First and foremost, I added pictures to the last post so scroll down. Also, for all of the pictures you can check out my snapfish account. You have to set up an account but it is free and simple. The link is:
The amount that can happen in a merely two weeks is amazing! 
I believe that I last left you all during Orientation…on my day off, during which I went surfing. Oh and please excuse any typos, misspellings and grammatical errors, but I am not revising this post =)
The following day I had course registration, and that was certainly an interesting experience. The process is completely manual, no computers. It is a wonderfully tedious excursion, going from station to station, standing in queue after queue (i.e. line after line). Then after all is said and done, and you have stood in queue for hours in the blistering heat, sweating and frustrated, what do you think they do? Well, they take your picture of course! Fortunately, my picture is only a mild resemblance of Jeffery Dahmer, unlike some of the other student IDs that I have seen which are truly serial killer mug shots.
Over the weekend, we explored 
I also went down to the Woodstock Market at the Old Biscuit Mill Market, which has the best food I have ever had. People come from all over the
Monday I dedicated to sorting out some administrative tasks on campus and joining the societies (clubs) that I wanted to. For those of you at BC: UCT’s activities fair day blows ours out of the water. Firstly, it is three days rather than one. Secondly, they have a society for anything and everything, and their stands are epic. The sailing society actually brought a boat onto campus, the hiking and climbing society brought a rock wall! I joined some really cool societies: wine tasting, sailing, and poetry. Additionally, I joined a service society called Shawco.
Shawco is a really big deal here! I had to interview to be accepted and I am so excited to start. Once or twice a week, they will bus me out to a South African Township where I will tutor 9th graders! If you guys remember my last blog entry, the Township is the place where I went and played soccer with the kids. Basically a shanty town (a residual effect of Apartheid), I will take pictures to give you all an idea of the dismal conditions of the Townships. It is heart-crushing to see the awful living conditions of the shacks, no electricity or running water. Sickness permeating throughout the garbage stained pathways. Yet despite the living conditions, that actual life within the townships is so hopeful and proud. The kids at the first Township that I went to were amazing and I am so excited to start tutoring!! I am confident that it will be an extremely challenging, disillusioning, and rewarding experience all wrapped-up into one life-changing acquisition of maturity.
I also met with the Headmaster of St. Joseph’s
On Tuesday we rented a van and started driving to Stellenbosch…the wine country! 
We made it about a quarter of the way there and then our van broke down. After a few choice words with the owner of the rental company and the return of our money, we got a lift with one of our program’s drivers. We made it there and checked into our hostel, which has spoiled me for life. I doubt that any hostel at which I stay in the future can be as accommodating as the Stumble Inn in
After we checked in, we went to this restaurant called Moyo. If any of you ever come to 
Apparently, my spirit is that of a wolf, for they painted the coolest paw print around my eye. Additionally, it was my housemate Caroline’s birthday…so when I asked the manager if they could do something special, I expected a cupcake with a candle. They did a little more than a cupcake!! They brought out dancers and drummers, and the brought her onto stage to teach her and some of our friends the dances. It was phenomenal, especially when Caroline fell off stage! It was one of the funniest things that I have ever seen. The next day we went wine tasting all day! If any of you make your way to Stellenbosch, you must go to Neethlingshof Winery! It was my favorite. We saw zebras, cheetahs, and these really cool eagles. All around, the trip to Stellenbosch was a great experience.
After Stellenbosch, we climbed Lions Head. 
There are many peaks/peak ranges in
The hike to the top of Lions Head was amazing! As you hike up, there is a spectacular view of the clouds rolling over 
We raced the clock to get there before sunset and brought up a bottle of wine and some PB&J’s. We watched the sunset over the ocean while drinking some wine and after the sun set, we moved to the other side of the mountaintop to have a spectacular view of a full moon over
Thursday we enjoyed a nice easy day at Muizenberg beach surfing because Friday was the first day of classes! I am enjoying my classes tremendously. I am taking a Shakespeare course which is extremely interesting to study through a South African eye, a South African Lit Course (which I have the highest hopes for), a History of Africa pre 1800 course, and an Art History course focusing on Sacred Art both through Christianity and indigenous African beliefs. 
My classes are all wonderful thus far and the convenors are extremely scholarly and interesting, especially for my English courses…the first convenor for my Shakespeare course is the funniest man I have ever encountered). Now you may be asking yourself, what does Matt mean…the first convenor? Well, UCT handles classes extremely differently than we do in the States. There are multiple professors and lecturers for every course, and they teach class according to what to who is most scholarly in one subject. For instance, for my Shakespeare course: we are starting with Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales and one professor who is a scholar on Chaucer will be guiding us through those lectures. When we move onto Shakespeare or another Middle/Elizabethan English author, a new convenor will take over. There are also different seminars and Tuts (tutorials) for every course but I will explain that another time!
Over the weekend, we went down to Long Street and then on Saturday we went to a Stormers game! The Stormers are the 
They played the Durbin Sharks and it was a great game, but we lost 20-15 =(. The game was absolutely nuts, it was crazier than a Giants/Pats game. I am so excited for the next game this Friday. Sunday we went to
This week has just been classes and getting used to University Life here, buying textbooks, and general maintenance; even still, it is all so exciting and new. As I said earlier, tomorrow is my first full day teaching at
Enjoy the pictures and I promise to be a little more punctual with my posts and pictures now that the internet works in my house!
I am having the absolute time of my life, there is always so much to do and see. I actually wake up early because I do not want to miss a single moment!
Please keep me posted on all your lives, I miss you all much and I look forward to hearing what is new!
As I said last time, you can email me at McCluskM@bc.edu and for those of you that have blackberries my pin is 31C15C39, BBM me! Also my address is:
Rondebosch 7700
South Africa
Also my skype name is Matthew S. McCluskey...skype me!
Feel free to send me your love!! More to come…
Lots of love,
Matty
South African Word of the Day: Braii (Barbeque)
And for last post: Lekker (Wicked Cool)
your experience sounds amazing! i'm so jealous because i'm stuck in cold, gray boston. and it's awesome that youre teaching at that school in the Township. i was in a program like that a few years ago in yucatan, mexico and it changed my life.
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