Hi from Cape Town

Hey guys,

It's pretty late here but I just wanted to post saying I made it to my apartment safe and sound. I wish I could say the journey went smoothy but that would be a lie. Basically my driver and his van went missing at the cape town airport and I was stuck there by myself for a pretty good chunk of time...it was pretty sketchy not gonna lie...but ANYWAY, I'm on the internet now so obviously it all got sorted out. I'll write more when I actually do something in the city, so far its just been alot of unpacking and meeting my roommates, all of which seem pretty cool at this juncture.

anyway, a really quick summary of europe via one of my fave ice breakers, the classic high-low:

Highs:
- hanging out with Sara and hearing about Cameroon
- almost having a heart attack when my friend Lindsay who has been abroad in Berlin all semester surprised me in Paris.
- getting to push the button on the paris metro that opened the doors. I'm a loser.
- newlondon/newparis walking tours. basically they are free walking tours of the city designed for poor college students. check out their website and definitely hit them up if you're gonna be in the area, i developed pretty serious crushes on both of my tour guides.
- fireworks behind the eiffel tower on basitille day.
- discovering that there is a Cheers in London...bizarre.
- british accents
- seeing Prince Harry (or someone who looked ALOT like him) in Buckingham palace during the changing of the guards
- Abbey Road. go there if you are in London it is the coolest thing I did. There's a homemade monument of Beatles quotes and messages on the wall next to the street. SO awesome.
- the 5th Harry Potter movie. Ron kind of got cute. I cant wait for him and Hermione to get together...anyway...

Lows:
- There is no Bastille anymore. I guess it got torn down awhile ago. There is, however, a metro stop called Bastille. very confusing.
- the conversion rate of the pound to the doller. that sucked.
- having to carry all of your luggage for five months all over Heathrow airport by myself. If it were not for the kindness of random British people I would not have made my flight for sure...a big shoutout to that random British airways man who carried my bag up the escalator..i love you

OK I need to go to sleep. now. One last thing:

It is after midnight, which means that the latest and final Harry Potter book is on sale right now in South Africa. I can actually look out my window this very instant and see a store selling copies. HOWEVER, I am not supposed to leave after dark, which is definitelty a wise move. I dont know when I will be able to get a copy because most stores will sell out. SO IF ANYONE RUINS THE ENDING FOR ME I WILL KILL THEM. SERIOUSLY. PLEASE DO NOT TRY AND TALK TO ME ABOUT THE BOOK, I WILL FOR SURE CRY IF SOMEONE TELLS ME WHAT HAPPENED.

on that note, much love from cape town. ill write more soon

peace
ellen