Joyeux Noel

It's Christmas time and many in the west have their eye set on buying the perfect gift; for a family member, friend or special someone. Although it may sound cliche there is no time like the present to recall that the best gifts may not come from the store. In fact little is of greater value than the gifts of love, hope and most importantly time. While opening up a shiny new anything may bring a smile to anyone's face this joy can be easily put aside and forgotten when the new year comes. Taking the time to really help someone, whether by teaching them a new skill, showing them love they didn't think they had or simply by showing kind to a stranger can much last much longer, sometimes even a lifetime. You might not remember what you got for Christmas two years ago but you probably remember lessons that you learned from others much more readily. The best part of these gifts is that you can give them even after you find your wallet empty and the credit card bill arrives in the mail.

Merry Christmas.

Some Sad Goodbyes.

So I spent the last three days here tying up loose ends and saying goodbyes at the various places which I have frequented. I have to say I am very, very sad to be leaving. I never could have imagined that somewhere so far away could have felt so much like home.

On Monday I started at the Bright Site Project where some of the staff and clients who I assisted came to say goodbye. I also brought presents for two little girls who might otherwise not receive anything this Christmas. Following that I walked over to the Methodist City Mission where I had been invited to their end of year lunch. I was surprised to find my friend Eloi who has given me some assistance had bought me a present and that the administration had gone to the trouble to make me a thank you card which was unexpected and very nice.

On Tuesday I went to the Institute for Security Studies and said goodbye to the Arms Management Program girls and did some reading and writing. We went out at lunch and sadly I found some plastic in my food which was less than pleasant. In the evening I went out with what turned out to be about 22 friends for dinner. Dinner was nice, although somewhat difficult to maneuver due to our seating arrangement. I took lots of pictures.

Unfortunately some people came to join us who I knew from the Bright Site Project and they left without paying there bill or really saying a proper goodbye. I was really disappointed because these were people who I had previously helped considerably financially and had not offered to pay for their meals. The worst part was that they had chosen to eat meals that were more expensive than my meal and dessert combined (Cafe 41 has really good chocolate cake).

On the complete opposite side of things I also experienced Generosity one of the female clients of the bright site project who is from Congo, who I didn't really do anything for beyond providing friendship had sent along with the gang some clothing she had made. MJ has been selling this clothing to live off of and to be honest she gave me enough clothes for at least a week's worth of clothing for her and her children. Also when I was left with the bill someone did step in and assist with a portion of it.

After this little incident and some other people left we went to my friends' Wester and Daniel's house to continue the party. I really enjoyed myself. I have to say the friends I have made here (and I mean my true friends, not the ones who walked out without paying the bill) are really fantastic and I am going to miss them dearly. Luckily some of them live in Europe which is not so far away and others travel with their jobs and hopefully will come visit me in Canada.

In any case some of you may be wondering about my flight information as I will be arriving home tomorrow (Thursday) so here it is.
11 hour flight to Zurich from Joburg
9 hour flight from Zurich to Montreal
1.5 hour flight from Montreal to Toronto,

The Toronto flight information is as follows:
Flight# LX 4654
Arrival time: 6:25 p.m.
Terminal 1

If you would like to come and you are able to I would be delighted to see you.

Also this is not quite the end for my blog I still have a bit more to write about once I get back so do keep reading.

See you soon!

Adventures in Durban

On the morning of December 4th I headed off to OR Tambo International Airport to catch my flight to Durban determined that this weekend nothing would get in my way of some travel and leisure time. Luckily unlike the week before my trip was not hampered by mini buses or concerned landlords and so off I went.

Arrival and Cab Drivers

When I arrived in Durban the captain announced as we touched down that it was raining, as it had been for the last week and a bit. Disappointed I disembarked from the plane as I had hoped to spend the weekend on the beach. So I hope for sun and scoped out a non-sketchy looking cab. The cab driver, who tried to swindle me out of some extra money as he said we were going to be stuck in traffic for 2 hours which was not the case, spent the entire 20 minute ride to my Backpackers Lodge telling me about how unsafe South Africa was and questioning why I would come to Durban or South Africa at all. This was far from pleasant (although not entirely unusual) and so I was relieved to find a very quiet, clean and safe backpacker's lodge at the end of my trip.
After speaking with the acting manager of the accommodations I concluded that the best thing to do in Durban on a rainy day was to go to the Victoria Street Market which houses Indian and African goods and crafts. (South Africa apparently has the largest Indian population outside of India, and a lot of them live in Durban). Upon arriving at the market I found a maze of stalls occupied by people who all wanted me to come in and view their merchandise, and then of course buy it. This was a lot more direct than business in Pretoria, and somewhat intimidating. It also didn't help that I seemed to be the only westerner there at the time and as Mzi always points out I have Benjamin Franklins on my forhead (everyone thinks I have an american accent, its very irritating)
On the way home from the market my cab driver took the longest route possible so the ride was expensive and was again telling me about how unsafe Durban was which left me a little bit nervous. But everything was fine in the end.

