Already here over a week and still alive. Sounds like success to me.

I guess it has been a little longer than I realized... Well, in the past week I have had lots of very new and different experiences... I went to a few bars and to a very amazing beach called Camps Bay. It's incredibly beautiful but almost unbearably cold... You can't stay in the water for more than a few minutes because it's freezing. That beach is on the Atlantic side and the water comes from the Arctic or something, I'm honestly not really sure. All I know is that it is pretty damn cold! To get there, we've taken the train from a station nearby to downtown Cape Town. From there we usually walk outside and find a cheap mode of transportation that is what is known as a mini bus taxi and is supposed to be kind of off limits according to our program, but we always go in large groups, never just Americans, and always have your money ready. In general, I guess there are some rules that you just kind of follow, or at least I do because I think it's a good idea... such as...
1. NEVER leave your bag. Anywhere. For ANY period of time.
2. Always look like you know where you are going and pay attention to what is going on around you.
3. Don't give anyone money.
4. If you are drinking and you think it's kind of questionable, shake it and if it fizzes or gets foamy then there might be something in it (a girl at a bar told me this... I don't know if it's true, but it couldn't hurt). Just throw it out, even if you aren't sure...
5. If you take a taxi, never take it all the way home. Stop on a corner a few blocks away.
6. If you are on a mini bus or in a sketchy location, don't talk unless you have to. As soon as you open your mouth, they know where you're from.
7. Hide stuff in your rooms and never put anything next to the windows.
8. Don't talk on a cell phone in public for various reasons... you aren't paying as much attention to what is going on around you, they know you are foreign, and they know you have something that they can now steal.
There's plenty more, but that's all I can really think of at the moment...
At any rate, the bars were pretty fun. The first one I went to had dancing, which was really really fun although different. The other one I went to, called the Pig and Swizzle (sounds pretty classy, am I right?), is much more... I dunno, laid back? They have a lot of soccer games on in there and I was actually there the night of the Zambia/Nigeria match in the African Cup... pretty intense stuff! Let me tell you.... And somewhere in Nigeria, I guarantee Sakah Mahmud is celebrating a victory... Overall, most people are very friendly, although guys can be kind of creepy at times, such as when they talk to you and then proceed to stroke your face and tell you that you are the first blonde they have ever spoken to... Ah these things happen... that's why it's always good to have a guy there with you to be there in the event that you need to be removed from this kind of situation. They are also great for fending off potential creepers. For example, if a guy is near you another guy comes up and starts talking to him and then asks about you, he can always tell the creeper that he is your boyfriend or that you are actually a lesbian. Or that you are married and just had your second kid... although I feel like the first is probably the best option, although I guess that would kind of hinder any chances with any normal guys there. Regardless, South African bars are very different from what I've experienced in the US and even a little different from Germany. I think this is maybe because all of the bars I've been to in Germany have been at least somewhat classy, but I'm sure you all have your dives as well...