Zululand

The trip was fantastic. On the weekend, we went on an excursion organized by one of the professors who wanted us to have a more varied experience in this province. We took a bus for a couple hours north of Durban (stopping at a gas station to stock up on candy, which is AMAZING here. I’ve done my best to get a full South African experience, and thus have tried many varieties.), finally arriving at our destination, the Veyane Cultural Village. We weren’t given many details about the trip, so it was a great surprise when we turned up, and we were in a Zulu village full of little huts for us to sleep in. Before we could unpack much, we were invited to get dressed up in traditional Zulu attire (which are in photos that you will never see!) and watch/participate in Zulu dancing. The dancing is super intense – they kick their leg way up above their head, and then abruptly hit their foot down on the ground. Quite moving to see.

Then we were provided with a traditional Zulu mean, which was really good! It kind of felt like Thanksgiving dinner, because all I am able to eat on both occasions are the carbohydrates, which worked out well for me! They made different kinds of sweet potatoes (white with black skin), cassava, spinach mixture… the list goes on. And, Rooibos tea to finish it off! It’s so nice to be in a place where Earl Grey is not the standard kind of tea. Rooibos is only grown in South Africa, so we were truly getting the full experience.

After watching an interesting film about the land rights situation in the country (in this province alone, one white farmer is killed every month), we went to bed early. Upon arrival in our hut, there was a massive bug greeting us. With nothing to squish it with, we sprayed it with bug spray, which I presumed made it angry, but it hid somewhere, so all night I could just hear it clicking away while I stayed packed into my many blankets in the 30C hut to avoid its plotting. I seem to have developed a rash this week – no sure if the two events are related.

The reason we had an early bed time is that we were up at 4am to get on the bus and see the Hluhluwe Game reserve. We saw WAY more animals than I expected – zebras, giraffes, lions, monkeys (which are old news, since I often see them on campus), rhinos, wart hogs, the list goes on! Totally impressive how they have managed to keep that many animals safe on the reserve.

Next we went to see a project that the professor, Blessing, was working on at an AIDS drop-in centre for children. We had a benefit lunch there, where they sang, danced, and read us poetry. It’s difficult to be a spectator at an event like that. I wanted to have fun and just play with the children, but in the back of my mind I was questioning what their future would hold. The number of people infected in South Africa is 34%, but in this province, KwaZulu Natal, the numbers are the highest in the country at 42%. Heavy stuff.

Then we visited the St Lucia wetlands park, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Here we boarded a cruise boat and slowly went down the large stream to see crocodiles and hippopotamuses. So cool to be cruising down a stream in the African sun.

That evening, we decided to stop at a hotel bar and I’m still struggling to figure out Africa time. Everything that we have attended so far has been at least 15 minutes late, and people tend to be late to show up, too. But whenever I try to be late, everyone else is always early! According to my South African friends, my trip to Zululand was a prime example of how timing works here. We left about an hour late, but everything during the trip kept to schedule. Except when it came time to leave, and our coordinator was the one that kept on saying ‘5 more minutes’.

The next day we visited a rural town, which has been relocated several times due to conflicts with the gum trees that are evident everywhere we went. They remind me of eucalyptus trees in Brazil, in that they are both huge monocultures that allow no other growth on the ground, and take extreme amounts of water, that then create droughts for the people, who are without jobs because they can’t afford cars to get into town where they work has migrated. Big problems here, too. I didn’t have any suggestions for them, it was just too overwhelming. We did play a great game of soccer with the local youth, though. The girls won their game for the first time in the 7 years that Blessing has run this trip (all due to my mad skills, I’m sure).

I came back from the trip appreciating the beauty that the culture and the country has to offer, while at the same time uncertain about the future here.

First Week in the Durbs

Last week was still full of orientation-related activities. They started us early on Monday morning with a campus tour. Since I am in South Africa, I expect it to be warm, even hot at times. So, you can imagine my surprise when I walked out of my residence building and was cold! It was 22C, which is freezing here! Not only that, but it was the first time since I got here that it rained, so I think we got the abbreviated version of the tour (“See that building over there? That’s the library; and that big one beside it – that’s a lecture hall. Have a good day!”). We did learn that the lecture halls will be hard to find. The maps are useless, and no one seems to know where anything is, AND there are no clues as to which building on campus the rooms are. So, if you have a class in Lecture 3, your room could be in several buildings.