Food, Food and More Food

For some reason Friday turned out to be a big eating day for me. It had been suggested to me that I try a Bunny Chow in Durban. A Bunny Chow is a hollowed out half loaf of bread which is filled with the curry of your choice. I decided to consume this at lunch time in the Victoria Street Market. Sadly I failed miserably at eating this dish as you are meant to eat it with your hands but I couldn't figure out how to do so without making a huge mess so I had to ask for a knife and fork to eat my Chicken Bunny Chow.
Early in the evening Friday night not having made any friends yet I decided to go out for dinner before it was too late to walk on the street. So I walked across the street to a strip mall with an Asian restaurant in it and ate sushi for the first time in South Africa. While the sushi was good, the meal was small as it was expensive and I had eaten the bunny chow moments before.
When I returned to Gibela, the Backpacker's Lodge I discovered that more people had arrived and proceeded to make friends. The people who I met were all doctors (one was a med student) who were working in a small town about two hours away. We got to talking we hit it off and so I joined them at Spiga D'oro a highly recomended Italian restaurant where I had a small bowl of pasta, half of which I took home because I was too full. Normally I would not have eaten that much but I didn't think I would get another chance to eat there.
and so that was my day of eating.

Coincidental Roommates
When I met the 4 doctors I soon learned that their encounter at Gibela was not planned. There were two American girls who had come together and a Belgian couple who had also come together only to discover their colleagues were staying in the same location. The coincidences continued later in the night when I discovered that one of my room mates and her boyfriend had arrived late at Gibela and were sleeping in the same dorm room as I was. When I realized it was them I tried to wake them up and they pretended to be asleep until I fell asleep and then jumped on me which wasn't very nice but it was nice to see them.

Surfing, Kayaking and Strawberry Daiquiris on the Beach
On Friday night when I discovered that the two American girls who I met, Mellisa and Stasia were going for surfing lessons on Saturday morning, I invited myself along. So at 10 am we headed for the Indian Ocean (which I have never seen before) and I tried surfing for the first time. Needless to say I wasn't very good at it but it was fun to try and I enjoyed being in the Ocean. Afterward we went into an African themed restaurant on the beach called Moyo which was absolutely fabulous. The food was great and there was a perfect view of the ocean. The rest of Saturday was spent at a craft center and later watching a movie as the rain returned in the afternoon.
On Sunday Mellisa had a scuba lesson at the same location where the surfing lessons were held so Stasia and I decided to try surfing again. It went somewhat better on the second try and I was actually able to stand up a few times before I got too tired. Afterward we went kayaking and I saw a very large jelly fish. We also kayaked over some coral reef which was full of fish. When we headed in the tour guide explained to us how to catch a wave in our kayak which I did successfully. Apparently surfing is easier when you are not standing up.

Ushaka Marine World
On Sunday after surfing and Kayaking Stasia and I decided to go into uShaka Marine World where the beach is located. uShaka is a combination marine world and water park, we just went into the marine world side of things as we had already spent a lot of time in the Ocean.

First we went to see a penguin feeding demonstration where we learned a bit about penguins. This was my first time to see penguins in the flesh and I have to say I really fell in love with them, they are very sweet animals. We also saw a seal show which was cute.


Next we went into the Aquarium which is built into the bottom of an old ship. The aquarium is quite extensive and houses a number of tropical fish including sharks. It was really beautiful and well put together. There are also fish in the aquarium which defy the confines of the imagination really neat.

Finally we went to see a dolphin show. I can't say I have ever enjoyed dolphin shows and sadly I can't say this one was any different.

Manic Monday
Monday morning my American friends left and I made friends with a Brazillian girl who had moved into my room. We spent the morning at the Durban Botanical Gardens which among other things has a lovely orchid collection. We then went to a Hindu Temple and explored the inside. I have never been to a Hindu Temple before it was quite nice.
Unfortunately in the afternoon I got my first migraine in 2 years and missed my flight while waiting for pain killers in a hospital. This ended up being an unnecessary expense but I did get to stay and extra night and returned safely Tuesday.

