And the Travel Begins!

One week has passed since I first placed my feet on the African continent.  Although my feet and remaining body completed the 18 hour flight safely, a few pieces of myself had remained at Heathrow Airport, my luggage. Luckily despite the 8,500-mile distance between Heathrow and myself, my luggage arrived promptly four days later.

The Hostel (Joburg)

What happened during these four days? Fortunately through positive thinking and the distraction of Johannesburg, my missing luggage had hardly weighed on my mind. During my time spent in Johannesburg I began the very first leg of my trip. As my 15 peers and I lived in a tight-quartered hostel, we became friends instantly. We students quickly formed an effortless bond through discussions of past experiences, the injury-prone sport of Ultimate Frisbee and the relentless card game, Spoons. Together we also studied the history and culture of South Africa while attending various museums, governmental buildings and local hot spots. Through these various experiences we witnessed both current and traditional ways of life, the deviation between poor, middle and upper economic class, as well as the history of this nation through the perspectives of  Native, Indian and those of European descent.

Following Johannesburg and the arrival of my luggage, our group of 16 students and 2 administrators journeyed towards Durban. Durban, located on the east coast of South Africa marked our second leg of the trip. As we completed our six hour drive to Durban, I distinctly remember opening the car door and feeling instantaneously engulfed by humidity. The weather varied about 10 degrees warmer than the city of “Joburg” with a measurement of 85F (plus humidity). Of course this worked out well as our new residence is located next to the Indian Ocean.

The Apartment View (Durban)

Towards the end of this past week the group and I have stayed quite busy while attending courses revolving around Community Health, Research and the native language, Zulu. Although our schedules continue to progress 8am to late afternoon, we make sure to create time for the desperate call of the Indian Ocean (swimming!), Rugby Games (Go Sharks!) and “Family Dinners” when select students from our group host dinner for the entire study abroad group (NEW Friends!).

All in all things are going quite well. Each and everyday I am both astonished and grateful for the education that I am provided and this experience of a lifetime.