Weekend Fun

Tomorrow rounds out my fifth week in South Africa (three more to go) and I must say that I am having the time of my life. Yes, I still wake up each morning pumped about going into work. (Today, 13 delegates from the Rwandan Ministry of Justice are visiting our office to learn about how we operate as an NGO.) I attribute this great experience to a combination of things that, altogether, have made this one of the best experiences of my life thus far: the amazing food, hanging out with roommates and friends, the craziness of living next to a hostel, laughing everyday in the office with my co-workers, and most definitely the work I have grown to love.

First off, the food is to die for! One of my goals this summer was to finally teach myself to cook (besides just scrambled eggs and jelly on toast),but I quickly gave that up, regretting that I never heeded my mother’s advise as a young child to watch her as she cooked all these wonderful Vietnamese dishes. So eating out has become much easier—and much more fulfilling. During lunch time at work, I have become a regular customer at Krishna Vegetarian Cuisine where the other interns and I frequented everyday for the first few weeks. For only R20 ($3), I enjoy a delectable roti — freshly baked flat bread with a choice of various ingredients — and an order of soji dessert on the side. My mouth waters just thinking about it. Recently however, we have been eating lunch at the café in our building. The chef, whom we have become good friends with, is an extremely skilled cook and makes a variety of Indian and South Africa dishes each day for lunch, often times topped with what I consider the best (looking and tasting) dessert I have ever tasted, on the house for us interns. A bold statement, I know, but true! And occasionally, my roommates and friends dine at the plethora of most popular of restaurants throughout Durban. Yesterday, I had Lamb Shank and Ostrich Fillet with white wine on the side … you can’t beat that.





I have become much more comfortable with the public transportation system in Durban. Occasionally I take the city bus, but by the second week, I’ve mustered up the courage to take the combi—the most popular source of transportation in Durban. Combis are like mini vans and can fit up to 20 passengers, everyone jammed packed when full. The streets of Durban are swarming with combis, their music blasting at a ridiculously (and unnecessarily) high volume as they drive by with someone’s head sticking out the window, whistling and shouting for your attention. Many of the White and Indian locals refuse to take the combi as it can be intimidating, but quite the experience. But for only R3 (40 cents), it’s definitely worth it.

There is always something fun and exciting happening each weekend. On the 4th of July, the twenty of us Americans gathered in the penthouse across the beachfront to celebrate America’s independence. Everyone (besides me … I ended up buying dessert at the store) cooked various comfort dishes that included: hot dogs and hamburgers, guacamole dip and apple pie, and, of course, fried chicken purchased from KFC. Brent and I won nine consecutive games – yes, 9 games! – of beer pong, which by the tenth we decided to let others share in fun of inebriety. It was funny … the night before, without even thinking, I invited my British roommates and asked if they celebrated the 4th of July. “We can celebrate it if you want us to,” they said with a smile. Toward the middle of the night, Sam Enumah ’10 (another Weissman Fellow working in Pietermaritzburg) and two other Harvard undergrads joined in on the fun. What a night it turned out to be.

”That same weekend, Kevashinee took us to Phoenix — a former Indian township during apartheid — for the celebration of the “Festival of Chariots. The event is a commemoration of the Indian Lord Juggernaut, regarded by followers as lord of the universe. The opening of the festival, which we took part in, included the pulling of the chariot where a large photo of the lord was displayed. (It is believed that pulling the chariot purifies one's soul.) The girls dressed in traditional Indian saris while Brent and I wore shorts and a t-shirt. You are probably thinking that we were being rebellious against the dress code, but the truth is that Kevashinee did not have any traditional men’s clothing for us to wear. Really. We all had a fun time participating in the pulling the chariots; energized by the music and excitement of the crowd, I decided to jump into the center and join in on the dancing and clapping. Fruits and packets of water were thrown from the chariots to the crowd, with water splashing in all directions as people reach out to catch them. Being the immature person that I am, I decided to sneak up on Brent and throw a water packet at his back (as if it was tossed from the chariot), which bounced off and fell to the floor. His reaction was priceless! After pulling the chariot, we ate some spicy briani and soji and then headed inside a temple where it was much cooler and less hectic. It was a great cultural experience. By the end of the day, we were pretty tired — but definitely not tired enough to go surfing at the beach the following day.

This past weekend however, was the best experience yet: a 3-day horse trek through the vast and scenic mountains of Lesotho. This I will have to dedicate a separate blog entry for. And tomorrow, I'll be attending Tando's wedding (my first South African wedding!), after which my roommates and I will be road tripping along the west coast for some bungee jumping, zip wiring, and an overnight stay at a hostel (that is really a tree house) located in the middle of the forest. Until next time ...