We meet again! I’m doing the same sort of things this go around with the two different parts so enjoy!


Monday
We left for Durban Monday afternoon, arriving in the city around 3:00. Amanda has learned that you need to ask a taxi how much they charge before getting in and trying to bargain your way down a bit (most don’t have meters, and those that do are broken or tweaked so you are over charged) – which is exactly what she did. And we didn’t get a taxi. We went back inside the airport to have tea and coffee while waiting for the shuttle for a bunch of the backpackers in the city. When we came out a cab driver whistled us over and told us that he changed his mind and he would be happy to take us at the price we asked (30 rand less than he wanted). Bargain.

We arrived 20 minutes later (our driver was BOOKING IT down the freeway) at the Happy Hippo Backpacker, in a less dodgy area of town than certain parts we drove through. Durban is definitely a city – dirty, tons of people, tall buildings where they manage to house thousands of people, a downtown, posh areas, and mostly dodgy areas. The Happy Hippo was great though! We checked in and then were given a tour of the warehouse turned brightly colored backpacker. Our room was labeled “Babalaas” which we later found out means “hangover” in Africaans. An omen? Luckily not. There were 4 beds, 3 of us, and no one joined us the rest of the time we were there either which was nice. We had tea on the rooftop overlooking the city in the low afternoon glow which was a beautiful introduction to the city. For dinner we walked 8 blocks to the nearest Spaar (grocery store) to get items for a “braai” (barbeque). We had this sausage thing with grilled veggies that we cooked on the rooftop of our backpacker – it was a bit windy so getting the fire going was difficult for Drew (aka Amanda’s boyfriend, so being the boy he was in charge of the barbequing while Amanda and I had beers (we bought him some too!) and played pool). Walking to the store was sketchy though – definitely not something Amanda and I would do at dusk. Fortunately we had a boy leading the way, a boy who is 6’5’’. I was really feeling that I got what I wanted with branching out of the bay area/Colorado bubble I am used to. And we made it safe so that’s good. And our braai was delish too – which we followed up with reading on the couches outside of our room.

Tuesday
You could pay for breakfast to be prepared (from their small menu) which we definitely did. I had scrambled eggs on toast – directly on top of the toast. The eggs here are mildly scrambled – I like mine to have a bit more form and stiffness than liquidy cottage cheese. Whatever, it was good and filling. Amanda and Drew wanted to return to the Victoria Road Markets where you can get cheap, authentic, African goods (aka Christmas shopping). We caught our first bus at uShaka – the big water park and aquarium extravaganza place that is a block away from our backpacker. We switched busses from the S line to the W line to get to the markets. Along the way there were a lot of security/peace/police officers on the bus routs and at every stop, which I didn’t think much about at first. Our friend would later reprimand us for taking the bus because it was not up to her strict safety guidelines (love you Jess!). There have been a lot of small bits of up rest recently affecting the bus system that goes through the main part of the city, including a major strike by the bus drivers which ended the day or two before we landed in Durban (I manage to miss these strikes by a few hours luckily).

Victoria Road is packed with people and street stalls where people try to sell you any and all items. Ripe with pick pocketers targeting outsiders (for example: three Americans – one who is a redhead who stands out a whole lot)(red hair is very hard to come by here, there were two redheads sitting in front of Amanda, Sean and I at church on Sunday….they were the last of my people that I have seen). We went into a large warehouse converted into a two story building with little shops that all carry the same general stuff. We walked around, checking out things we would like to buy, got price quotes, and went on bargaining and haggling store owners like champions for the next two hours. Needless to say, most of my Christmas shopping is done. I will say that I tried to not get things too “African” – ok I know that’s kind of harsh to say since I’m, oh I don’t know, In Africa. Yes, I realize that. I figure that most people I know don’t need fertility dolls and other crazy items. Fun accent pieces that are discreet and will still match décor and style is what I was going for. I bough a lot, a lot a lot. Even a small table for myself (small!)(and very cool!). I will have to buy a cheap suitcase in addition to my very cool, low maintenance backpacking pack (which I packed everything I need in, thank you very much).

