Jo'burg to Durban

Hey all! Sorry it’s been so long since the first blog post. It’s been pretty crazy and we haven’t had regular internet access most the time. Wow, where do I start? Well, we were in Johannesburg, Jo'burg, for about three days when we first arrived. We stayed at a hostel called the “Shoestrings” by the airport for orientation. Jet lag was pretty awful. We’re about eight hours ahead from central time, which has pretty much thrown me off entirely. I was feeling pretty bad about this lying awake at 2:30 am the first night until someone sneezed and like all four other people in the room said bless you, so we were basically all lying there awake. I guess it’s something you can’t escape! This is getting better, so hopefully pretty soon I’ll be able to sleep through the night! My program is 22 girls, which I wasn't quite sure about, but everyone is really nice and we've been having fun together. It seems to be a good group overall, although it will be nice to start the home stay and get to know local people.

Although our time in Johannesburg was largely spent doing orientation-like activities, we did get to see a few things. We went to Soweto, a township where much of the anti-apartheid struggle took place. We saw Nelson Mandela’s house, which is currently being renovated to become more of a tourist destination. We also went to the Hector Pieterson Museum which talked about the student protest movement during apartheid. Hector Pieterson, who was 13 I think, was killed along with many other students and bystanders by police forces during a student march protesting the fact that they were being forced to learn Afrikaan. It was a really somber museum, and a part of the anti-apartheid struggle I didn’t know much about.
On a lighter note, I got to try some traditional South African food including a type of sausage and tripe, which is basically intestines and supposed to be good for recolinizing your gut. It didn’t taste too bad, but I wasn’t too fond with the texture/visual aspect of it. At least I can say I tried it! Also, a lot of things here are pretty cheap which is pretty sweet! You can buy pretty good wine for 27 rand, for example, about $2.70!

We drove about six hours from Johannesburg to Durban two days ago. The country is so green and pretty, with big rolling hills and lots of trees, although I missed a lot of this thanks to the Dramamine I took for the ride. We’re spending the majority of the program in Durban, and I really like the city so far. It’s very hot and humid here and on the shores of the Indian Ocean. Durban is in KwaZulu-Natal province, so Zulu is one of the main languages spoken here. There’s also a large Indian population here compared with the rest of the country. We’ve spent the last couple of nights at a hostel by the beach called the Happy Hippo and got to walk along the beach and dip our feet in the ocean. The water is really warm and there were a few surfers and kayakers out on the waves. Sadly our health insurance policy doesn’t let us try surfing  The first night we were a little too excited and didn’t see the jelly fish and a lot of people got stung, but apparently this isn’t always the case.

We’ve also been warned to make sure the shark nets are down before we go swimming!
We’ve started Zulu class and it’s going to be really intense! The letters c, q, and x are clicks that are really hard, and it’s really different from any language I learned before! Here are a few of the phrases I’ve learned so far in a sample converesation:
A: Sawubona. (Hello)
B: Yebo sawubona. Usaphila? (Yes, hello. How are you?)
A: Ngisaphila. Wena unjani? (I am well. And how are you?)
B: Nami ngisaphia. (I am also well)
A: Sala kahle (stay well, goodbye)
B: Hamba kahle (go well)
I’m going to have to make some serious flashcards for this!

We’ve been talking a lot about safety and health stuff in orientation. I received lots of warnings before coming here, but I’m feeling pretty good about everything. You just have to be smart about things like you would always. For example, we’ve learned to not carry anything with as when we walk around, just put some money in your bra or pocket as well as a cell phone. So far everyone I’ve met has really nice and friendly, and I took public transportation without any problems.

There is a lot of poverty in Durban and wide gaps between the lower and middle/upper classes, and there are some pretty big health disparities in the area that makes learning about community health especially relevant. Tuberculosis is a big problem here, and the HIV rate in the 15-45 age group is somewhere between 25 and 40 percent, which is huge.

We’re starting our home stays tonight in Cato Manor which is kind of nerve wracking but really exciting! I’ll give you an update on how all that goes soon, but for now, sala kahle!