Once we were done that enlightening experience, I went to the bank to get some cash out. Carrying large amounts is not recommended in South Africa (or anywhere, I suppose), but after BOTH of my cards didn’t work during my shopping trip, I have taken to carrying some with me, just in case. However, this can get expensive, since the bank charges $5 for every transaction, and it won’t allow more than 1000 Rand per withdrawal (about $130).

We were still dealing with the school administration at this point, which is not a fun experience. Everyone sends you to someone else, and won’t do anything for you until you are able to tell them that someone else told you it was their job. This process was made especially difficult by the fact that this day was the first that everyone else at the school could register. The line-up to pay fees was more than 4 hours long.

Cooking is not my favourite thing to do here. There is no oven, and our pots are too small (as in, the size of a cereal bowl), and we don’t have a cupboard, so everything is stored in the freezer. Now, I have to defrost my veggies and my dishes! I think I’m going to be eating a lot of salads here.

The next day we had was free of school commitments. Still, we were troopers and got up really early, all in the name of fashion. The malls here are pretty outrageously large, and they close at 5 or 6pm, so to make sure that we weren’t stressed with closing time, we made a day of shopping! And, all of us were serious about it – Taylor and I made it for 6 hours! The prices are great, but taking a taxi everywhere can get expensive. Well, if I priced out how much it took (RIP) to keep my car running, it might be on par, but it’s different when the cash is upfront!

Bugs: they’re bigger here. A lot bigger. I found a spider camouflaged in my cup one night, which wasn’t my favourite surprise after I had already drank from the cup! Luckily, mosquitoes haven’t been such a big challenge. They do have moths here, though. And, they’re the size of birds. One night when I fell asleep with my light on, I woke up to a bat-like creature squeaking around my light fixture. I wasn’t taking my malaria medication yet, so sadly, I wasn’t hallucinating. It hid somewhere in my room, so I woke up periodically to the twitching of an unknown creature somewhere in my room (illogically or not, I closed my windows so that no more would come in). There are some pretty nasty looking cockroaches, too, but I haven’t seen them anywhere near my residence, so that’s a bonus.

The next day we went on a double-decker bus tour of the city. It sounds glamorous, but it was a city bus with cracked windows, and every once in awhile, our guide would yell a fact about an area we passed (“This is north beach…this is south beach…”etc.). More interesting, I think, would have been a tour where the guide told us what was a good place to visit (“This is an area that you should never go in; this is an area that is only safe in groups over 10 people during the hours of 10 and 2…”etc.). It was nice to have a better idea of what the town looks like, though. It is a beautiful, historic downtown. We also drove on some of the Grand Prix route – it’s happening on Feb 24th, I believe.

Then, I signed up for the diving club! They have lots of clubs here, including fencing, sailing, and yoga (although this yoga club is some kind of religion, so I avoided eye contact as I walked past their table). Anyhow, I’m pretty excited about the diving. They take us up the coast to do our training, as well as arrange dive trips to Mozambique and other cool places. To get my dive certification with so many amazing places to go at my fingertips is pretty sweet. That, and they had a free ‘wine tasting’ to accompany their weekly braai (traditional barbeque) this week. That went over well, considering the wine here is some of the best in the world!

Our next activity was a tour of community outreach sites. We took a bus through the beautiful Valley of 1000 Hills and visited one of the few rural AIDS orphanages. For some reason, the government won’t fund the rural orphanages, only the urban ones. Unfortunately, the kids were all at school, so it was an odd tour through the rooms of some African children who weren’t there to connect with. Next on the tour, we tried to visit a community library that is just down the hill from my school. It’s in the centre of a ‘settlement’, which is similar to the shantytowns on the outskirts of the city (where 2 of the 3 million people in Durban reside), but it’s unsanctioned, and it’s in the middle of town. Unfortunately, due to the load shedding (which is another way of saying blackout. They are having an energy crisis, so often lights will be off for about 2 hours at a time) the gates wouldn’t work to let us in, so our tour ended rather abruptly. This was our last activity organized by the school for the exchange students, so we are free to arrange our own events now.

