Durban!!!

So last Thursday I headed down to Durban, South Africa's 2nd most populous city (After Joburg).

With the new found freedom that only having a car can bring, I decided to take advantage of it all and drove down to Durban for a weekend visit with my friends Wandile and Andile, as well as finish up my scuba diving course while at the coast.

Thursday morning I was up bright and early at 5am, I had agreed to drive Kieran to the airport as he was leaving South Africa for two months while he travelled around east Africa (Tanzania, Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi, and Uganda). I met up with him and Liz, another American who is interning in our research group. We dropped off his stuff at the office, as he is storing it here until he returns (after which he'll be returning to Canada). So at 6:30 we were finally on our way to O.R. Tambo International, in the middle of rush hour traffic!

And now for a section that I’ll call Rob's Adventures Driving in South Africa - as I have had many.
I was still getting the hand of the whole stick shift thing, switching gears while in motion is not hard at all, what I was having trouble with was getting the car moving from a stand still without peeling away at break-neck speeds or stalling. So when we hit the N1, and it was stand still traffic I had no choice but to get this right! So after stalling once, and nearly rear ending another car, I finally got the hang of it. I'm now driving like a pro.

So I dropped Kieran off at the airport and proceeded to head into Joburg to meet up with jaqui, as I had scheduled a meeting with her to talk about the stuff I’d be doing for her while I remain in South Africa for another 2 months. We talked about funding options, and she was going to fill in the applications. I don't think that has happened yet, and I’m beginning to think she's forgotten. But it's okay; I’ve kind of resigned myself to returning to Canada in May to look for new jobs and new opportunities. As much as I love South Africa, I need to start looking at the next phase of my life. There are going to be big changes when I return home, that can only happen when I return home so I’m a little anxious to meet them head on.

So after the meeting with jaqui, I am now going to finish up my poverty nodes paper, help out with the poverty nodes project as much as I can and finally write a report that will help jaqui, and to a certain extent IRES, bridge the gap between what the intern experiences on the ground and how the organizations can help prepare them for this placement.

Then I headed down to Durban. I left at 10am and 7hrs later I was at the coast!!! I stayed with my friend Wandile at his father's house. They have a very nice house in Westville and were very accommodating. After I had gotten settled in and met the family, Wandile lives there with his father, and two younger cousins, Wed headed out to meet up with Andile, another friend. Just for clarity, I met Wandile and Andile back over new years in Mozambique. We all stayed at Fatima's and hung out the entire time while we were all there.


Picture taken in Tofo on New Year's Eve 2006, Myself, Andile and Wandile are in the front row.
I'm really suprised how this group of complete strangers who all took a bus up to tofo from Maputo became so close is such a short timeframe. I'm not in regular communication with all of them, but Ayanda, Nkulu, Uchi, Andile and Wandile and I are all still in touch and i consider them really good friends. Thanks guys.

So we went out for a few drinks in Durban. We tried Morningside, a neighborhood in Durban, but everyplace we went to wanted a cover charge, so we headed down to the docks where there were a few pubs on the waterfront. It was good times.


Andile's Cousin, Wandile, Myself and Andile

Rob's Adventures Driving in South Africa, Episode 2
As we drove back to Morningside, we picked up Andile's flat mate, Dennis, who had been out drinking at another club. As we were driving back to their flat we were in a car accident! (Don’t worry, no one was hurt). This chick and her friends were driving a car in front of us, and then just randomly she decided to do a U-turn. Andile hooted his horn, hit the breaks and it looked like we were just about to stop.... BANG!!! We t-boned her. The damage was minimal as both parties were going slow, or had slowed enough to make sure that the damage was minimal. The driver of the other car, the "technical Educator" as she became to be known by us - she works at some hair college in Durban - was clearly drunk. Drinking and driving is a real problem here in South Africa. And I don't think it'll get any better due to the high crime rate and people not willing to take cabs home and pick up their cars in the morning, because the car won't be there in the morning if they do leave them.
Anyways, after exchanging information, we drove to the police station to report the accident. I kept laughing as Dennis kept making jokes pertaining to the "technical educator." I also found it quite funny that the South African Police Service's abbreviation is SAPS. I don't know why I found that funny.

