20 Years Later...

Okay, so first things first: I have figured out how to remedy the unfortunate hair situation I had developed and thus consider myself fully adapted to homestay life. You see, in an effort to economize on time and water, I had switched from my typical shampoo and conditioner routine to a 2-in-1 product. You will be happy to know that have quickly recovered from this faux pas and am no longer shunned by society.

Zulu class is kicking my ass and I may casually submit to hand gestures and sign language during the rural homestay to communicate. Noun tenses in a language coupled with clicks just isn’t going as well as I had hoped. On the plus side, my main homestay family happily conversates with me in English. Yay for globalization?!?

School and class provides a much needed respite from all the humidity and heat of the day as the facility has air conditioning. Our classroom lectures have covered topics such as changing role of women in government, HIV/AIDS and homeless or shack-dwelling Africans, just to keep it light. The most impressive thing, in my opinion has undoubtedly been the levels of income disparity here. Within a mile or two mansions overlook homemade shack houses and long, tin “temporary” houses (and I thought my house gets hot at night!).

The food situation at home has been mitigated to some extent although I will, out of respect, try the vegetarian hot dogs my mama brought home for me (that I would not touch with a 10-foot pole in the US). In addition, my mama brought home some American cheese (LOOK! It’s American, you like, right?) which I tactfully added to my list of allergies (those of you who know me well know that it is one of my ultimate fears). Other notables include instant potatoes, cabbage and lots of butter on everything still. Foss dining hall suddenly seems like an oasis of possibilities in comparison. Note: to all you worried that I am not getting enough nutrition (mom) let me take this opportunity to calm your fears, as lunch every day is provided by lovely Indian woman who understands vegetarianism.

My athletic aspirations have been tempered by my safety concerns the heat, and the fact that I generally do not get out of school until it is almost dark. All these excuses serve to preface the victory I felt the other day as my neighbor, Kulu agreed to run with me. He is my age and my self-proclaimed “bodyguard,” thus, I enjoyed the other day, a nice 6k run around our neighborhood. Durban is much larger than I ever expected, and our neighborhood alone provides many great HILLS to run up and down.

I will conclude with the mention that 20 years ago today, Nelson Mandela took his first steps of freedom 27 years after being incarcerated. Today marks a very emotional and important day in South African history that changed the foundations and motivations behind country politics to what they are today. Contrary to the message portrayed in Invicitus (spoiler’s alert) everyone did not hold hands, sing Kumbya and live happily ever after following the 1996 Rugby World Cup, however this is not meant to discredit the progress that has been made in the last 20 years. This weekend, we are taking a vacation/ detox in the South Coast which will feature an unfortunate number of hours once again at the beach.
Salani Kahle (stay well, pronounced unfortunately by Americans by politely spitting on each other),
Judy