Today is our third day in Durban, and it’s by far the hottest yet - from sunrise to sunset the sun cooks on high. It was 90 degrees at 8 a.m. this morning, with heavy humidity.
Backtracking a little, we arrived in Jo’burg (or Josie AKA Johannesburg) on our flight and proceeded to stay about four days. Our rooms were in De Mazenod, a missionary, which was a beautiful building wrapped around a blooming courtyard and tended by an older man, whom we called Father (Father O’Reilly). He’s been all over, including in Soweto during some of the hottest times of revolt there in the 70s and 80s.
The days in Josie were packed. Apartheid museum, Soweto uprising museum, Afrikaner museum, tours of Soweto, Pretoria, the capital buildings, all sorts. It’s really an incredible place here, the mixing of people and languages and walks of life. The cities may look similar to the West, ie. buildings, some of the cars, etc., but things below the surface are quite different.
We started our Zulu language tutorial yesterday, our second day in Durbs. I’ve been learning a little from the logistics coordinator here, Langa. He’s a riot, and we have so much fun laughing in the front of the minibus we drive around in. I can say hello, how are you, my name is, goodbye and thank you.
I spoke Zulu with one of the locals for my first time Wednesday during our drop off in downtown Durban. His name, ironically, was also Chris, and he lives just outside the city. He was the information guy at the local history museum in Durban. The museum, which is the oldest courthouse, and oldest public building, in the central business district used to be the place blacks, coloureds and indians would come to either be granted or denied access to the city. Ghandi was also once thrown out of the court by the judge for wearing a turban.
Chris and I talked for about an hour. The biggest thing I can tell you that I love about being here is the culture. The people are so overwhelmingly friendly, from family to strangers, and love to laugh and talk. You can strike up a conversation with just about anyone, and their open to talking about just about everything (minus, usually, HIV/AIDS, because denial of the epidemic is widespread.
We have had several scary talks about disease and crime, and those are hard to get through, but once we got out into the city we got our bearings. There is a lot of violent crime, though, and I’m always very cautious/on guard while I’m out. But there is so much behind the crime - poverty, desperation, idle time, etc., that you have to take everything in context.
My five-week homestay begins today. I’m living with mama Ngwane (goo-wah-knee), who has three children (just one at home) and one grandchild. Apparently this is her third year hosting a student, she’s a fabulous cook and a wonderful woman. So I’m so excited to practice my Zulu with her.
It’s really hard to sit down and write everything that I’ve seen and experienced about South Africa. But I can say that any preconceptions you have, chances are they are pretty skewed. I know mine certainly were. Here are some interesting tidbits:
- Malaria came to Durban in 1904 and infected more than 4,000 people in just six months. To combat the disease, they sprayed with insecticide and, get this, crude oil. Naturally, the mosquitoes died out, along with a lot of other animals (and probably people). The numbers declined to about 700 cases and 40 deaths around the 1930s. With the advent of DDT, the area was sprayed and it has been malaria-free since. The disease is only found when you travel north, where we will be for our rural homestay.
- Traffic lights. Common, boring, everyday. Except here they are called “robots”. How great is that?
- In Josie, the big yellow trains so symbolic during under the Naitonal Party and apartheid would rumble past De Mazenod where we stayed. In the middle of the night I would listen to the crickets slowly fade to the rising rumble of the yellow Metro train cutting through the night. The trains are the cheapest form of transportation, and therefore remain very crowded.
- You have to get used to the racial categories here. They are used freely, joked about freely, and are very much a part of the life here. To call someone white, black, coloured, indian, etc. is perfectly acceptable, though it takes some getting used to and likely has taken you off guard.
- Finally, president Thabo Mbeki’s State of the Nation address is tonight. There has been a lot written about the state of South Africa, prompted by Mbeki’s statements that crime isn’t out of control and that the media is largely to blame for the scare. The papers blame Mbeki for being out of touch with the people, calling the speech the “State of Denial” address, similar to times he disregarded the HIV/AIDS endemic by saying he personally knew no one with the disease.