A nice little vacation if I do say so myself.

A Major Disappointment

Given that my time is running short in South Africa I thought it might be prudent to start applying for jobs for the winter which I could work at while finishing my thesis. The perfect opportunity seemed to present itself when my program secretary sent an email advertising an internship with a UK based NGO. The internship was in Liberia and involved conducting nearly the same research that I have been doing for my thesis just in a different country context. Looking at the qualifications I seemed to fit the bill and eagerly applied for the position. Almost immediately I got a very positive response from the individual in charge of coordinating the internship and was certain that I would at least get an interview. A week went by after the application process closed and I hadn't heard anything so I emailed the individual and he responded that things were not moving as quickly as he would like because the process had become very bureaucratic within his office. So I waited. After another week passed, today I sent another inquiry and receivedthis as the response "The truth is that I really liked your application. I had you as my second choice to interview, based on the strength of your experience in SALW. Unfortunately, this selction process has become very politicized and I've lost a lot of control over it." The email was more detailed to that and responded to the question of how I might improve any future applications. Obviously this has left me with a few questions like what politics made someone within the office feel that I was less qualified than one of the other applicants. Needless to say I am feeling very disappointed and very discouraged about my job search. A bit of a damper on my last week in SA.

Building Hope

So you may or may not have noticed I have fallen a bit behind in my posts. This post reflects the events of 2 weekends ago. This past weekend I went to Durban and hope to complete a post about that shortly. Two weekends ago I was meant to go to Swaziland to visit my friend Emmanuel. I was very disappointed that after an hour of driving around and trying to find the bus station I missed my minibus to Swaziland and then got yelled at about how it was too dangerous to take a minibus to Swaziland alone as a white woman. I normally would have brushed this off, as I do many things (such as cycling through sunny side 3 times a week) that people don't think a white woman should do. However, on this occasion I had a bit of a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach so I begrudgingly missed my trip. But as they say when a door closes a window opens.

As it happened the night that I was supposed to leave the ISS had its annual function which was nice to attend, although uneventful. However, on Saturday I joined a group of 4 others from my commune and about 16 other relatively young people to help build a shack for a man in need. Early Saturday morning we got up and traveled in a rented minibus to a Township in North West Province. We met the young man who we would be building the house for outside an orphanage where he worked in the cresch. We then went over to the plot where the shack would be built. It was immediately clear that the land would need to be leveled where we were building the shack as there were mounds of dirt, grass and garbage on the property. So the next hour and a half about half of us, including me, pulled grass from its roots, picked up trash and hacked away at the soil until the job was done. Meanwhile some of the others (mostly men) used power tools to build the roof. We then put up the frame and roof and then started putting in the walls. The whole task took about 6 hours. It was very humbling to see someone so happy to receive a residence which was smaller than a typical Canadian spare bedroom as their entire house. Even more humbling was that 20 relative strangers came together to build the house for him.

While I was at the building site I also had the opportunity to meet some of the locals. For most of the day several children curiously watched as we built the shack. The 2 oldest, both boys spoke English and came up to talk with us, but the young little girls kept their distance. After a lull in the work I walked over and started talking with the children, whose English wasn't very good (or in the cases of the really young ones non existent. They speak Tswana. After playing jump rope with the little girls their mothers came out to meet us. This gave us the opportunity to understand life in townships and get to know the community a little bit better. The really nice part about this was that once I went over to play with the little girls, others followed me and palyed to while others still went about meeting some of the other adults in the community. After a long day we turned the keys over to the new owner and went home, with a happy sense of fulfillment.

The next day when my plans fell through to go to a nature reserve with a dam with the group who I lived with, I took matters into my own hands and decided to cycle to a nature reserve with walking paths where you can literally walk up to animals. I checked the route on google maps and hopped on my bicycle and headed for the Groenkloof nature reserve, which Google informed me was 10.9 km away. Unfortunately Google lied to me about where the entrance was an I wound up on a regional highway with large trucks passing me at full speed. After realising my mistake I turned around but I had already gone a half hour out of my way. This little adventure landed me with a major sunburn on my nose. Once safely in the reserve I ate my lunch and decided to walk the trails rather than cycle. I initially got lost and ended up walking the bike path rather than the foot path but I found my way in the end. Sadly, the only animals I saw this day were a heron and some Guinea Fowl in addition to some butterflies. The first time I went to this reserve I walked right up to a zebra, saw giraffes and a wildabeast but inevidtably left my camera at home. In the end I walked about 5 km that day and cycled about 20. It was a good day of fresh air and exercise!