A couple weeks ago I got to spend some time in South Africa.
I went to Johannesburg and Durban. SA is so different from Swaziland in terms
of infrastructure. I honestly thought like I was in America. It was the closest
to home I had been in 9 months. What made the trip even better was that I had
Jason with me. We spent two days in Johannesburg—we went to the Apartheid
Museum, World Cup Stadium, saw the Nelson Mandela bridge, went to a rooftop
African market, and I saw my first McDonalds since being here. Since Joburg has
a notorious reputation for being a dangerous city, we skipped walking through
the city and stuck to our rental car. I really loved the museum. It still blows
my mind that Apartheid ended within my life time just 20 years ago. The museum
also had a nice Nelson Mandela exhibit which was interesting. Seeing the museum
came at a perfect time for me. Currently in my class I am talking about human
rights, xenophobia and the difference between race and culture. I wish I could
have brought my students with me for this. The trip to Joburg was short lived,
but I loved.
Driving 5 hours through the Drakensburg Mountains was such a
beautiful site to Durban. Again, I am so glad I am glad we decided on a rental
car—public transportation on vacation just doesn’t seem like a vacation to me.
Coming into Durban, I was taken aback by how similar it looked like an American
costal city. Another unexpected surprise was just how many Indians were there;
apparently Durban has the second largest population of Indians next to
India. Either way Durban was great. The
weather was a little too gloomy and windy for my taste, so we only hit the
ocean one day. Durban is also known for its great surf. The movie Blue Crush 2
was actually filmed there. So instead of swimming, we stood on the pier
watching the surfers. The sites we saw in Durban were Ushaka Marine World and
the Moses Mabhida World Cup Stadium, and my favorite—Gateway Mall! I felt like
I had died and gone to heaven. You could have left me in that mall for the entire
week and I would be completely happy. Apparently some things never change no
matter what continent you are on.
After a week in SA, I took Jason back to Swaziland with me
for week. As far as the animals are concerned, they couldn’t have been more cooperative.
When we got to the boarder we saw a monkey, some zebras, and a family of
warthogs crossing the road. This set the mood for a fun week in the kingdom. To
sum up the week in SD, we went to Hlane Royal Game Reserve and saw hippos and
rhinos; then we stayed at Magadzavane lodge were we had a family of monkeys
outside our window in the morning as well as a highly venomous scorpion on our
bedroom floor. Then on the drive to my village, we saw a family of giraffes on
the side of the road. As Swazi culture permits, we ate meat nearly every night.
I swear Jason is going to go back to the states thinking we have braai’s every
day—I blame my sisi Lulu who spoiled us this week. I also took Jason to the cultural village
where he got to see the traditional dancing, clothes, and houses that are still
practiced throughout the country [except in my utopia of a village].
On Saturday my community was celebrating Earth Hour were we
turned off the lights between 8:30-9:30. It was fun for him to see an activity
take place in my village. Wednesday and Thursday I brought Jason to the school where
he could see me teach and meet my students. I couldn’t help but laugh at
everyone’s reaction; they couldn’t believe he was a black American and that he
spoke English. Of course alllll the girls loved him and the boys wanted to add
him on FB. Since he has left they still ask about him. He surely made an
impression.
Overall it was a good week and I am glad I got a feel of
home for a little bit. It was just what I needed now that I am a third of the
way through.
