When I first stepped off the airplane in Johannesburg everyone was staring at me. That's not to say I wasn't used to it. For the last couple of days, everyone in every airport I had arrived in seemed to be attracted to the pile of metal and plastic attached to the navy blue blazer that I was wearing. These pieces of metal and plastic were, in fact, pins that I had placed in strategic locations around my blazer in order to look the most aesthetically pleasing. apparently it had worked. For those who are not familiar with Rotary Exchange, I'll fill you in: Every student must have a blazer that they wear in the airport and to certain Rotary functions. At the conferences, we exchange pins with the other students, all of whom have their own kind of pin to represent their own homeland. I had planned it out so that the smallest pins were toward the top of the jacket, mostly around the collar, and the larger, more prominent pins were toward the bottom. I also had many different kinds of patches sewn along my left sleeve, and the words "EMMA SMITH- SOUTH AFRICA 07-08" as a banner on the back. I thought that it was quite the masterpiece myself.
That night, I slept in a house that belonged to to an old Afrikaans-speaking couple of Rotarian's. When i say Afrikaans-speaking, i don't mean that they couldn't speak English, i just mean that they didn't really make the effort unless speaking directly to me or Tyler, the other student staying the night there.
Johannesburg was freezing. Which was why, the next morning, i was thrilled to be getting on a plane to Durban, one of the more the coastal, warmer areas of South Africa.
I was greeted in Durban by about 10 people, all of whom were far warmer to me than anyone in Johannesburg had been. They all welcomed me by giving me hugs and helping me with my luggage. It was there that I met my counselors and first host family, Ray and Carol Oliver. They also have a daughter (age 20)named Tarry, who would be my first host sister.
After we got my bags in the "boot" of the car, we drove away from the airport towards Durban, where we would eat some lunch downtown. I must say, driving on the wrong side of the road at speeds higher than most cars in the US dare drive, and on interstates with lanes narrower than a sidewalk, was quite the experience. Not to mention all the homeless black people walking around trying to sell the useless things they find on the ground to anyone and everyone at any and every traffic stop.
Arriving home at the Oliver household was really nice. I met the maid, Gladys, and the Gardener, Philip, right away. since then I've spent many mornings just sitting and talking with Gladys about her life and what it's been like to actually be AFRICAN in South Africa. I assure you it is not the preferred lifestyle.
One of the biggest differences between here and home is that we drink Tea and Coffee CONSTANTLY. I mean before a meal, after a meal, when we get home, before we go to bed, when we watch TV, anytime. Anytime you don't have a cup of something hot is time that has not been well spent in South Africa.
These first few days have been very different, but also very easy. I've already met a few friends that will be in my year of school at Westville Girl's High and who have told me all about it. I move to my next family on Wednesday night and have just bought my uniform today so that I can start school on Thursday. Hopefully everything will go well and I wont get too lost!
That's all for now!