Friday, I had a nice lie in, until 11am. Then I kind of hung around the house while Wandile was out doing deliveries, he works with his dad who manufactures an herbal tonic. Around 1pm i headed into Durban to explore the city a little bit. I ended up at the workshop, a mall in the centre of Durban. I wandered around looking at the shops and taking in the atmosphere. I stopped to watch some street performers who were singing in an amphitheatre just behind the workshop. Then I had lunch and had a brief walk around the city centre of Durban. I didn't bring my camera that day because I didn't want to stick out as a tourist. Though for a long while I didn't see another white person in the mall, so sticking out was inevitable.
Around 4pm I got back in my car and headed back to Westville, I was going to drive around the city for a bit, but it was rush hour and all the minibus taxis were making me nervous, they operate by their own rules of the road and I didn't like the fact that they were surrounding me.

I met up with Wandile back at his place around 6pm and then we headed out to pick up Andile for a night out. We went to this club called Del La Sol. it was a really cool place, in terms of the actual set up of the club. It was like a house with a huge porch, and outside area, inside there were three rooms, two bars on either side, with the dance floor in the middle. It was a bit of a meat market but if you ignore all the prima's and fellas and just have some good times with your friends, this can be a really fun place to hang out, drink and dance. We went out with some Andile's friends, Charlie, Jacqui, and another guy whose name I cannot remember.


Cheers


Me, Wandile, "the sports commentator", Jacquie, Charlie and Andile

Around 2am the music started to get slower and put me to sleep, so we decided to look for another place to hang out. We tried this one place, I don't remember the name of it but it had Bohemian in the name. Unfortunately it was closed. We then tried the Sunset coast, a casino, but then decided not to go and just called it a night.

Saturday, I had my first scuba diving session! I got so horribly lost trying to find the place. The M4 is the most elusive road in all of Durban, I tell thee, trying to find it is just impossible as far as I’m concerned!!! By some fluke, after ending all the way in Ballito!! (A town about two towns over from Durban) I finally found the M4 and made it to the dive centre. We dove in a rock quarry not too far from where Wandile lives. So I drove all that way for nothing essentially. But it was cool. I really enjoyed it. After our session, I left the quarry and just headed back to Wandile's.

Once I had gotten cleaned up and such, we headed back to Andile's to hang out for a while. This time I was driving, because Wandile's father had taken the bakkie out for a while. We hung out at Andile's for a while before driving all the way to the deep suburbs to attend the wedding reception of some couple that had gotten married earlier that day. Dennis had attended the wedding, and this was the after party. We first stopped off at their friend Sim's place to have a few drinks (I didn't drink because I was driving, and its a good thing too, but I’m getting to that). We hung out there until the girls arrived, some friends of Andile and Wandile, they were really cool. Then we drove in a convoy of three vehicles to this house party.


Tofo Reunion

It was quite different from the Canadian wedding reception. In the back yard they had a set up similar to what you'd expect to see at a wedding reception that is held at a home instead of a hall, they had tables, a dance floor and food. But in the front it looked like a house party, with people just sitting in chairs drinking beer, some people just hanging out in their cars in the drive way drinking. Sitting on the lawn socializing with friends.

Andile gave me the low down on the African wedding traditions and the entire process that they have to go through in order to get married. The best way to describe it is traditional with modern influences. (Andile, if I miss anything, please leave a comment) The groom first has to ask the bride's father for permission to marry her, and then they start the lebolla (dowry) negotiations. Now I think this is done in how many cows the groom has to offer (but in today's world, the cows are a set price in rands, at least this is what I was told by Sipo back over Christmas), Then there is the coming together of the two families, the actual wedding (which is where most of the western influence comes in) and then a celebration as the bride enters into the grooms family. I think I missing a few festivities, but that is the bare bones of how it is done.

I was telling Andile that I felt like I was crashing the wedding, I had just though we were going to a party. He replies, "You, of all people should feel like you are crashing the wedding." Dennis later told me that, because they have their token white guy, this is a good party.

I only stayed until 11, because I had to get up at 3am the next morning to go scuba diving.

Rob's Adventures in Driving in South Africa Part 3
On our way home we hit a police roadblock, they were actually checking for drunk drivers, it was good to see. They pulled me over and asked me if I had anything to drink. Being the honest guy I am, I told them yes, I had one beer earlier in the evening. He then proceeded to give me the Breathalyzer test, which came up Zero.

So we returned home with little incident and I went to bed.

