In Durban

I am currently staying with a host family in Westville, a suburb of Durban (just about 2-3 hours out of Johannesburg; if you're looking on the map, see one of the links at left to view the map of SA and its larger cities). The reason why I am able to have Internet access is because this family is upper middle class. The father owns a pharmacuetical franchise (not sure if that is the right word for it, but apparently he runs a chain of pharmacies, about 15-20 in total, all over the country of South Africa). So you can imagine that the family is pretty well-off. He (currently in the hospital still after having had a minor operation this afternoon, so we have actually yet to meet him) and his wife have a lovely home and FIVE children! Daughters Fathima (19) and Tasneem (17) and then triplets (two boys and one girl, age 12). This is an Indian, Muslim family, and I am learning so much! Becky Davis and I are sharing this host family for the night, and I'm afraid that our stay is going to be all too short! We leave Durban tomorrow afternoon! Oh, how I wish that this stay could be longer, since I am learning so very much from this different culture and religion and lifestyle, and want to see more of Durban!

Today was a sweltering, muggy day in Durban, filled with lectures and driving through the crowded, busy city. Downtown Durban is predominantly black still, as the city is very segregated, just according to cultures sticking together and paranoia of the danger that each sector of the city still holds in the clutches of its post-apartheid aura. We went to a prayer service this morning for a controversial trial over members of a township (makeshift/temporary city) that is to be demolished due to its proximity to a major city during the 2010 World Cup expose, with all the tourism coming for the football (soccer) games and whatnot. Such dirty areas of poverty blemish SA's pretty facelift, and what's more they pose a threat to the 'safety' of the common public, apparently. Anyway, the trial is about some men, 13 to be precise, who are being prosecuted for causing a ruckus basically, even though some of the accused were not even present at the time of the incident. Really, it's a two-sided story that is only being seen in one light in the courts, and in order to seek justice, the other side must really be seen, and that is what the prayer rally was about this morning. Prayers for the truth and justice to be done are appreciated.

This morning, we also visited a women's refugee center where a pre-primary school for children is held on the third floor of a shabby old warehouse. Quite interesting. In a rough, more dangerous area of the city. In the afternoon, we had riveting panel presented to us by the sociology department from one of the universities here in Durban. For 2.5 hours we heard different viewpoints of a variety of South Africans, concerning topics ranging from race/ethnicity, gender, language, politics, and more!

Now, as I mentioned, we have been farmed out to about a dozen or so Muslim host families in Durban's Indian community (home to the largest Indian population in SA). This has been a lovely night. For dinner we had wonderful, spicy food, involving lots of curry of course. Tas, one of the daughters, taught us how Muslims pray (during the after-dusk prayer time), explaining the rituals and significance of prayers said. We learned much about the customs and personal nature of Islam. Then we went out for some ice creams and had a nighttime driving tour of Durban (in addition to the tour that our host mother had given us on the way home earlier in the evening). We went down to the beaches, all in the process of being revamped for 2010 of course, like everything else around the country! We got some spicy pineapple from a vendor on the beachfront, as well as some fried spicy dough and other typical delicacies (not really for them, but they were great for us foreigners!). I could go on with more, but I really should be getting to bed, as it is nearing 1 in the morning here, and we are to rise early to observe prayers and hang out with our host fam before we have another long day, touring a mosque.

I wish I could write more about past days, as our group has accumulated some good (as well as not-so-good) stories. Highlights: we went on a 2-hour coastal hike on the Wild Coast (western side, bordering the Indian Ocean), swam in the salty seas and jumped in waves for a couple hours, got 2 flat tires, ate waaaaay too much South African food with our host fams in Umthatha on the last night... And then there were some lowlights as well: having to send one of our travel companions (Katie) back to the States for family emergency, having some rough home stays in Umthatha, and losing my camera case with my $6 USB adapter in it (which means no more pictures to be uploaded unless I find another adaptor in the next week). Fortunately, I was blessed with another small voice that urged me to remove my extra (filled up) memory card that had been stored in my camera case for the duration of the trip, because I was afraid I might lose the case, thus losing my memory card and the precious memories of the first half of my trip. Thank you God, for your messages!

Alright, well this is it for now. One more week and I regret having to say that at this hour in one week's time, I'll be on a plane on my way to London, on my return journey back to the good old USA. But let's not talk of that yet....!