Victoria Street Market

   To give you an idea as to how it feels to walk around in Durban, imagine you are a celebrity. Everyone looks at you, some approach and try to start a conversation, some are too nervous to approach but talk about you in hushed voices. You get compliments wherever you go, especially from the men, things such as "Hello beautiful,"  "Pretty dress my lady," and "I love your hair!"  I was instantly recognized as an American, with my light skin, blonde hair, sunglasses, and blue eyes. I got several calls of "Hello baby! Beautiful, come inside, I know you must be from America!" Somehow, none of the comments I received the entire day carried the same inappropriate undertones usually present in the comments I receive from American men, rather they seemed friendly, even if their motive was to get me to buy something.
   The market is certainly something to see, and smell! The streets, both sides, for several blocks, are lined with stalls and shops. There were fruit stalls, vegetable stalls, clothing stalls, wholesale stalls, as well as several stalls that contained various animal body parts such as hooves, skulls, skins, and buckets of organs. One of the nearby buildings contained a fish and meat market. The smell was very overpowering, and the sights a bit shocking. I saw many types of fish, cuts of meat, and also several less appetizing things such as tripe and intact goat heads. Needless to say, I only spent a few brief minutes inside. Also common were grocery stores which I quite enjoyed browsing. Throughout the day, I purchased a flavored water, water, a strange chocolate bar, wafer cookies, and frosted flakes (called frosties here, but Tony the tiger is still on the box!). I wanted to buy a mango, but didn't fancy trying to eat the fruit while walking around, so I settled on some nectarines instead (4 for 5 rand, about 75 cents).
   My original reason for wanting to go to the market was to buy an Indian sari, which I am happy to say I accomplished. There were several shops selling saris, but I finally settled on "The Sari Experts." Inside, as most shops I have visited here, I was followed as if by a hawk. There was a large selection, but I finally settled on a very pretty purple pattern for only 129 R (around 17 dollars). Little did I know, they don't actually sell the cholis (the cropped bloused that go under the sari) but that they give you enough fabric to make one. Because of this, I also bought a choli lining, and plan to get it made at home, or maybe even in Yellowwood if I can find a good seamstress.
   Along with the fish and meat market,  there was also an indoor craft market which contained the typical African tourist crafts. I was interested in the beadwork though I thought I might be able to get a bit cheaper elsewhere. I did however end up buying a beautiful painting of elephants walking.

 The Indian woman running the shop was very nice, and gave me a reasonable price to start off with, whereas the previous stalls I had gone to would start insanely high and go down "to give me a special deal." I ended up paying 25 R (around 3 dollars) and am very happy with it. I plan to buy several more paintings as gifts, and to decorate my room. The colors are so vivid and beautiful, I was very happy with my purchase.
   Before going the market, I was cautioned by Teeze  not to carry much money, or a visible bag. I had also heard stories of theft and mugging in that area, so I was quite cautious and brought my moneybelt and passport pouch with just some chapstick and a bit of money. By the end of the day though, I felt very comfortable and safe, everyone was friendly and I felt no threats at all. Of course, I was followed several times by men trying to start a conversation and show me around, though they were not overly clingy and easy to shake off if I wanted to. I was also grabbed by the hand once by a hawker, though I quickly walked away and he did not follow. I enjoyed talking to the shop owners, as well as various other people on the streets. I carried on a 20 minute conversation with a  two year old boy who knew little English, though was very talkative (in Zulu) and endearing. I ended up giving him one of my wafer cookies and he gave me the biggest, brightest smile. I wish I would not have been afraid to take my camera as there were so many things I wanted to take pictures of.
   Tonight is my last night at the hostel, and I arranged to meet my mentor at the Pinetown spar tomorrow for my trip to CROW. I am sad to leave, as I have felt very comfortable and happy here, though I am excited for the next part of my trip and getting to work with the animals.

-Becca

South African Coat of Arms

   During my first ride through Durban, I noticed that this same coat of arms (above) appeared on many of the buildings. Pictured are two animals: the springbok and oryx. Written below the shield is "Ex Unitate Vires" which essentially in Latin means "Strength from Unity." After doing a bit of research, I discovered that this is the old South African coat of arms, recently it has been replaced with a much less medieval-looking crest (right) that replaces the Latin motto with a phrase in one of the Bantu languages. The original crest contains imagery that represents the four original areas of South Africa;the maiden represents the Cape of Good Hope, the wildebeest represents Natal, the orange tree represents the Orange River Colony, and wagon represents Transvaal.
   I have also seen several other crests with Latin phrases including: "E Caelo Scientia," "Agricultura," and "Corde ac Manu." I wouldn't want to deprive Mr. Day, Danny, or the Dream Team from translating these phrases, so I won't be provided the translations of those.

Here...Finally!

Well goodness, I feel as if I left home forever ago! I have decided that it should be illegal to subject people to sit in cramped air plane seats next to grumpy racist women, especially on a 18 hour flight. While I got through the flight business just fine, I did have a run in with an airport 'guide' who helped me check my bags in, and find my gate. He of course wanted a tip, and I obliged, though I got a bit miffed when he tried to get me to give him a 20 dollar bill for 20 R in change (less than 2 dollars). Arriving at Durban, I somehow missed the person who was supposed to pick me up and take me to the hostel. I waited for awhile, trying not to panic. That didn't work so well, seeing as I was in another country, at 11 at night, and had almost no way to contact people. Luckily, I had skype installed on my computer, and was able to arrange things through their phone service, technology saved me once again.
   I ended up staying last night at a nearby hotel. I thought it was just alright, and pretty disappointed that I hadn't made it to the hostel, though that was before I looked out my window and saw the beach across the street. This morning I went for an early beach walk, it was wonderful! Although humid, Durban feels nice and warm, especially compared to the cold Ohio winter. On the beach, I enjoyed the wind as well as the singing of a group of Zulu women. I looked for beach life, but I didn't find much more than various mollusks. On my way back to the hotel, I was approached by two guys who asked if I knew of any nearby places they could get a drink. Besides the fact that it was 6 in the morning, I didn't know anything to help them. Along the way, we eventually found them a bar, and the offered to buy me a drink. I declined, laughed, and continued walking. One of the guys decided that he was going to be stubborn, and walked all the way back to the hotel with me. He was persistent, but not annoyingly so, finally giving up at the door telling the doorman to "take care of this beautiful lady".

(The view from my hotel window)

    I eventually got in contact with my hostel and after some more confusion, Teeze came to pick me up. He is one of the owners and extremely nice, as is the hostel itself. It's located in somewhat of a gated community, and is just beautiful. I also like the fact that it is home to a cat, bird, and two dogs, making it even more so welcoming. Since I got in too late to buy the cell phone and power adapter I had been counting on, I was lucky to find a backpacker nice enough to lend me his power adapter so that I could charge my laptop. I have noticed how friendly everyone is here, people always say hi on the street, and I have talked to several people that seem genuinely interested in my travels and ways to help me.


Becca