We were going to drop our stuff off at the Backpacker, but decided that since it was 2:00 (breakfast was at 8:30), we would stop for lunch at the transfer station. We went to a Pakistani restaurant that had LIFE ALTERING naan. We still talk about it. Kind of a lot. Definitely more than we should. It was that good – the plain, garlic, some cool potato spicy thing Drew got – all good. It’s making me hungry and I just had a huge dinner. Finally back at the backpacker we decided to sleep (Amanda), read then fall asleep (Ashley), or work on a group project and email it off (Drew).

Jess (from camp!) and her fiancé TJ met us for dinner at uShaka! Yay camp friends! Old roomies in staff area! Heck yes. We went to the Upper Deck Restaurant buffet that is on the upper deck (really??) of this old ship built above and in the middle of the aquarium at uShaka. The food and drinks were great (seafood was excellent) and it was so wonderful to finally hang out with Jess again! Included in your meal (100 rand….which equals to just less than $10 – yes I am LOVING the exchange rate here) is the chance to go through the aquarium. I was closed to everyone else except the restaurant so we basically went on our own guided tour by ourselves! Imagine yourself at the Monterey Bay Aquarium (the “zoo for fishes”) by yourself at night, only this is like walking through the hull of a ship (very Disney). So yes, a mix of Disneyland and the Bay Aquarium. Very cool. During dinner Jess yelled at us for going to the Markets (“AMANDA! I told you not to go back there!”) because, as we found out, two Americans were shot there last week. Oops. Then again, if you don’t go every place where someone has been shot or robbed or something then you won’t have a big selection of where to go. After dinner, walking the aquarium, and dessert, we went along the coast looking for Dwali celebrations.

Dwali is a Hindu festival – the Day of Lights (it can be equated to our Christmas). Durban is home to the largest population of Indians outside of India (I thought it was London – oh how I miss the Indian restaurant by my flat!). Jess and TJ were telling us about the celebrations last year and the repercussions people are feeling this year. Last year people were basically allowed to set off fireworks wherever they wanted (significant fireworks, not just the ones we get in a box at a stand in a parking lot). People, building and animals (especially dogs) fell victims to other’s cruelty and curiosity of what these fireworks can do. This year it was very quiet. We saw large fireworks going off in the sky in a far off township, as well as a few smaller ones on North Beach where we just stopped and hung out along the beach for a bit.

From uShaka we drove along the coast to get to these fireworks, and along the way Jess pointed out different interesting places. The amusement park that is sketchy all the time when it’s open (during the holiday season, midsummer in December). A place that used to house snakes. Mini Durban. The most upper class apartment building along North Beach that was bombed by the TRC about 10 years ago (Jess’s mom happed to be on a date there and has a large scar on her arm from a shard of glass pinning her arm to the ground). Amanda has learned about this specific bombing in her classes here which was interesting to put life to that history lesson. After stopping at the beach we were taken to Suncoast Casino. It wishes it was a Casino next to the Bellagio, but sadly it is a casino that belongs in Reno. We walked the halls (which didn’t take long) and then we left. We drove back to our backpacker to show Jess that it’s actually legit, we had a drink on the rooftop bar, then said goodnight.

Wednesday
Breakfast once again at 8:30 – now I’m starting to feel tired from my travels. I had been doing well until now, I even didn’t feel jetlagged when I got here. But now I’m tired. Drew had to worked on a paper during the morning so I slept from 9-11. Jess recommended that we go to Florida Road for lunch and shopping at boutiques then to walk down to Stamford Hill Road to peruse the outlet stores. If my mom were here, Florida Road is where she would be staying. There are cute bed and breakfasts in Victorian Houses aligning the road as well as an equal amount of restaurants (so yes, this is my type of place too). We went into the first boutique we saw and I bought some clothes (I could have bought cute house wares stuff though! Especially since these nice items are cheap compared to the American prices!). We walked up the road till it ended at a park of green grasses and blooming purple flowers on the Jacaranda trees. It was nice to finally see lush vegetation in this dirty city.

