Cape Town- Day 1

I made it! I'm alive! My flights to Cape Town weren't that notable. I didn't sleep going to Amsterdam, instead I watched two movies and the funny German lady next to me. Then, I arrived in Amsterdam and went back to my eighth grade ski trip to France where Kelly, Caitlin, and I all washed our hair in the airport sinks. It seemed much more eventful then.. My trip from Amsterdam to Cape Town took almost 12 hours. I slept for the first six, but then it was kind of a letdown to wake up and still have six to go. But, I made it and that's all that matters.
A little bit about my program:
It's a service-learning program, so the classes I'll be taking will have a service oriented syllabus. I'll also work at an organization for the entire time I'm here (mid-November). My choices are working in an elementary school. high school, prison, TB clinic, or HIV/AIDS outreach for youth. I'm leaning towards the HIV outreach or the elementary school. I am also going to be taking a language, either Afrikaans or Xhosa. I'll be living at the University of Cape Town in a house with my fellow classmates. There are 12 of us all together. I just found out Harry Potter is coming here before the States and my classmates want to go, so I think we'll get along great!
I'm staying in a hostel for the first 6 nights because my program doesn't start until 12 July. I've only stayed in hostels in Spain with my friend Hilary. This hostel is VERY different from those. The hostels in Spain were only for pilgrims on the Camino de Santiago. I'm staying in a girls' only room, which is decorated in hearts. This hostel has a bar and it is full. The people who work here at Penthouse on Long are great. The street it's on is really similar to M Street in Washington. They call and reserve your spot on any excursion you want and make sure you're not getting cheated.
Today, I did the most touristy thing I have ever done. I got on one of those double decker red busses that are, apparently, in over 100 cities and you can get on and off whenever you please and as many times you want. It was the most convenient way to see the city and to get to Table Mountain. It's the big flat mountain that serves as a backdrop to any picture of Cape Town you google. I took the tram up for R180, about $27. The views were beyond stunning. I'm not the biggest scenery picture person, but I just couldn't stop taking pictures of the mountains in the distance, the water that was actually endless, and the spread of Cape Town below me. It blew me away. There are two smaller peaks on either side of Table Mountain, Lion's Head and Devil's Peak. Lion's Head is a popular hike after Cape Tonians get out of work to watch the sun set and the moon rise. I can't wait to do that.
Tomorrow, I'm going on an excursion about an hour and a half out of the city to whale watch. It's the very beginning of their breeding season, so hopefully I'll see lots of baby whales!