Sanibona Syracuse!

Sanibona Syracuse!

Just wanted to update on how our fall semester in South Africa is going! Last Wednesday we moved in with our host families in a township called Cato Manor. As we learned in class, prior to the apartheid Cato Manor was very different from how it is today. Formerly it was a community full of diversity, a popular refugee site, an immigrant community, and a place where interracial relationships were accepted. During the apartheid it was decided that different races cannot coexist with one another which forced many people out of Cato Manor. Today, Cato Manor is primarily a black community and is much smaller than it was prior to apartheid.

Kristen and I live just a few kilometers from each other on the same road. Cato Manor sits on a large hill with slums near the bottom with houses made out of scrap metal and cardboard; as you go up the hill the homes are mostly made out of cinderblock and even have electricity (which is where we are staying). I live in a three bedroom home with a Zulu family that consists of my Mama, my three sisters (Sithembile 25 yrs, Slindile 21 yrs, and Nono 15 yrs). Sithembile has two children Luthando, 8 yrs and Moo, 2yrs. Also my Mama’s nephew lives with us because both of his parents have passed away from HIV/AIDS. This makes a grand total of 8 people living in our little home. There is a lot of chaos but I have been having a really great time living here and being treated as one of the family members. My family primarily speaks Zulu but the children are pretty fluent in English since that is the language spoken in schools. (The picture at the top is my baby sister Moo outside of our house in Cato Manor)

Classes have begun and they are going to be a lot of work, our school day is from 7am until 4pm Monday through Friday. Zulu has been really challenging! But we are also spending a lot of time in our Field Study Seminar and our Community Health course. I’ve spent most of my weekend catching up on work, practicing Zulu, and getting to know my family. Next weekend our class will be spending the weekend together at the beach in Durban which should be a really relaxing break…the Indian Ocean is really beautiful.

I’m sure we will have an update after another full week of classes…until then

Hambani kahle!

Sanibona!

Sanibona ninjani!
After our crazy first week in South Africa, I finally have a chance to post! We’ve been so busy since Friday morning with orientation, learning to navigate the streets of Durban, and getting used to our new culture.
Alyssa and I arrived on separate flights on Friday morning in Jo’burg, and met up with a few other SIT group members at the airport. We soon got picked up and brought to our backpacking hostel, and spent the day relaxing and recovering from our flight. The rest of the group arrived that evening and we had a great time getting to know each other.
On Saturday, we had the pleasure of touring Soweto, a township just outside of Jo’burg where Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu once lived. We were able to tour Mandela’s old house, and also went to the Hector Pieterson museum, where we learned about the anti-apartheid uprising in Soweto in the 1970s.
On Sunday, we drove the long 7 hours from Jo’burg to Durban, our home for the next 3 and a half months. As soon as we got to our backpackers, we headed straight for the Indian Ocean! Even though it’s winter here, the temperatures were in the mid-60s, perfect for walking on the beach.
Monday was our “dropoff day”, where our academic director, Zed, gave pairs of us specific places to find in the city. We were pretty nervous at first, but were able to navigate the busy streets of Durban pretty easily!
Tuesday we made our first visit to the SIT house, where we’ll be having all of our classes for the next month and a half. Our first two hours were spent having our first official Zulu lesson! Zulu’s pretty difficult, especially with the three clicks in the language, but we’re all really enjoying learning it. After a little more orientation, we headed to the Pavilion, which is the biggest mall in the southern hemisphere! There, we were able to pick up some much needed items, like power adapters and locks for our school lockers.
Wednesday we had more Zulu, more orientation, and more getting used to our new surroundings. But Wednesday evening was especially exciting, because we moved in with our homestay families! We’re living in Cato Manor, a township just a few miles from Durban city center, with Zulu speaking families (don’t worry, they all speak English too!). I already love my family, they’ve been so welcoming and kind to me.
Today we woke up bright and early to head off to the house for another full day of classes. We’re just finishing up the orientation phase of our program, and we’re about to start our Community Health Seminar and our Field Study Seminar classes tomorrow, while continuing Zulu every morning. Now that we’re finally getting used to the time difference and South Africa culture, we can start our challenging semester.
One of us will update every few days with what’s going on here in KwaZulu-Natal, and we’ll try to figure out how to post pictures for next time!
For now, sala kahle (stay well)!