And then there were MONKEYS! They were hanging out on the waist high stone working around a gate for an apartment complex. There were about 8 of them playing and hanging around. It was so cool! Especially since I have taken a few primate classes for anthropology I could put some of my lectures to good use. It was great. We walked back down the hill on Florida Road to Cubana Restaurant and Socialist Café. Haha excellent. Sure, Latino and Mexican food is no where near its potential in the UK or commonwealth, but it was still fun. And the unique mojitos were tasty. Here you can get a hookah (“hubbly” is what they are called here) with 6 shooters for 50 rand ($5ish dollars!) or smoke Cuban cigars. We didn’t do either since it was mid afternoon and we knew we were going out that night. We walked 3 long blocks down to Stamford Hill where we checked out the small outlet store for Billabong/Volcom/Roxy/Quicksilver/Fox/etc. We didn’t have much luck but we aren’t too worried – there are larger factory outlets in Jeffrey’s Bay (where we are headed tomorrow, Friday). Tired, we caught a cab back to our backpacker to have an hour or two to sit before going out with Jess and TJ.

While at our hostel, a thunderstorm started – and oh my word it was so loud! It was incredible! It was followed by a torrential downpour of rain which echoed off the cement floors and open areas of the backpacker. Jess and TJ picked us up once the storm subsides and we drove out of the city (of course we had to drive through Central Durban which is uuber sketchy) to their favorite pub where they are good friends with everyone who works there (even the karaoke man).

They got word that day that their friend was killed the night before so a lot of their friends were nto coming out as planned. It came out later that evening that she was killed by a hit and run while she was waiting to catch a minibus to get home late that night. She was found in a bush later this morning having also been mugged (her cell phone was gone). Everyone was obviously shaken who was working at the pub (where she had worked for almost 20 years). Jess, TJ and their friends talked about what had happened and what she was like which was great to hear. There were empty pint glasses on the bar asking for any donations to help with funeral arrangements as well as money for her family (two sons). It was interesting to see how everyone there was able to keep their composure and still try to make the most of the evening (with help from alcohol). It seems that lives are ended far too frequently here, that these things do happen but way too often. People should not have to live in fear – always watching behind you for the next bad thing to happen.

We did have fun at the pub though – between the drinks and the karaoke. TJ happens to be quite the regular and had many solos. Jess and her friends would get up and sing a lot of songs too: Abba, Grease, “I kissed a girl.” Jess and TJ also showed us a dance from the Africaans culture (TJ is full blooded Africaans). It was a fun partner dance which quick steps (but not as quick and tiring as the actual Quick Step). Somehow, I was coaxed into karaoke. And so was Drew (we held out as long as we could!). It was fun and I am glad I had the “liquid courage” going. Amanda and I also sang some Stevie Wonder (duh) which was fun – though it got kinda weird at the end.

Thursday
Awake by 6:00 am. Gross. And the weather was sunny and about 70 degrees, which meant it would be really hot, but the whole time we were in Durban it was cloudy and misty. We had to catch a cab by 6:30 in order to check in for our flight that took off at 8:00. Today has been pretty long, it’s hard to think that was this morning and I haven’t taken a nap or anything. We got back to PE a little after 9:00 and came back to Amanda and Drew’s housing area. It was nice to be back in a place where the buildings outside of Central PE aren’t over a few stories tall and where there is grass and wide roads. Although it’s HELLA windy here, and I’m definitely over that. After showing and eating some peanut butter and jelly sandwiches we went into Central PE to the women’s market. It’s in a big room with a coffee shop in the back (which are very hard to come by in this part of the world). There are lots of hand made crafts and such that are all created to benefit good causes across Southern Africa. They even had some Christmas items out! I have a few ideas for crafts during Decemberfest and I got a cute little beaded reindeer to go with my small Christmas tree tabletop decoration from the Christmas market in Vienna. We caught a minibus back to the Boardwalk for lunch at 34 Degrees South (a cool restaurant which can be found at that latitude). Minibus stops are marked by prominent landmarks I have found, such as: KFC, McDonalds, and the Boardwalk.

The Boardwalk is a protected area of shops that circle a lagoon (think a smaller lagoon than the one at Disneyland in the French Quarter with Tom Sawyer’s Island). The buildings are all white with blue metal roofing. It’s quieter and cleaner here with shops and good restaurants. I mentioned that it is a “nice break…” which Amanda ended with “…from Africa.”

We ate sushi (the ginger is really sweet here, it was weird – I like ginger with a good bite) then checked out the wine selection that was on sale. I picked up a few bottles of wine and a bottle for a crazy Polack and his favorite wife which will probably end up under a festive tree on December 24th…I also found some cute scarves! We walked along the coast to Pick n Pay (grocery store) to get dinner which Amanda made. She cooked an Indian/South African dish that was quite good and filling. We have basically just been hanging out this evening making food and whatnot.