Actually, I should clarify what an international student is. We had an (emergency) residents meeting last night, because they were organizing the students strike due to housing problems, and they wanted some input. I found out that there are many international students here, but “some are considered more international than others.” So, for the students, like myself, that have schools with partnerships with the University of KwaZulu Natal, there are activities, transportation from the airport arranged, etc. But for those who are not from South Africa, but are not on an exchange, they are on their own.

We had another braai this week at the dive club, but this time, it was combined with a FREE South African wine and cheese! Oh man. That is the best club ever.

Durban

After an exhausting 13 hour flight to Durban, we arrived. I flew out of London, where I met up with the other student, Taylor, from Calgary who was flying to Durban. Unfortunately, I was not upgraded this time, and there is a huge difference between the service that you get when you pay a student price. No longer referring to me as madam, or apologizing for running over my foot, or pushing my chair. It wasn't a very relaxing flight - my pillow and blanket stolen from under my seat.... I could go on.... but the flight ended well - I arrived safely in South Africa!

We were picked up from the airport from our University of KwaZulu Natal representatives, and whisked away to our campus at Howard college, a lush, green area at the top of a hill that overlooks the port and the ocean. This college was an English college, so the architecture is representative of that influence. We arrived at our dorm, only to throw our things in the room, and then join the other international students across campus for our orientation to begin. It's so hard to remember everyone's name and where they are from when you are meeting so many people all at once. Our first activity was shopping at The Pavilion, which is a mall on the opposing hill that just happens to be the biggest in the southern hemisphere. We had soo much to buy, but since we hadn't visited our rooms too much yet, we had no idea just how much we needed. No dishes, no hangars, no nothing. The most essential purchases of the trip were a new cell phone, and a fan, which has been in constant use since I bought it. We are encouraged not to buy an expensive phone, because they are stolen so often. This has proven to be very true, since 3 international students have already had theirs stolen.

After dealing with both my debit card and credit card not working during these crucial purchases, were were allowed to go back to rez for awhile to deal with the aftermath of travelling for so long. It was fun to unpack and make my barren room more my own. We are provided with a desk, wardrobe, bed, and sink, so it takes some creativity to make it look homey. I'm still working on it - I've been to the mall two times since then, though, and I feel like no matter how much more I buy to stock up, I will still need to spend more. The prices are verrrrry reasonable here (as in designer shirts for $40!). The translation is hard to do, though - the translation is 6 Rand to $1, so I have gotten pretty good at dividing by 6 lately. That evening, we went out to a club, which was pretty similar to clubs at home - super fun!

The next day was full of actual in-class orientation. One of the more difficult topics was the HIV clinic's lecture, who mentioned that their mission is to get more people to graduate, and not die first. This is the reality here.

After being overwhelmed by hours of orientation, we went to a Braai (traditional barbeque) by the campus pool. My first experience with South African food was salad in a bun (no plates available). It's lovely getting to know the other international students here. Many of them are younger than me, but some are older - still, we get along well already.

The next day was the registration saga. So, they have hardly any internet access here. No wireless, and only one small computer lab with really slow lans. As such, class registration isn't online, it's in person. And in order to get course approval, you must go to each faculty head and get their signature before submitting it. And after you are all sweaty from going up and down hundreds of stairs, it's time for your ID card picture! Yay! This card goes with you everywhere, it is the access card to the campus, the rez, the school, the lan, everywhere! So, having a decent picture would be nice, but I guess it doesn't happen for anyone here, after the huge process that we had to go through. The international students are lucky because we got to do registration on Friday, instead of all of next week, when the rest of the school registers. Life on campus is going to change very soon, with lots more people arriving at the residences this weekend. The girl's side of my dorm resembles a prison, with a large open area in the middle. I can imagine that it gets pretty loud in there. I'm glad to have my ipod in case I need to block out the noise. I haven't used it yet - with the windows open, it is loud with jungly noises, but that's still charming at this point. We saw a snake on the way back to rez yesterday, and the way here, we saw a monkey! Another girl has trouble sleeping at night because they are so loud outside her window.

On Friday night we went out to another club, but this time it had a more African focus, with the music and the clientele. The creepy guy saga continues here.

Saturday was beach day! We took a koombi (aka taxi) that is public transit here. You go out to the stop at the bottom of the hill, and make sure the minivan is going to the right place, and then pile in. Then you give your money to the person in front of you, letting them know how many people it includes. It is all handed up to the driver, who counts the money and makes sure it is all there before he lets anyone off. Quite the experience!

