Whew! After months of anticipation, weeks of planning, days of packing, and hours on an airplane, we finally arrived in Cape Town. The flights were l--o--n--g, but the excitement of our upcoming trip made it bearable. When we landed in Cape Town on Monday night, we were tired, cramped, hungry and sweaty, but couldn't have felt better knowing that we were finally on the ground in Africa. The 16 of us from Minnesota met up with our professor, the interstudy crew, and a fellow classmate who were awaiting our arrival at the airport. Once our luggage had been collected, we set off for the houses we would call home for the upcoming weeks.

The initial excitement of us jumping out of our taxis in front of our house was comparable to that of the first episode of a season of the Real World. Never had I seen such exhausted people re-energize so quickly. The remainder of the evening consisted of settling in. In addition to unpacking our belongings, it was also a time for us to unpack so many thoughts, concerns, and hopes about our up coming experience. All night long, we bounced the “what ifs,” and “I can’t wait fors” around the house.