Friday:
Jeffrey’s Bay

Saturday:
Addo Elephant Park

Sunday:
PE market
Seaview (I think that’s the name) – a place where you can pet and play with lion cubs, and big lions!

Monday: begin the long journey home


I will update more before Monday!


Part II will be coming in a day or two.....


(you should know that I’m typing this on Microsoft Word and I have not reached a full 5 pages, single spaced thank you)

Hello from Africa! Its Sunday night here, and after a busy few days I finally have time to sit down and blog about what has been happening on my trip!

Oh man things have been interesting
Sorry this is a bit long

Part I – what I have been up to
Part II – culture

Part I
I flew united from sf to dc on the red-eye which was pretty lame. It was hard getting through security since I kept showing up to the line with something that wasn’t actually a boarding pass (after waiting in a long line for the united people, I finally got one). I had the window seat (yes!) next to a man who thought he was hilarious. We finally landed at dulles airport in dc at 6 in the morning – I wasn’t able to sleep so I used my pass to the red carpet club that my dad hooked me up with and slept there. A few hours later, some business man was on his phone and was telling the other party how offended he was that some ‘college student was sleeping in the place [he] paid so much for.’ Um hello – there are over 100 seats here, go choose another if you don’t like me. And try not to wake me up next time fool.

Finally my flight to jo-berg, south africa, left before 6 that night. The people at united were actually helpful and called south African airlines to ask when they would be at the gate at the desk thing, which was at 1:30 – I was there at 1:00 so I could be the first in line to change my seat to a window, which I did (woo!). the flight was pretty uneventful – I sat next to a nice guy who is moving to cape town for a few months, I watched ‘sex and the city the moive’ and ‘kunfu panda,’ and took an ambient which made me pass out. When I finally woke up we were over nambia (Africa!).

Amanda picked me up with a friend and we went to her flat. After eating dinner we went with a bunch of her friends to see the south African band, the parlatones, at tapas (a college bar). It was packed. it reminded me of the cu football night game last year where there were so many people trying to get into folsom at the same time that I could have easily picked up my feet and still moved with the slow current since we were so packed in. anywho, we finally made our way to the back deck and hung out there the rest of the evening. We stayed up till 4 while I caught Amanda and drew up on stuff they were missing back home – I woke up at 12:30 the next day. So yes, at this point, my body had no idea what time it was anywhere.

Friday we went to lunch at rock café here in port Elizabeth where I ate so fast you wouldn’t have known it was me. It was amazing. We walked along the beach (which the restaurant goes right up to) then walked back to her flat (a good 40 minutes). We originally got to the rock café by taking a minibus – the day before I arrived there was a big minibus (oxymoron there?) strike where buses were being stoned. But they worked it out.

That evening we all went to the German Club that is out of town a little bit for Oktoberfest! Yes, Oktoberfest is really in September, but in order to get a real German oom-pah-pah band they had to wait until the end of October. Castle beer (a south African beer) was flowing and it was ridiculous. This is something that has been advertised here for a few months and the whole town (well the white population was there). The band (we were right in front dancing the whole night) played many a good ol’ German song, then switched over to songs like ‘take me home, country roads,’ ‘smoke on the water,’ ‘living next door to alice (ALICE! ALICE! WH THE **** IS ALICE?!,’ ‘ and ‘hang on snoopy.’so that was a little weird, but still fun. We left around 1, were in bed by 2, then got up at 5:30 – so really we took a nap; we didn’t actually go to bed and sleep for the night.

We had to get up that early so that we could catch the last bus headed to grahamstown that day. It took a little over an hour and was fine, although the bus was stuffy with smells. We had tea and scones in town before our friend Andrew (from camp!) picked us up and took us walking around town. It was good fun checking out the high school/college town for a bit (we stopped by the photo store where sean (yay camp!) works and said hi!), though it was chilly the whole day. Amanda and I were so drained (or ‘stuffed’ as south Africans would say) that we asked to go to his friends flat to sit/sleep, which Amanda did the latter. Sean came and hung out with us that afternoon, which we spent lounging around his fiance’s (sarah) flat with her roommates. It was great to talk with all of them! That evening Andrew wanted to see the movie ‘taken’ which was luckily playing in town, but Amanda and I wanted to see something significantly less intense so we saw ‘mama mia.’ Mama mia = ridiculous. Pierce brosnan = horrible singer (why he had 2 solos the world will never know…). Following the films we walked a few blocks to a pizza place and while were were eating a big group of blacks got into a fight. They ended up closing the restaurant and calling the police since it went on for over 10 minutes – we got out when there was a chance and headed back to sarah’s flat. Amanda and I were asleep by 10:30.