It was super fast to take this taxi to the beach - about 15 minutes, and less than a dollar later, I was viewing the Indian Ocean. We all spread out and dove right in - huge waves that make you crave surfing (which I am totally trying, eventually). The water was a lot warmer than anywhere else I have been, and the sand was so fine. Mmmhmm. 15 minutes away from me!! Amazing. Just as long as I put more sunscreen on next time. Compared to the other international students, I did pretty well (as in not quite lobster red) despite putting cream on all the time.

Belongings are to be watched at all times on the beach, I was told, but I didn't know just how tricky the thieves can be. The couple sitting next to our group was distracted by one man in front of them, while the other crawled sneakily behind them and grabbed their stuff. They weren't smart enough for me though - once I noticed, I walked over, yelling "excuse me!!", which helped the couple to realize what was going on, and stop the theft. It is sooo common here, I haven't brought my camera with me much. I need a safer purse before I do that - another trip to the mall, I guess!

Last night we went to Joe Cools, which is the beachfront place to eat in the day, and the place to drink/dance at night. Alcohol is so cheap here. We paid a 40 Rand covercharge for an open bar! That's like $6 for all you can drink! International students know how to party.

Today we took it easy for once. After we went shopping at a different mall (I'm going to be soo poor!), we came back to have some time to chill. Our week starts with more orientation tomorrow bright and early. It is great living on campus so that my commute time is only as fast or slow as I want to go up and down the many stairs (watching out for monkeys on the way!).

Love to all!

I love Paris in the Winter

I began my adventure in Paris, where my friend (more like sister) is doing her study abroad. It was hard to say goodbye to family and friends at home, but with the excitement of a big trip, it wasn't so bad.

The trip began well - my ticket was upgraded! I was given a taste of first class, which was great for a long haul flight. AND, I was under the weight limit for my baggage! 22.2 kgs, baby! So, For anyone not used to preordering meals, I would absolutely recommend it. I got my food about 45 minutes ahead of everyone, which was sweet, except I think that's why the guy beside me wasn't too chatty.

Hanna met me at the airport terminal, which seemed to be modelled after a UFO landing site or something, with parkade style cement columns and glass tubes to walk through. She took me right to my hostel, which was amazing!! Well, amazing for a hostel. Free sheets AND towels! And I was upgraded, yet again, to a smaller room (only sharing with three others instead of 6). Nice. And only on the 1st floor (instead of lugging everything up to the 5th floor - no lifts, dontcha know.) However, here the numbering system is such that the main floor is not 1, it's 0, which can get to be confusing in malls and such.

After I got settled, we walked up to Hanna's apartment, which was a very short (but very steep) jaunt up the hill. If you are familiar with Montmartre, she is on it. And the metro stops all end at the bottom of the mountain, not at the top. We worked off all the pastries that we ate just by going back to her place! Her apartment is pretty typical for Paris - very small. It is fun to visit, though, with the interesting addition of a bathtub to the kitchen. Nice artistic touches.

Next we went off for some food, which we found near Pigalle, close to Moulin Rouge! For those who haven't been there, that means it's in just about the worst part of town, and as such, this is where my encounters with creepy men began! Guys here are very forward - as in, make eye contact, and they will follow you. Even if you do your best to bitch them out. However, turns out Fuck off is a pretty international term! We took a taxi home that night, which seemed like a good idea, until the guy went for ages in the wrong direction, and then stopped to look at a map of where we wanted to be. Super.

My first full day in Paris began like everyones should - a visit to the Lafayette Market for some food. This is where I tried my first macaroons, which are nothing like at home. Picture two soft meringue cookies squished together with different fillings. Mmm. Our next activity was getting a metro pass, which was pretty cool. You get your picture taken at a booth, and then buy a pass. I totally felt like a local using it, which was wicked.

Then we made our way to Champs Elysees, which was busy as ever. Can I recommend people not visit the Starbucks there? 5 Euro for a tall frappucino isn't worth it, even if you are craving familiarity and a clean bathroom.

In the evening, we went off the La Marais, which is a lovely district for restaurants. The weather was pretty consistently hovering around 7C in the day, and 3C ish at night. We watched some ice skating next to the river for awhile, before finding some food. As usual, when Hanna and I get together, eating seems to be our main activity. So, you can imagine us set free in the land of pastries and cakes on every corner!

