Welcome to our new home! It is located about 15-20 min. walk from campus, in a two-story block with about 18 other flats. It has one bedroom, lots of sun coming in the windows, and a lovely garden area to share.
Here's Jul in the kitchen (well, part of it). We were fortunate to receive a 'loaner' of a fridge and an oven/stove from some of Fritz's friends, so now we can start cooking!
View of the living room - yes, those are wood floors, with the windows looking out into the backyard/garden. We now have a dining table (loaned us from a friend), desk and couch (2nd hand) in here.
The lovely bathroom, which has both a shower and a tub! (pretty unusual) We'll probably get a washing machine for in here eventually.
The 'sun room', adjacent to the living room. We like to eat breakfast in here (and hang our laundry to dry).The flat is also located close to Rondebosch Common, a huge city block of scrubby grass and trees - good for walking and jogging, as well as near the grocery store and public library. Yeah!
Family and friends, yes (despite the delay in this posting) we have arrived here in Cape Town safely. Today is day 6, and we are finally feeling more "normal" and energetic and ready to start tackling all the various items on the to-do list. Of course the tension between being patient and being proactive continues to challenge us!
We have received a very warm welcome already from Fritz and his parents and a variety of new friends (who Fritz has introduced us to). Countless people have offered to help us out. Thankfully it is currently the mid-semester break, so the schedules are a bit more relaxed.
Yesterday we began the flat-hunting process, as Fritz has gathered a lot of options and we are now touring through them, trying to get a feel for the different neighborhoods and prioritize our needs. Obviously this is a very large city, so already we must make adjustments from our small-town Wheaton lifestyle (no more walking everywhere), and being challenged to be gracious with the adjustments. Yesterday we discovered that most places don't come with laundry facilities or a stove or a fridge!
Meanwhile, Jim is slowly going through the registration process as a new student, and Jul is slowly gaining courage in her job-search and beginning to make contacts at schools.
Once we get more settled we will post some photos. Though 'winter' here, it is beautiful! Already we have found a potential favorite cafe, complete with wireless internet, delicious muffins and coffee, and really good butternut stew (yesterday's lunch).
Byron Morris, an '01 classmate from Wheaton College, married Lauren Charruf in a beautiful ceremony last Saturday evening, conducted mostly in Spanish. Sadly, my high school Spanish skills utterly failed me in following along. No matter; it was a joy to be there for one of my great friends.
Sean Kelley, another friend of Byron's from Wheaton, and I sporting the traditional Mexican formal shirts the groomsmen wore on the wedding day.
On Friday some of the wedding party spent the day touring the Mayan ruins at Uxmal. 
Since the wedding was at 7:30 that evening, I spent Saturday morning bumming around Merida. Pictured above was my breakfast: huevos con jabon, plus toast, coffee and juice.
A couple pictures of Merida's beautiful, old architecture.
Welcome to our new home! It is located about 15-20 min. walk from campus, in a two-story block with about 18 other flats. It has one bedroom, lots of sun coming in the windows, and a lovely garden area to share.