Today (Sunday) we went to church with sean and sarah (and all of their friends were there too). The service went like this:
singing songs individuals in their congregation wrote for 45 mins – it was like a big party with people rocking out and dancing around
1 hour 20 minutes – the speaker was from Tennessee (great, we get to hear an American preach…) and didn’t really say anything concrete. He mainly was talking in circles about superficial things about how your faith should be. Redding, California is ‘mecca’ for this church group because of the purity movement coming from there (the good things about redding I have experienced are: in n out and mini golfing (which is on a hill – I find that weird)). The preacher spoke about what these students must do to be healers (apparently he prayed to a fire fighter in redding and healed his injured knee instantly; also, another preacher ‘cured’ a woman with AIDS by praying for her. Riiiiiiight). Basically, I really appreciate how liberal my church is now – vpc doesn’t shove things down your throat – it wants to help you group spiritually, not religiously. Vpc and the woods also give you the tools to create your own faith if you want; this seemed to be either Our Way or The Way Down. Tight. The words ‘born again’ were used a lot too. And now onto part 3 –
alter call – at the end of his long talk he started to pray for the group and 5 minutes into the prayer people started moaning, yelling, falling on the floor and rolling around, throwing their hands up, speaking in tongues, crying, you name it. It kept getting louder and louder as the preacher shouted ‘FRESH OIL NEW WINE’ over and over. He then asked the ministry team to come up so he could pray for them – he also had people behind them to pray for them (which Amanda and I thought would just be a nice laying on of hands). NOPE. When he touched these people they began to yell and fall to the floor where they began convulsing (so the people who were there behind them were actually there to catch them). When half of the line of people had fallen, the preacher placed his hands on the shoulder of a young man who wouldn’t fall – so he pushed him down! The last in line was a girl who didn’t collapse to the ground (good for you!)

SO YES, things were interesting. This was the first service like this that Amanda and I had ever experienced. Im not saying that this is bad, but its just not for me. Sensing our awkwardness and shock, sean and sarah asked if we wanted to get tea just outside of the hall. We said (hell) yes. We were the only people who came out. The preacher offered to pray for anyone who wanted it, which was everyone but the 2 americans. While eating our yay-for-you-being-a-visitor cake and sipping our tea, our conversation would be interrupted by yelling, lots of yelling. Im guessing from falling on the floor. That floor was probably pretty clean with all the clothes that fell on it wiping the dust and dirt off. I left feeling like I needed to go to a bar and get a drink – something minorly ‘sinful’ in order to cloud my mind. I want to look into why revivals and born again groups are so powerful, especially with educated youth in developing countries to better understand the social context behind it all (‘anthropology! Girl, I knew you was smart!’. [insert this summer ‘WAAAAH’ noise and outward arm movements here]

Sarah’s flatmate Natalie made lunch for us all (chicken and salad [iceberg lettuce, so it was delish]) which was followed by me introducing them to the lavender chocolate I had in my bag. Here, organic chololate is hard to come by, and when you find it it’s quite expensive, while finding uniquely flavored chocolate doesn’t really exist (we Americans truly have it all). Before getting on our bus at 4:30, sean and sarah took us to the botanical gardens where we walked around for a bit – twas delightful. We caught our bus back to PE and have been hanging out at amandas flat for the evening.

Yay for spending time with sean and Andrew!! It was so wonderful to see them!!


Part II
Tidbits of culture:
This is why I wanted to come to SA – to view the social constructs of society post-apartheid.

Society is divided up into three very different social and economic standings:
Whites, coloreds, blacks

Within the white category is the subset of africaaners, who hail from the Dutch who were almost as good as the brits in colonizing (please, the brits were way too good at that).

