Sarah and I on the first night of the trip very jet lagged, but very happy!
May 30th The feelings I experienced while stepping off the plane for the first time in Africa were quite overwhelming. It was my 5th continent to visit and I was ready to explore with my Lonely Planet guide in my hand (even though I was incredibly jet lagged)!
I could not stop looking out the window of my coach on the way to the hotel. Durban was a very green city. It was a delight to see so much land presently uncultivated. The city was made up of a province called KwaZulu-Natal, which was then further divided into 2 sections. As we were arriving at the hotel, in the Natal section, the delicious smell of salt-water filled the air and out of nowhere the magnificent Indian Ocean came into view. My friend, Sarah ("sarahvioland" on here), and I quickly checked into our room, changed, and walked to the Dolphin Coast to take pictures near the lighthouse at sunset.
Sunset on the Dolphin Coast of the Indian Ocean.
After dinner with the other 60 students in the program, Sarah and I excused ourselves and went to a local bar. There we met some friendly surfers who taught us our first Zulu word, "
sawubona" (hello), and toasted us with our first South African beer, Hansa.
May 31st
The delegation on medicine started with 3 lectures educating us on South Africa's medical system and the current health problems the country was facing. These are the frightening facts we learned: of the 44 million people inhabiting South Africa 6 million of those have been diagnosed with AIDS (the largest group of people in the world), 57% of those infected are female, and by the year 2010 2 million children will have been orphaned due to the virus.
The river dividing the two sections KwaZulu and Natal of KwaZulu-Natal Province.
Also, South Africa possesses the highest rate of violence against women in any country not involved in war and 50% of the population has TB. The ugliness that exists in this beautiful country is truly incomprehensible.
We then made a site visit to the Valley Trust Rural Medical Center. There we met with the head nurse to discuss rural health care issues. Because of the shortage of doctors in South Africa, most nurses have to act as doctors, while still only getting paid a nurse's salary. That particular nurse saw 300-400 patients a day. I could not have imagined a more emotionally draining job. She lamented that at her clinic they actually have enough medication to give to the patients, but that no one will take it, because then the other people in their community will know that they are sick.
Chief Thomas in the Kwabhekithunga Zulu Village.
The saddest story was that of the milk formula that spoils with time due to the lack of mothers that will accept it. Instead of risking the chance of people in the community finding out that they have AIDS, they would rather breast feed their infants and risk the chance of infecting them with AIDS.
All of my previous thoughts about being a marine mammal in a past life were reinforced as I floated in the Indian Ocean during my late afternoon break. I had never felt more alive, thus proving that I must have been a fish, or a dolphin, or even a seahorse! I must admit that I was nervous knowing that even though the requisite shark nets were up, 1200 were caught in the last year alone. Nonetheless, I swam out as far as I could and let the therapeutic warm water melt away all of my tensions.
Due to the sugar slave trade in the 19th century, Durban was now home to the largest number of Indians besides India, since they were used for indentured labor.
The chief's daughters dancing a traditional Zulu dance.
Sarah and I immediately became friends with a man in our group (a fellow New Yorker), Ankit, who happened to be of Indian heritage. He found a lovely Indian restaurant for us to have dinner at and made some excellent recommendations. After the spicy meal, we decided to comfort our throats with some more Hansa at a bar down the street named Joe Cool's. Despite my best efforts, I lost every game of pool I played and to make matters worse, while I was losing my camera was stolen. Both were not so cool, but if you learn only one thing in Africa, it is to not sweat the small stuff in life.
June 1st
This was a special day for me, as the focus was on the roles and rituals of sangomas, or African healers.
The sangoma performing a healing ritual.
Traditional medicine is my passion, so I prepared myself for the visit by reading a book called
The Political Aspects of Healing in Southern Africa by Rijk van Dijk Rias Reir and Marja Spierenburg. The three areas of concentration for
sangomas are: prevention and protection from problems, determination of the causes of the problems, and elimination of the problems. 80% of the population uses Traditional African Medicine. We drove to the Kwabhekithunga village to have a dialogue with the chief of the Zulu community and to meet their
sangoma. Along the way our guide stopped in a field of sugar canes to let us taste the sweet treat. When we arrived at the village we were greeted by 5 women with a song. As we entered the village the chief told us he had only 1 rule; men must always enter an area first.
Sarah and I with Chief Thomas.
Of course hearing this tested my feminist ideals, but I unwillingly obliged. So, the men led the women into the tribal council area, where we sat around in a circle while the chief briefly introduced us to Zulu culture and then to the local
sangoma. This mysterious woman, to the beat of African drums, strode into the middle of the circle and demonstrated her healing art.
After the enriching experience, the next place we visited was the Love Life Center. In my humble opinion, the only way for South Africa to win the war on the AIDS pandemic is to have these centers on every corner. Love Life is the boldest sex education campaign ever conducted in South Africa. Their messages are delivered on radio, on television, and in newspapers. In addition to a media blitz, volunteers for Love Life visit sports facilities at schools and in communities to provide information to the youth.
Various African herbs in the Muti Market.
The campaign considers its main audience to be people ages 12 to 17. According to a brochure I picked up from the center, "Love Life hopes to foster positive self-images and responsibility among the young people of South Africa." I remember sitting on the steps outside the center watching the 100 or so kids play sports in the sunshine and realizing that these were the fortunate few who were being saved. To read more about the extraordinary center click here:
Love Life.
To decompress from the day, we went to the club Tiger Tiger to dance our worries away. The second I walked in the door, "Love Generation" by Bob Sinclair was playing and I knew I had come to the right place.
June 2nd
The day began with a quick guided exploration of the enormous Muti Market.
Valley of the 1,000 hills.
All of the African herbs are sold there. Because we were rushed through the market, I had no time to play with the herbs or talk to the
izinyangas, or herbalists. I was really interested in comparing and contrasting the African herbs to the Chinese herbs. We did have time, however, to stop at the Victoria Street Market. I bought a colorful batik painting of an African woman carrying water on her head to hang over my desk at home.
After the frustrating morning, we drove to a TB clinic nestled within the "Valley of a 1000 Hills." The miles of rolling hills were simply breathtaking. We were paired with a translator, so that we could communicate with our TB patients. My translator was a bright and kind 22 year old woman, who was hoping to one day become a doctor. Through her I discovered that my TB patient had developed the disease due to the dire conditions he was forced to work in.
My friends and I at the TB clinic with the TB patient and unforgettable translator.
If that wasn't heartbreaking enough, on my walk back to the coach, my translator confided in me that she had been raped at the age of 18. Her attacker left her both pregnant and infected with AIDS. Scared that she would pass AIDS on to her child, she terminated the pregnancy. I was one of the only people that knew about her condition, because she would be excommunicated from her community if she told the truth about her status. She felt hopeless and wondered when the USA would develop a cure. All I knew what to do in that moment was to listen to her. Her beautiful face and words will remain in my thoughts forever.
I love the sound of the African drum. Its seductive beat makes it nearly impossible to not want to move your body. Alas, sitting in a room of 60+ people and having a drumming circle was just not as great as I had hoped it would be.
My friends and I having fun in the drumming circle.
On a positive note, I did get to spend my last evening in Durban by the harbor, which happens to be the busiest port in Africa.
June 3rd
Off to Cape Town...
