firsts...

I got into the front seat of the right hand side of the car yesterday, put the clutched in and revved the engine. Using my left hand I put the gearshift into first gear, but when trying to put the turn signal on, I ended up sending the windshield wipers across the front of the car, for the indicator is now located to the right of the steering wheel, not the left…I pulled out slowly and hesitantly into the left lane of an empty road. Hugging the curb on the left hand side, from some innate fear of the divider being on my right, we eventually made it onto the open highway and around town. Whew! Success! My first time driving on the left hand side of the road! And in the car of what will become the shared purchase of my amazing roommate Anna and I. It is a 1997 iridescent green Hyundai Sonata. It’s a full sized car, which looks like a big boat compared to other miniature cars on the road here. The deal maker of this purchase is that the guy offered to buy it back from us in December. How great is that.

Other firsts of this last week include: my first ride in a combie, a South African Taxi/ VW bus that ‘safely’ took us into the centre of town. My first public bus and regular taxi ride. I went to the herb market of traditional healing. I also had my first taste of a Bean Bunny, a half loaf of bread hallowed out and filled with beans and vegetables in a spicy curry sauce. It’s a Durban Specialty and quite nice. I attended my first South African Braai last weekend! The beautiful arrangement of salads and meats was amazing. I was impressed. There were about 30 people who gathered at Alethea’s home, all of us somehow connected to Rotary. There are 4 of us who are current scholars from the states and about 5 previous scholars who have remained in South Africa to finish their dissertation and continue working. I must admit that my favorite part was dessert. The meringue pie was divine!

Its official, I am a UKZN student now! Hooray! And I hope that by the time you are reading this I also have a student ID card. Obtaining this will make all lose ends complete. Upon arrival and well into my first module course, a week long course on Sustainable Development Feb 4-8, I realized that the structure and overall format of the course of study I had applied for, Master of Community Development, was not exactly what I was looking for. It would have yielded 4 weeks of class this entire year! While there was a slight hesitation, contemplating all the amazing travel adventures I could go on, I decided that I had to change my program. So last Tuesday I applied and was received into the Master of Development Studies. This course is quite opposite in its rigor and demand. We started coursework on Wednesday and have already read hundreds of pages and turned in our first think piece paper. The program requires six, 8 week modules and a dissertation. The courses I am enrolled in for this quarter are, Sustainable Development, Economics of Development and Economic Development Problems and Policies. Other courses that I will have this year include: Poverty and Inequality, Informal Economy, Globalization and Development and Research. I am very excited and motivated. On average we have class 4 days a week. There are about 25 people in the program who are all quite fantastic. It is a rich and diverse setting with students from Zimbabwe, Malawi, Burundi, Cameroon, Norway, France, India, and of course the US and South Africa. The camaraderie between students is fun and inviting. We spend many of our break periods together in addition to socializing on the beach or at restaurants.

I have attended Calvary Church of the Nazarene in Pinetown the previous three Sunday’s I have found a beautiful community in them. They are a small congregation that meets in a community building about 20 minute drive from my house. Thankfully there are folks who live in my neighborhood who are able to give me a lift every week. It is nice.

Overall life is pretty great. My Rotarian hosts are extremely hospitable. We eat together every Thursday night. 7pm is news and wine/juice, followed at 7:30 is some sort of amazing curry concoction. Meals are delicious. Both Anna and I have a vegetable palate and love to prepare fun creations. The ingredients here are fresh. In fact, I can’t wait to get to the farmer’s market that they have every Saturday. Anna moved in last weekend. She’s fabulous. Not only do I appreciate the company of living with her, Anna and I have an appreciation for many of the same things in life and God and will be able to sojourn together throughout the year. And I must mention, Drew continues to live in the flat over the garage. He is from Orange County and adds a lot of fun to our mix. The three of us are in the same program and get along quite well. We all, Anna, Drew, Valerie and I are headed to Cape Town on Wednesday. Should be fantastic.

And now for a picture: This is Anna and I with Rotary District Governor Richard Fisher and his wife on the left at Rotary Alumni event in PineTown on Saturday.

RAIN

I had a most fantastic walk home this afternoon. The sky opened up and poured down rain. Rather than speed up, I intentionally slowed down to take in the pungent aromas and vibrant landscape. Rain was running like veins down my arms pumping life into my being. My hair was plastered flat to my head. The temperature had not dropped below 80* even at night and with high humidity it is draining. Thankfully not as sweltering as KC last summer, especially as my fridge here keeps as cool as ours did there.

I have completed 3/5 of the seminars for my first module course in Sustainable Development. There are 10 of us; half of us are full time students and the others are working professionals. What is amazing about this is not the fact that I have been here 8 days and completed the majority of my first module, but that I have almost completed it and don’t have any additional information about my program or how to officially become a registered student! They tell me that they will have orientation sometime later in the semester…helpful. In the mean time I continue to wait in lines, track down people, obtain signatures, and go round and round. Most days I find all this rather amusing. As long as they don’t fret I see no reason to do so either.

Last Tuesday at 9:50 pm my flight arrived in Durban, 15 minutes ahead of schedule. I couldn’t have asked for a better journey here. All my luggage arrived, all my flights were ahead of schedule and I never had to wait in line. It was amazing. I was greeted by John Ferguson who proudly displayed a large Rotary sign for me to locate him. His wife Maggie is most delightful. I am currently renting a flat that is attached to their house. It is a furnished two-bedroom apartment. Anna, another Rotary Scholar, will move in this weekend. Drew, a third Rotary scholar lives in the flat upstairs. It is good to have friends nearby to live in these transitional times.

Like most things new and in countries unfamiliar, all things have been a maze to navigate. I finally obtained a cell phone a couple days ago. Mostly I wait to figure out how to obtain internet access. Because I am not a registered student, I have no privileges on campus and with all things technological there are exorbitant fees for access and one must wait for the right deal. I remain hopeful and confident that all things will continue to work out.

All is well. and I am especially mindful of the goodness of creation and all around me as we head into this season of Lent.