Day 2 has been quite good to me. It's 3 am here and I am wide awake, so it seems as though my internal clock is still used to stateside time. My bag is coming tomorrow morning, so I'll actually have another set of clothes to wear.
Today was my first full day on campus and was aided mostly by Len's assistant Marlene. Imagine a woman who looks similar to Aldous Snow's mom in 'Get Him to the Greek' without the foul mouth but similar accent. She took very good care of me, getting me access to the 1 of 5 chemistry buildings on campus and sharing some details on campus life while teaching me some afrikaans along the way.
Afrikaans lesson #1
Thank you - 'dankie' (sounds like 'donkey')
Thank you very much - 'beia dankie' ('buy a donkey')
She also told me about the 'Green route', meant for safe and patrolled passage throughout the campus community during late hours (http://www0.sun.ac.za/studentesake/greenroute.php?lang=eng).
The main student center here is called Neelsie (http://www.neelsie.co.za/home). It's a gorgeous building with all the services one would need (multiple food vendors, post office, school memorabilia, bank, pharmacy, etc.) with plenty of flat screen tvs airing the World Cup of Rugby matches. Perhaps the most fascinating part of the building is the name itself. It was named after the dog of prominent south african author C.J. Langenhoven, who wrote the original south african national anthem.
I had the pleasure of meeting many people in Len's group and am figuring out names quickly:
Storm: Blonde hair, blue eyes, very professional and easy going
Leigh: Strawberry hair
AnnaLeigh (sp?): Sits next to Leigh, sans strawberry hair
Dewalt: White male, reminds me of Akil
Vincent: Awesome post-doc
Matteo: Italian post-doc, hilarious demeanor, tall, bearded, loves espresso
Ilne: blonde hair, maybe blue eyes, stores her bike in post-doc room which causes Matteo to ask for a rental fee
I was thrown into the mix at around noon and presented my research today to many of the graduate students in the building. The nervousness only really lingers for the first few slides, then the words come naturally. This may have also been the first time I've given a presentation and have had a cited author in the actual audience, quite a strange feeling. The students were quite receptive, I don't think anyone fell asleep, they asked numerous questions, and provided me with excellent suggestions and insight. Much thanks for Vincent for providing me with lunch today as well at the Neelsie.
I headed down the green route a few hours ago and grabbed a beer at Mystic Bull. Telling the bartender to 'surprise me', I was awarded with a Carling Black Lager, the only beer they have on tap, worth about 14 rand (R14), around $2 american. After two beers and a plate of food, my total bill was $8, awesome. I had the fortune of meeting two native south africans from the area, who picked up on my american roots quite quickly.
I should hopefully have a phone tomorrow and will post the number as soon as I know. Tomorrow evening is Cape Town for Len's talk. Once I accumulate enough pictures from the past few days, I will post via FB.
Stay classy America.
CK
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