Taking minibuses is seen as a way for blacks to get around town – the only white people who take these means of transportation are uni students. Most whites don’t take cabs usually either (which are driven by colored people – im still trying to figure out this group and what it means). The towns (like grahamstown and PE) have the centre of town (or city) and then are surrounded by townships or locations (these two are the less PC names which everyone uses; the PC title is something different that I cant remember). Townships are where blacks reside and are usually shanty areas in industrial parts of the outlying city where whites cannot go without some sort of a guide. Amanda’s friend, brita, who is also an American exchange student, has a class in one of the townships (it was a big mixup – they thought the class would be on the main campus in PE) and she isn’t allowed to go to it because it is so far away and in an area where she cannot go alone.

Most people refuse to walk alone, especially at night. no matter where you are you cannot do that. When we went to rock café Friday afternoon and walked home this was ok, but to walk home from the bar where we head the bad the night before would be unacceptable, even with a large group mainly of white university guys.

All of the places we have gone to have been mostly, if not all, white. There is little mixing of the social strata from what I can see (except for at church, there was a 50-50 ratio there).

In this part of the country, blacks speak xhosa which is a unique language because it is a ‘click’ language. There are three different clickes:
the aspirated backwards ‘t’ in ‘tick’ is one (but breath in to get a better sound, and make it shorter)
if you close your mouth and let your tongue rest naturally, right before the roof of your mouth goes up to the palate and the middle of your tongue is the space for the second click.
say ‘because’ and where the back of your tongue hits the back of the mouth is where this click happens (but a little farther back). It is a very glottal sound that reverberates in the back of the mouth and into the throat.
When we go to Durban blacks there will speak Zulu prominently. There are 11 official languages of South Africa.

So many things here are very British, so its good that I spent time in London so that I wouldn’t have to get a course in British Influence 101. for example
Restaurant check = bill in the British dialect
Cookies = biscuits
College = high school
Apartment = flat

There is mayonase on a whole lot of food (salad?? Really??)
There are two different faucets in the sink – one for hot, one for cold (whoever though about putting the two into one should win a nobel prize)
Driving is done on the left side of the road (which I still can’t grasp, especially when walking across the street – where are the cars coming from??)
You have to ask for the bill (not check) when your plates are taken away or else you will never see the waitress again
Tea is everywhere, all the time

There are many other things which I cant think of right now, but that gives you an idea.

Most people are very savvy to America –what is popular in music, tv shows, books, and our politics to name a few. Talking with sarah at church was interesting because in a group at church they were reading “a purpose driven life” and were asked to vote for mccain or obama based on their beliefs and the book. Nearly 70% of the group voted mccain, because of (which I though of before she said it) abortion and gay marriage. LAME. Ok I will be objective. What is more interesting is that most people do not know of or anything about the candidates running mates. Amanda and I informed her and sean of one of the vice presidential candidates, and were incredibly biased (aka palin sucks and is scary). I find it really interesting that though very informed about many things, there are certain events and influential people and happenings that people here simply do not know about.



Ok im done – more to come later!
I travel to Durban tomorrow to see another friend from camp with Amanda and drew, back on thrusday

I'm aliveand in port elizabeth with amanda! ok cool - ill write more tomorrow when there is time!

South Africa! Bargain!


Time to expand my travels to a different continent. I have traveled to and lived in Europe, I definitely think it's time for a change! My desire to go to SA has been around for many years, and I decided that I would go after I graduated (and saved up *a lot* of dinero). Every summer I work at Westminster Woods - a summer camp (that's AWESOME) and we have a number of international students come and work on staff. This definitely includes some fabulous South Africans who love saying "your face" in Africaans, drinking slurpees and root beer, and eating reeses pieces (which I have been asked to bring with me for a friend!). I'm definitely seeing 3 friends from the Woods while I'm there, as well as staying with my friend Amanda who is from Sacramento (who I also met at camp)(camp = taking over the world).

I'll be in Port Elizabeth, Grahamstown, Durban, and maybe East London and Jeffrey's Bay - here's a map for you who aren't savvy of the geography in SA.

When I figure out where I'm putting up my photos I'll let you know.

Check back with me over the next 2 weeks for updates on my travels! I am going to be leaving today (Tuesday, Oct 21, I won't be getting to PE until Thurs though...) and getting back to the states on Nov 4 (for the election!). Go OBAMA!



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