Arrival in Durban, South Africa!

Fun language facts:
** This is how to say “exit” in Zulu: umnyango wokuphuma.
** English-speaking South Africans say “boot” for car trunk.
** The English language has borrowed the word “commando” (which officially means “to go without underwear,” but may also informally refer to a type of soldier) from Afrikaans.
** “Wat is die Adres?” is Afrikaans for something, but we haven’t decoded it yet. (This is a joke Chris put here and I didn’t get it, so don’t feel bad if you didn’t guess that it means “What is the Address?”).

We arrived at the Johannesburg airport with little time to spare (not our fault, Larry & Sheila, our driver was double booked); and as predicted when having seven months worth of baggage, there were issues. In the end, we ended up paying more for our baggage than our flights, since we had way more than 40 kilos! Luckily, the airline rep felt badly for us and cut our payment in half. Gina picked us up at the airport with a “welcome bag” of treats; which thankfully, positively changed the tone of our arrival.

She dropped us off at our accommodations, called Fernleigh Lodge, located in a great neighborhood, called Morningside - just sounds nice, doesn’t it? (see pic). We chose this place based on economics since three meals per day are included in the price. Though, we didn’t anticipate the quality of food would be SO low. Eeek. The room had lots of space…and, cockroaches. The other tenants were interesting characters, to say the least. Most stay long-term so the population consisted of elderly, students, or individuals on Medicaid. In fact, our assigned table forced us to stare at some poor guy’s incredible infected, red, swollen, pussy, shiny ankles each meal over some unknown meat or soup. But of course, the people were endearing too. The owners helped us with our car dealings and Yvonne, an elderly resident, was calling her personal mechanic for us while showing pictures of her grandchildren. Nonetheless, we were anxious to leave there despite MANY people scratching their heads in mass confusion over the fact that we would want to leave this hidden gem. Regardless of meals and bugs, it was not a cheap option for the long term.

So, our feet hit the streets looking for more permanent housing in the 80 degree, humid neighborhoods of Durban. We walked and walked and walked. One leasing agent, Lisa, thought we were absolutely insane walking to and from all these neighborhoods. We liked it, despite our fatigue, since it was a nice workout and a way to see the city. As our new landlord says, “Oh, I see…you are still new here so it is fun to walk.” Anyway, this agent, Corne (true name) and his daughter, picked us up to show us an apartment yesterday. Turns out, it was a place we had called previously but we had been told that it wasn’t available. It was a fantastic apartment. Afterwards, we walked a half hour to another place—this one an apartment that is usually only rented out short-term. We had creatively talked Lorna, the owner, into a longer term stay and fell in love with it (but, it cost more). While walking away from Lorna’s flat, weighing the pros/cons of both places, we hear someone yelling our names from their porch. Low and behold, it is Corne! Turns out, their house is one block away from the place we just viewed, though we had been with them in a completely different neighborhood.

After listening to Corne go on and on about how we should go with the apartment he had showed us, we walked a ways further and took a call from the other agent, Lisa. A minute after we hung up with her, we noticed that we were standing right in front of her office. We practically saw her hang up the phone, but she didn’t see us. Apparently Durban is a smaller world than the SAS ship.

In the end, we decided on the place Corne showed us in Morningside. For one, we couldn’t resist Dirk and his partner, Vaughan. They bent over backwards to meet our needs and help us with the transition. Dirk even picked us up with all our baggage to help us move. We are attached with access to their spectacular house, with gorgeous views of downtown Durban, a pool, a large, open air patio with a braai (barbecue), their pet poodles, and a massive birdcage for their parrot (totally cliché, we know). They, too, think we are crazy for walking, even to the grocery store, and want us to use their truck whenever we are going somewhere. In addition, our studio apartment is spacious, has glass doors to let in the warm breeze, comfy furniture, and two extra twin beds for guests! We hope this will encourage more people to visit. It definitely feels like the right decision and we toasted to our new home tonight over chicken tacos (true Chris/Jodi fashion) and wine/beer. Tomorrow night, it’s braai time!

Now, our other major task is to find a car. Gina, who has been so generous, took us car-shopping the other day and we’re looking online as well. We have one particular car (a tiny one) in mind and we’re having it looked at on Monday.

From Jodi: I was nervous meeting Gina again, at the airport, and all my fears have been alleviated. After 10 years, we connect just as we had on the Contiki tour in Australia. She is a generous individual who is a great conversationalist and loves to laugh. What more could I ask for in a friend?! It is her birthday tomorrow and we will attend a braai (these are a big deal here) at her house to celebrate. Yet, it is important I do not rely on Gina for my social network so that is another “to do” for us. I have ideas of starting a book club or finding a walking or cooking club. Once I settle in more, I will volunteer. But for now, I will focus on getting settled and starting my new job as a Freelance Resume Writer.

From Chris: I am feeling really good about getting all of these practical things settled and now I’m excited to sink my teeth into the research. I already have a major decision to make—do I volunteer a lot of time over the next month with an NGO in the hopes that it leads to good connections in the Eastern Cape? I’ll be thinking this through this weekend over braai.