First week of classes

Well, folks, it’s been an interesting first week of classes at the University of Cape Town! It’s been cool and rainy most of the time.

Mark is taking three classes and auditing one. He’s excited about what he’ll be learning, and we’re both excited about the comparatively leisurely pace of life and law school here. He’ll probably do some work clerking for a human rights judge here, and there are opportunities for other volunteer work for him.

On Wednesday, we played tourist and took the local train along the coast to a tourist destination where there are African penguins! It’s beautiful scenery, and the penguins were pretty cute, too. They’re very small, like barely over a foot tall. And we didn’t see any baboons, so it was a good day – not to mention incredible weather.

We also got to visit a life group in our neighborhood from the church we went to on Sunday. We felt very welcome and enjoyed the conversation and the people there a lot. We hope to become a part of this group.

We’ve been surprised how suburban life here feels, especially in transportation. It’s different than most of our experience in Africa. Almost everyone drives a car, and people are surprised when we tell them we don’t. So Mark bought a scooter! This in itself has already been an adventure, and I’m sure it will continue to be.

Yesterday, I spent the day with Ruth at her home. It felt so good to me to be with someone who knows me. Maybe because we’ve lived together before, but I just felt so comfortable in her home. Our conversation was very encouraging, as we shared about what God is doing in both of our lives, what He’s teaching us, and how He’s using us in other people’s lives.  I’m very blessed that she’s relatively nearby (an hour by train…if you get off at the right station. Longer if you get off at the wrong one like I did! )