black from the dirt all around here. It's disgusting! Maybe i will show you a picture of that too!