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.