Rob's Adventures in Driving in South Africa Part 4
I woke up at 3am, in order to get to the dive centre by 4am so that I could actually get into the ocean for my last two dives. I left the house at 3:30 thinking I had given myself enough time to drive there. Unfortunately I got lost, again. I ended up in the middle of Downtown Durban without any idea on how to get to the M4. I finally pulled out a map, sat on the side of the road with my headlamp on trying to figure out the best way to get to Durban north. I eventually found a good through route and arrived at the dive centre, but the bus had already left. So I called the guy who was organizing the dives, he tells me that if I hurry I’ll be able to make it to Scottsburg in time to make the 6am dive. It is now, 4:45am. So I hop back onto the N1 and I motor it the 80km to Scottsburg. I get there, just in time but have to put in my contact lenses so that I can see while under water!
I got one in, but the other one just refused to go in. turns out it was backwards and I was too stressed and nervous to try and figure that out. I just kept shoving it into my eye, and it kept falling out. Luckily everything eventually worked out and I was in the boat, with a wet suit on heading out into the Indian Ocean as the sun rose over South Africa. It was an awesome sight. I would have appreciated it a bit more if I hadn't been all stressed out, but as we drove the 15mins into the ocean I began to enjoy myself and was getting all excited for my dive.

The first dive was the better of the two. We saw so much marine life. There were tons of colorful fish and coral. The absolute highlight of the entire dive was getting to see a sea turtle that swam by me, not 5 feet away from me!!! It kind of stopped to check me out, then just kept swimming on its merry way. So cool.
There was also a Potato bass (or so I’m told) that was HUGE. It must have been at least a meter long, if not longer and it was fat too. About 2 feet wide.
When I got back to the surface and was back on the boat, I was hit by seasickness. I don't get motion sickness very easily, but due to the swell under the waves and being knocked around for 35mins there and then getting onto a rocking boat, I suddenly felt really ill. I almost was sick, but it turned out to be only gas, and then I was fine. It was really strange.

After a few hours back on shore, we headed out again. This time I enjoyed the journey much more, watching as land disappears into the distance, feeling the rocking motion of the boat, holing on for dear life so as not to fall off the side. I’m not a big boat fan, but I enjoyed this trip. And I didn't get seasick neither.
The second dive was a little more eventful than the first, not in terms of sea life, but in the fact that I was separated from the group and lost for a bit.

The current was extremely strong this time too; we were being knocked around, this way and that. Our dive leader found a hole in which we ducked into for shelter. By hole I mean, there was this huge hole in the coral that was about 4 meters deep and at least 10m wide. The current wasn't as strong there so we had time to hang out with the fishes that were also seeing shelter from the current. At one end of the hole there was a bit of a gorge where the two pieces of coral met, was swimming around there checking it out and then found myself caught in the current and was being dragged from the hole back into the current and away from the group. I turned around to try and swim back but the current was really strong and I was just keeping myself stationary. I looked to see where everyone else was and I had lost sight of them. I started turning around frantically for a brief moment, not knowing what to do, and then my tank came loose.

Another diver had gotten caught in the current as well, he tapped me on the shoulder and once I had gotten my orientation back I calmly let myself sink down and made it back to the group in the hole. The other diver had to go up to the surface because he couldn't make it through the current and he was running out of air. When I got back to the group, they helped me with my tank and I enjoyed the rest of the dive until my air ran out and I made my way back to the surface.

I totally recommend doing a dive course to anyone who has any sort of interest in exploring the seas. I’m definitely going to do it again!

That afternoon, after I had gotten my dive certification and returned to Wandile's, we headed out to Andile's again for lunch (or an early dinner cause we didn't arrive there until 5pm). We just hung out there until about 9pm and then I said my goodbye's to the friends I had made in Durban and hung out at Wandile's until I passed out at 10pm. only getting 3hrs of sleep the night before will do that to you.

The next morning I packed up my things, thanked Wandile and his father for their hospitality and then headed back up to Pretoria. Not before getting lost a couple of times, leaving Durban and then once again in Joburg when I took the wrong off ramp to Pretoria and ended up in Sandton.
I made it back in one piece and have been busy at work ever since. Things are going to get exciting here for the next couple of weeks, as there is ton of workshops and presentations to go to next week, AWIRU is having its official launch on Tuesday. Then my time at the CSIR will be coming to a close and I hope to move out to White River or somewhere in Mpumalanga to do some volunteer work and just experience rural South Africa for a little while, before I return to Canada.