The next day, we were a bit more intellectual, and went to Musee D'Orsay. It is gigantic, and impressive, and totally worthwhile, even with the Louvre as competition. On our way to the next eating establishment, we happened past a pretty intense rally at la bastille, which we couldn't figure out, but it had an impressive number of people at it. Next stop: shopping, which was incredibly disappointing. Isn't Paris known for fashion? Not where we were looking, apparently. Then, we went off to see La Defense, which is a gigantic modern version of the Arc de Triomphe.

Our next cultural excursion was to the Paris nightlife. We tried out a local bar, which was great, but expensive. Then we were off to sample club life. The one we chose was a house club (and that's house music, a type of electronic music) set in a large red barge on the banks of the Seine river. Unfortunately, when we arrived at around midnight, it was suuuper creepy - you could hear it creeking, and there weren't many people there yet. So, we decided to check out another club - luckily the metro was still working until 1ish, and we made it to Le Rex, another (probably cooler) house club in the city. It goes from midnight until 6am, which we were troopers for and stayed for. At first, it was really strange - it reminded me of zombie aerobics - people were all facing the dj, and totally in a trance with the music, moving slowly to the beat. Once I got over how strange that was, it was totally cool. To finish off the night, we did it Parisian style and had crepes with nutella, the BEST post-dancing food. By the time we were done, it was daylight, and the metro was working again.

The next day was rather chilly - we tried to be intellectual, despite our exhaustion, and see the Musee Rodin, but it was closed when we arrived. So instead, we went to a cafe for the best hot chocolate I have ever had, and stuck bites of the pastries that we had bought across the street. A perfect way to warm up in Paris. We visited Centre Pompidou on the way back from our activities, which was quite a sight. More glass tunnels that look like the transport tubes from the Jetsons, just stuck on to the side of the building. Very cool.

That evening, we met up with Hanna's roommate and her friends for an evening at a Brazilian club near her house - I was so jealous that all the places we were visiting will be so close to Hanna during her stay in Paris. We tried to do some things that she would be doing while she's there - I visited my first laundrymat, which was interesting. It's kinda clausterphobic though, because if you are stuck talking to anyone creepy, you can't just leave, or you will have wet clothes to look forward to.

We finally made it to see Rodin's Thinker statue, which was exquisitely beautiful. Then, off to refresh my memory of Notre Dam. That evening, Hanna introduced me to the exciting world of soccer (or football, which I will have to learn to call it - everyone here knows and loves it). We watched an Italian league game in the only bar in the city that was playing it, so you knew that everyone there was a true fan of the game and the team. It was there that I tried an amazing pizza - the French know their cheeses, and this pizza had blue cheese on it, which was soooo great! Definately trying that again.

Pere Lachaise was an interesting excursion - you don't often tell people, or get excited about, seeing the remains of dead people, but we sure did. We were glad to have bought a map of the cemetary, because otherwise we would have been so lost, which can get creepy when you are walking among mausoleums.

Then we went off to see Saint Chapelle, which is an exquisite (you guessed it) chapel with stunning stained glass. Usually churches are free, but this one is sooo special that you have to pay for it. Our next meal was found at the Bon Marche, which every city should have. It's as big as a department store, and it's all specialty food. From there, we took a bus to see the Eiffel Tower. It was freezing, but beautiful. I love that building!

For our last evening together, we went to a great Indian restaurant in the Abbesse, which is a great district close to Sacre Coeur (you may remember it from the movie Amelie). We visited a pub afterwards, and had the greatest cider! When I was in Finland, we had wonderful pear cider there, but in France, I'm all about apple cider.

The next day, I was the annoying person in my room that was packing things at 6am. No matter how slow you zip them, zippers are really loud, A bit like candy wrappers during a play, zippers are really loud, no matter how slow you zip them. For breakfast? Cake, of course. I decided to change it up from my usual croissant. It gave me the energy to deal with the post office, which was just short of being a nightmare. There was already a lineup at 9am. The only reason I survived was that I had my translator with me. Otherwise the two women swearing at each other over who would sell me the post box would have been rather distressing.

And then, off to the airport. Paris was fantastic. We were doing the things that many tourists don't get around to doing, which allowed me to see the 'real' Paris.

Pictures to follow - African internet sucks.