Here is a brief recap of what we did in our first week.
1. Merebank Market: According to our host/tour guide Praveen, during apartheid fruit and vegetables were traded from the back of peoples’ cars. After the liberation, structures for these markets were built, and some stands have been up for almost fifty years. We bought South African yams/turnip-type vegetables, peanuts, samosas, and much more. I shouldn't have had breakfast.
2. Engen - Community Liaison Forum (CLF): Durban has three big oil refineries: Mondi, SAPREF, and Engen. Though these giant businesses contribute billions of South African rand to the Durban economy every year they are situated among residential houses. To maintain a harmonious co-existence, each refinery holds Community Liaison Forum meetings to discuss environmental and community issues. We were lucky to have the opportunity to sit in on one such meeting at Engen. It was interesting to watch the exchanges between different NGOs and with the managers of Engen. By the end, it was hard to tell what had really been accomplished. In theory, industry working with community leaders is great, but as with any kind of interaction involving potential funding, it is hard sometimes for people to say what they really want.
All in all, I would say that we each have already had some exciting and eye-opening experiences. Some of us were surprised by the many similarities between Durban and home. Our cultures share many of the same hobbies (music, facebook, and games) and many of the same problems (drugs, crime, and poverty...though to varying degrees). Some of us listened to the shocking perceptions people in South Africa have about America. While we were shocked to find so many similarities, they were shocked to find that not all Americans drive Bugattis, or see celebrities on the streets. It will be interesting to see what other cultural stereotypes get debunked in the next eight weeks.
