A very interesting weekend in Durban!

Alright, so this weekend all 53 of us went to Durban (about a two hour drive from our campus in Pietermaritzburg) for our Intercultural Communications class. Our professor wanted us to experience the Indian community firsthand. That is exactly what we did this weekend.

First let me start off telling you all that this was a very fun, humbling, exhausting, and frustrating weekend all in one. Getting all 53 of us there in 4 vehicles was a mission, let me tell you. We left at 2 pm and arrived at the place where we were staying at 7 pm. Why you may ask? WELL... we probably had the worst luck ever. We ended up having car trouble because one of the vehicles' oil was leaking... so that caused all of us to leave the vehicle in the middle of nowhere and stop and stay at a gas station for about 2 hours. All 53 of us were just chillin on the side of this gas station! So this was just the start of our frustration, even though it was just bad luck...

Then we get to the place that we are staying at around 7 pm that night... ! Went to sleep soon after arriving at our campsite place and then a bunch of us woke up at 4:30 am to watch the sunrise over the Indian ocean. It was SO BEAUTIFUL! It was seriously such a great way to start the day and the smell of the ocean and everything was the most refreshing smell ever. We took a bunch of pictures and just had a blast being in awe of God's amazing creation!! So the whole day we (at least I did) had this idea ingrained in my mind that we were going to be having a full day at the ocean.. Well slowly but surely, events that were planned in the morning started to be pushed farther and farther back time wise. The thing about Africa that I have learned firsthand (especially this weekend) is that time is pretty much irrelevant. They may say "everybody meet at 7:30 am" but we really leave an hour later. So because of no time structure, a lot of our events for the day were constantly being pushed back later and later. But learning to accept this and not be in control of the situation wad frustrating but a learning experience when looking at how this culture works. It is just so different because in our culture, if you are late meeting with someone, that is a sign of disrespect and it is just rude. And for a lot of us, we found ourselves complaining a ton but eventually just having to let it go!





But anyways, that is just letting you in on some of the difficulties we faced for the weekend. But during the day, our Professor took us to a town called Usinkwizo or something like that? lol And we walked through the town and just observed everything around us. It was sort of funny because all 53 of us stood out like a sore thumb. We were pretty much the only white people! Everyone around us were either Indian or Black South Africans. Anyhoo, we walked through the streets (in like 95 degree weather with humidity--so HOT) and it was interesting to just see the types of stores they had and the types of people there. Later we eventually got to go swim in the ocean for a few hours which was definitely a highlight! The water felt like bathwater... so warm. They had a lifeguard that was constantly blowing the whistle telling us to go a certain direction. This beach had a shark net to help lessen the chances of a shark coming in and eating us! So that was encouraging enough for all of us to run and jump in the ocean! hahaha There were tons of people in the water jumping the waves and it was just lovely.



Later that night some young kids/adults came to hang out with us Sat. night from their youth group just for us to mix and learn more about them, and them learn about us. Apparently,many of them said they had never met Americans before and it was fun to ask and respond to questions and answers.. We all shared a meal together and it was fun. The next morning we all split off into different Indian churches to go to and let me tell you that was an experience! The church we went to was the hottest environment I think I have ever been in. The service was held in a old drama room and there were thick carpeted walls and that allowed all the heat to just stay in. It was so stuff so many of us struggled to breath, let alone sweating like maniacs! The thing that was so surprising and encouraging about it all was that the church community would continue showing up every single Sunday, even though the heat was pretty much unbearable. The worship alone lasted an hour and then I believe the sermon was about 40 minutes. Usually, the church service lasted 2.5 to 3 hours!!!! The worship was great though and something that stood out that was so so adorable was to see kids of all ages at the front of the service, dancing and singing there hearts away. Everyone was so on fire about God and I guess I was surprised to see these little children jumping up and down (even in the heat).

After church, some of us went to one of the Pastor's houses where they cooked AMAZING Indian food and opened their home with open arms to us. It was such a great time. I swear they made all of us feel like kings and queens. It just really made me want to go home (after South Africa) and open up my home and cook for complete strangers. It was so inspiring that they can be so nice!

So although the weekend was filled with many frustrations, we really experienced what this culture is like firsthand. I am glad we went, suffered through the heat, were forced to be in uncomfortable situations, and continue making deeper friendships within the 53 of us and our Professor!

So this week is going to be intense with School. There are many papers to write and long days of classes. Please pray for good work ethic this week and encouraging one another to finish these assignments!!