Accommodations - CHECK!

Finally got my housing situation squared away. I am going to be staying at a B&B in the Brooklyn area of Pretoria that was recommended to me by my travel book. It will be about $500 a week, but it includes breakfast every morning, a newspaper (I'm interested to see how South African news coverage differs from the coverage here), free internet, satellite TV, and free laundry services. It is also close to the University of Pretoria and about a mile away from the soccer stadium where some of the World Cup games will be played. I could not have asked for a better place to be.

Homeless in South Africa

It's about a month before I am supposed to begin working for the SALRC and I still do not have a place to live. Considering that most things are either exorbitantly expensive or completely booked, I'm relatively calm about the whole matter. I'm confident that I will find something - it may not be the most affordable option, but at least it will be something.

Yesterday, I sent out an email to a few places in Pretoria and filled them in on how long I will be staying and asked them to not only inform me of any vacancies they had, but to also let me know if they know of any other places that they would recommend. So far, it looks like I have quite a few options. Some are more affordable than others, but they all seem to be in decent areas of the city. Once I book my flight I will be able to finalize my housing. I need to do that soon though because the longer I wait the more expensive the flights become and the greater the risk of quality accommodations disappearing.

New Assignment

Today, I received an email from the coordinator at the SALRC informing me that, in addition to working on the Hindu marriages project, I will also be working on the project relating to adult prostitution. I also received the various policy and methodology documents so I can be prepared on day 1 to start working on these projects. I'm excited for the opportunity to work on two projects and delve even further into a foreign legal system than I would have already.

I also heard about the dress code for the commission. Monday through Thursday men dress "smart casual." This means suit, but no tie. And on Fridays I can wear jeans and a t-shirt. The only time I will have to wear a tie is if I'm going to a meeting or a conference. That's my kind of dress code! (Anyone who has had to wear a tie can tell you they aren't the most comfortable things in the world. And while ties do look nice, I don't know anyone that would choose to wear one if they did not need to.)

I'm still working on a place to live and waiting for my passport to arrive.

Preparations

Preparations for the trip are slowly coming along. I've taken care of my passport an am working on getting my vaccinations and any other medical requirements I need to take care of before I go. I still have to buy a plane ticket - I'm waiting on that to see if I get the fellowship or not. And I'm still working on housing too. I got a list of housing today - capitalism has definitely found its way into South Africa. Talk about price gouging. Some of the places are asking for $100 a day - that's more than 700 Rand a day! Definitely out of my price range. I'll have to do some more searching once I get done with my last paper next week. I just finished my paper on welfare rights and South Africa. If anyone wants to read it let me know and I will send it along.

45 days until I start at the SALRC!