Day 4

Day 4
Monday
4/6/09

I’ve been thinking a lot today about what it means to fully immerse oneself in another culture, as I’m trying to do here in Durban.

The biggest culture shock when I arrived was the somewhat panicky feeling of having lost my freedom to, for the most part, go wherever I want whenever I want. Here, in our middle class neighborhood, the streets are considered not safe to walk at night due to threat of mugging. It is recommended to travel in groups at all times and with a man whenever possible. Of course my first thought was something along the lines of “Oh God, why didn’t I just go to Cape Town?” However, after some thought, I realized that this is reality for the people of Durban – and most of the global population. We tell people to get exercise or go to the doctor, without realizing they either have no way to get there or are afraid to leave their homes. I’m surprised how casually Akhona talks of the frequent murders in city where her cousin lives, and where she goes for holiday. Taxi drivers are in such rivalry that it frequently turns deadly; Akhona’s cousin was killed last year by a bullet aimed at her uncle while standing outside of his taxi. I am embracing this reality as part of experiencing life here (while being very safe, Dad!). Families either stay indoors or drive to their destination after dark, rather than freely roaming the streets. They don’t seem to see this as a negative – it’s just the way life is. I’ve been packing my purse each day being conscious of what I would be okay without if I happened to be mugged and found it’s amazing to learn how much can be stuffed into a bra for safekeeping – memory cards, cell phones, cash, debit cards, and more.

I’ve also been feeling a little silly about my out-of-place concern about nutrition and exercise. I place great value on my health and well-being – I typically choose vegetables over meat, water over juice, quinoa over white rice. My lifestyle here, so far, has consisted of no exercise other than walking while fueled by heavy curries and fried foods. This morning I risked being the “crazy American” by doing some yoga on the patio. Apparently the girls are familiar with yoga as, according to them, I look just like Jennifer Aniston and it’s because we both do yoga. I ended up having Akhona (my 11 year old "sister") join me -- it was really fun to see her so excited about doing Sun Salutations! The Mom (Mantombi) shyly asked me to teach her some "simple things" tomorrow. It makes me happy that I may leave my family with an ongoing benefit of our cultural exchange. I’ve decided to find a compromise by eating salads at lunch and hiking on the weekends while graciously devouring whatever is proudly presented by my family. Sure I wouldn’t normally have a plate of KFC, French fries, white bread, and pudding for dinner -- but this experience isn’t about what I’d normally do.

The most rewarding part of my day was little Alutha throwing her arms around my legs when I walked through the gate screaming “Hi Yu-lie! I want ice cream!” How could I possibly turn that down?