And it begins!

Hello Everyone!

As many of you know, i have arrived safely in South Africa, and have just completed my first full day here. As described by our Academic Director, today was a 'get over jetlag day" so we spent most of the morning and afternoon being those stereotypical american tourists. My flight was pretty good. the 15 hours wasn't bad at all. I spent most of the time watching movies and eating. I thought there would be wifi, but there wasn't (which was a big bummer for me).

Anyway, we are staying in a bed and breakfast/hostile type of place with WiFi, so if you guys are up at odd hours of the night, get online! the time difference would mean i'm probably online. Actually though, we are leaving Johannesburg tomorrow for our residence in Durban. it will be a pretty long drive, but then we get to go to the beach! The Indian Ocean, (which i heard was warm all of the time) is said to be amazing!

i've had some pretty interesting experiences already. South Africa isn't too much different from the US (at least what i have seen thus far). it is REALLY diverse, and Durban has one of the highest Indian populations outside of Asia. We travelled to Soweto. If you have seen the movie Sarafina, you probably know what I am talking about. Soweto was the site of the 1976 School uprisings which played a part in ending apartheid. The museum was pretty striking, but walking around in Soweto was even more striking. There weren't that many shacks made of cardboard and tin (the way it is represented in the movie). Zed (our academic director) told us that they have done a lot of cleaning up for the world cup. We also visited the Mandela house. It is NOT a mansion. It was VERY small, but humble. Did you know it was an African tradition to bury the umbilical cords and placentae of children under a tree? There is one at the Mandela house. I think that was pretty cool.

Anyway, we also went to a mall, which really did not differ so much from the US. The shops were a tad bit different, in terms of their structure and name, but it all worked out. We then came back to the hostile to chill and hang out.

I was wondering what it would be like, to be a student of color participating on a study abroad trip in Africa, and believe me, it has been interesting. I have already been spoken too in native languages, which I haven't learned yet. I have been given a "deal" with a vendor because I was his "brother from another mother" (I highly doubt it was a deal though...just a marketing ploy so I would buy his products... but hey it worked). I have already had a race conversation with S'du, one of our drivers. He told me in apartheid days i would not be classified as black because if I put a pencil through my hair, it would not stay. That is definitely true now, when I don't have hair, but i do remember in middle school (when I grew my 'fro) that i lost many-a-pencil in my hair...

Anyway, I am sure I will have more experiences to come to share, but overall, it just has been so interesting to look around and see people interacting. The poverty here is tremendous, and because of that people will do anything to get money, which is something to really think about (Structural violence anyone?) Classes have not started yet, and everything here is just really... slow (except for the cars and taxis. you have to watch out, or you will definitely get hit1). I'm trying to adjust from fast-paced busy/intensive university life of previous semesters, but we shall see!

I think that is all for now. Please forgive my grammatical errors, as I did not spell check, and I wanted to get everything down before I go to bed. It's bedtime now! As many of you are probably retiring to your dorms/homes for the afternoon, i'm going to sleep (there is a 7 hour time difference). But if you want to schedule a talk, i have skype, im and facebook AND A CELL PHONE! If you call me, its free for me (and unfortunately costs for you), but just hit me up with an email if you want to schedule a time to catch up.

- Until next time!