Welcome to South Africa

Hey everyone, 

I hope you’re finally enjoying some quality spring weather – it was long overdue, especially for those in the Midwest! I’m writing outside on my friend’s patio in Durban, South Africa, where the sun is shining and I have a lovely view of the surrounding neighborhood hills, the greenery, and the Indian Ocean. I’m also in front of the pool and Jacuzzi on the patio, with a very well stocked bar just inside the doors behind me. Living the life here, I must say.

 I was welcomed to Durban with open arms last Sunday by my good friend Katie and her family, after spending a week and a half with my friend Jason and his family in a different part of the country. This two month trip to South Africa is unlike any I’ve ever had, because I’m not really a traveler, not really a backpacker, but I’m still a visitor. Actually, a better term would be a spoiled person. I’ve been treated with such kindness and hospitality – though I’ve been friends with Katie and Jason for years now, I didn’t know their families, and they've both taken me in and been so happy to show me their beautiful country, along with good food, friendship, and fun.

                So, just to review: Jason is my friend and fellow teammate from college swimming. He came to swim on an international scholarship in the middle of my sophomore year, in 2008. We were friends throughout our swim years, and have managed to meet up in Europe twice, the first time when I was studying abroad and he was on his way back to the States from a summer at home, and the second time when we actually planned a trip in Italy together, as I was on my way to South Korea in 2010. That was the last time I saw him, in Rome, at about 5 AM after a very late night out. I think our goodbye consisted of a quick hug and some mumbled sentiments, while we were both thinking about going back to sleep.

                We were both much fresher at the airport in Johannesburg two weeks ago – he was ready and waiting for me, and after clearing immigration and grabbing my bag, we were off to his family’s house in northeast Johannesburg. For those of you who think the capital of South Africa is Johannesburg, you’re wrong. It’s not. I say that just because I used to think it was the capital but then I did some studying and realized the capital is actually Pretoria, though nobody really knows that one – much like the capital of Austrailia is actually Canberra, not Sydney. Tricky. People also think Cape Town might be the capital of South Africa, as it’s certainly the most famous city, but that’s wrong too. So just to get that straight. Johannesburg is actually the business capital of the country – where all the deals go down. Jason and his family had just recently moved back to Joburg after living in Durban for many years.

Pretoria, South Africa

                My time in Joburg with his family was a great introduction and learning experience to South Africa. Jason and I went to the Voortrekker Monument and Parliament building in Pretoria my very first day, where I had my own private tour guide (Jason) to help explain parts of South Africa’s recent history. The Voortrekkers were the first Dutch settlers to set foot in the southern coast of the country, but after too many skirmishes with the locals they decided to pack up everything in ox wagons (Oregon Trail style) and trek northeast to the Johannesburg/Pretoria area to start anew. From there, Johannesburg became a Gold Rush city, which attracted thousands of people hoping to strike it rich in the late nineteenth century.

  The next day we skipped ahead to more recent history and hit the Apartheid Museum, a reminder of the officially imposed system of racial segregation from 1948-1990. I used my knowledge of America’s own racial injustices as a basis of comparison, but of course found just as many differences as similarities to the American Civil Rights Movement. I’ll write more about Apartheid and its place in South African history once I’ve done some more proper reading and research. After the Apartheid Museum, my ‘education’ was furthered by the Hektor Pietersen Memorial that we visited in the Soweto township, a district that was historically the hotbed of unrest and revolution.  The big event in Soweto, that sparked years of violence that eventually led to the cessation of apartheid, was a student protest against the government ruling that lessons be taught in Afrikaans (the language of the Dutch ancestors in South Africa, which most black students couldn’t understand or pass their exams in),  that resulted in many deaths and injuries. Today the area is much more peaceful and frequented by tourists, as it is also the homeplace of both Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, both Pulitzer Prize winners.

Zebras!

In between all of the history, I was also introduced to my first wild animal experience at a small game reserve outside of Joburg. A game drive is what 'tourists' call a safari, where you drive around in your cars in special protected areas where you can see wild animals. Though we are going to a much larger and better game reserve in June, his parents still took us on a short drive, in which I saw zebras, rhinos, ostrich, impala, and a variety of other birds and small game. Apparently it's usually much more exciting, according to his family, but I was absolutely thrilled with my first introduction to South African wildlife. I can't imagine how exciting the next game drive will be if the one we went on was just mediocre.

Hiking in The Berg

View from the campsite

  After all of my newfound knowledge, which also includes learning the rules of cricket and rugby, thanks to Jason and his father, we left Joburg and took off for “The Berg,” the local term for the Drakensberg Mountains, a beautiful little range in the southeastern part of the country. The Berg was beautiful, and though it was quite chilly in the mornings and evenings (it’s winter here in the Southern Hemisphere) the days were bright, clear, and sunny. We went hiking, golfing, walking, and biking in between meals and coffee breaks, and enjoyed the fresh mountain air as much as possible.

The weekend was over much too quickly, but I was already excited for what was up next: a trip to Durban with Jason's family friends (who came up to join us on the Friday and Saturday), where Katie would meet me and take her to my new Durban home. It was sad to say goodbye to Jason and his family, but not too painful because I knew I'd be seeing them again in mid-June.

'Welcome gift'

Now, Katie. She was born and raised in Durban, and had been teaching in Korea for nearly two years when I met her there. We worked in the same area, and became good friends and travel buddies. I hadn’t seen her since August when I left Korea. Her smiling face came to pick me up on Sunday, where I was welcomed into the family and given my own room (picture included of my welcome gift) with a balcony view of the ocean. Can’t ask for much more than that.

My balcony view.

                So far Durban has been a lovely week of relaxing. We’ve gotten up at 6 am every day to go for a walk along the beachfront promenade while the sun comes up. My words to her were “I can’t believe your family gets up so early to go exercise…because it’s exactly what I love to do in the mornings.” Seriously. And by a beach at that! So we get up, walk, come back for breakfast, then retreat into “the lounge” for some serious veg time with the television, computer, books, or what have you (usually more than one at the same time, to multitask). We wander into the kitchen around lunch and mill around, then repeat our morning during the afternoon. After a family dinner everyone has some quality lounge time, until it’s time to go to bed early so that we can get up to go walking. Each day we’ve had a little errand to run, so we get out of the house a bit, but for this week it’s been very low key. Durban certainly has a lot to offer as far as sightseeing goes, but both Katie and I are really enjoying the fact that we have so much time to do things, so we can take it easy for a few days here and there. So yes, I might sound a bit lazy, but trust me when I say I need it right now.

                I’ll be in Durban for the next six weeks, then in mid-June I’ll head back up to Joburg to stay with Jason again, until Allie and Travis, two of our best friends from college swimming, arrive. Then we’ll spend almost two weeks touring the country together – we’re going to Cape Town, a game reserve (safari), and back to Durban. From Durban I’ll say goodbye to everyone and stay with Katie and her family for a few more days and celebrate my birthday with them. Then it's back to the States, just in time for the Fourth!

                So for now, I’m planning to relax, learn about South Africa and its fascinating history, work on getting my grad school application research in order, enjoy time with Katie and her family, and get ready for the much anticipated arrival of Allie and Travis next month. And yes, I’m also planning to finish up writing about South America – I’ll get those writings out in the very near future. Take care everyone, hope all is well!