Anyway, here's what I did for spring break last week:
Characters
Dawn- did all the planning. goes to Pomona
Sally- is quiet and goes to Pomona
Evan- is not quiet and goes to ASU
Claire- is.....odd and goes to Washington U at St. Louis
ME!
--Day One--
I had a tut to go to at 10am (instead of my 11am one) so I packed my little backpack and ran up to campus, stopping to order contacts at the Shoprite down the street (still haven't gotten a call about that....). The tut was boring b/c Nash just taught us how to cite things....as if we didn't already know by now.But Sally had a test right before we had to leave so Dawn called a cab and had it waiting on Middle Campus for her to run down and catch it. We got to the airport about an hour before the flight, so we sat on the ground in the terminal and marveled at the circus-tent quality of the building.
The flight was okay--only about an hour and a half. Sally's not a fan of flying, and luckily we were sitting together so we could talk about all the Pomona people we know/don't know and also don't like. It was fun.
We arrived in Durban around mid-afternoon and took a cab down to Bluff, which is on the coast. The backpackers was called Anstley's and it was nice--very tropical feeling with little cabins and wooden walkways and outside showers. The bartender was named Limbardo (which took a long time to figure out because we didn't believe it) and he claimed to be in the top 500 bartenders in the world. Ha. It was a "bar" with wine, beer, and sodas. Stupid. But he was very cute, so we forgave him for that.
We walked down to the Green Dolphin on the beach and had a hard time finding vegetarian options (Dawn and Claire are weird like that). The food took FOREVER to arrive and was definitely low quality. We also had milkshakes. Yay. We walked on the beach for a while and again marveled, this time at the fact that this is our first big trip without an adult doing the organizing (internationally at least). Of course, Dawn did all the organizing, and she did a FANTASTIC job.
It got dark and we wandered back, playing a game of pool (Evan and I won!) while Claire watched, and then we played a board game that involved teams and reading off a list of words and having people guess them. It was South African, so we didn't know all the names, but it was fun anyway. We had a bottle of wine (divided by five) and so we decided to get take out from Mr. Delivery--Nandos in particular. It was FAR too expensive and we will never do it again. But WOW spicy. Dawn almost died and it was hilarious.
We agreed to go out with Rob (another employee--the driver guy) and Limbardo and a couple other guests. They took us to Bok Town, which turned out to be the whitest and oldest (demographically) night club we'd seen since arriving in South Africa. There was live music and I sat and watched people dance and was amused by the drunken antics of Rob and Limbardo, who got increasingly sketchier as the night went on.
A little later, Rob got creepy and then he or one of his creepy friends grabbed Dawn's ass and we went searching for a cab number to get out of there. While we waited for one to arrive these two really drunk guys came by, called us terrorists and asked us not to blow up their car (but pointed it out multiple times) and called Obama a "Kaffir" (derogatory term for black person in SA). While in the taxi and later while getting ready for bed we decided that Durban was strangely segregated.
I did not sleep well that first night because Evan snores like you would not believe and I got up after an hour and took Tylenol PM. I guess I slept eventually, but good lord. GAH.
--Day Two--
We all got up late and took showers until about 11am and then wandered down to the beach, got breakfast (they put pepper on french toast....). We decided to go to town b/c I didn't have a bathing suit and the beach was closed on account of shark sightings and they don't have nets or watchers on that particular beach. We took the bus and passed some cool streets but then ended up in an area I can't even explain. It was like a large but uninteresting market. The vendors sold all sorts of things that no one wants. We went into the natural science museum but only had about two hours there cuz it was so late in the day. There were cool taxidermy animals and then upstairs there was neat art. Oh, I got a boewoer (sausage) and it was SO GOOD but definitely meat that I couldn't place. I think it disgusted the vegetarians, but oh well.
So it closed and we went in search of some Indian market (medicines and such) but got completely lost. Dawn later said that when we walked through a tunnel (a big one--it was still part of the huge market) someone brushed against her checking her pockets. But no incidents. We saw people congregated in areas watching informal performances (not in English, of course). We had finally found all the black people in Durban! Yay!
But the Indian market was completely unfindable, and we ended up asking outside the closed Tourist Office. We got lucky, because the guy sitting in a car outside the office worked inside it, so he offered to take us to Florida Street (the major street in Durban) as a favor. We ended up giving him R60 for gas, and I think he was embarrassed. But we were very grateful, as we were SO lost before.
Florida Street was quiet and looked suburban. We walked up it, went to a little park and got stared at by parents who didn't like us there (most were Indian) and then walked up and down the street five times trying to find a place for dinner. One rejected us because three of us were wearing shorts, so we stopped at a fairly empty place for drinks. We played this game that Claire knows that's like 20 questions but unlimited. It got darker and we decided to go to dinner at the Indian restaurant down the street. We were the ONLY people in the restaurant. It was odd. We got wine and awesome food and it was a good evening. Our waiter (who I also think was the manager) called a cab for us, and we went back to Anstleys where we played pool and then watched In & Out. Limbardo left the bar and living room open for us so we could finish the movie.
So we went back on the beach and hung out for a while and I think people got burned. We had a deep conversation about race and class and decided that we're total geeks. It was a chill day, so we decided to head back to Anstleys after getting ice cream and sat by the pool (I find that I want to chronicle everything we drank on this trip just because it's all so novel). But we just sat around talking about things and doing nothing in general.
Rob drove us to the train station and proved to us just how creepy he is (a picture of his son was on his rear view mirror). We asked him something about the xenophobic attacks and he said he doesn't pay attention. Such a beach bum. No one had mentioned that we needed to pay for the trip, so we were surprised when Dawn offered him gas money and he said no, it's R100. Creepster.
The little store in the train station had cheap chocolate and we got lots. We also had stopped at a grocery store and had peanut butter, crackers, nut and raisin mix, and water. When we were about to get on the train the woman checking our tickets said we'd be in different compartments and Dawn freaked because she had been told that was not the case. Anyway, they figured it out and the train was pretty empty so we had two four-person compartments. One had three beds, the other two, and we hung out in the one without the upper bunks down. Upon first arriving in the compartment, we closed the door and hung out, then tried to leave again. But the door would not open. We all tried and started freaking out. Dawn hung her head out the window and asked a guy on the platform (it was EMPTY otherwise) to help us. He slid the door open. We did a collective *facepalm* and felt really stupid.
So we hung out in the same compartment, eating and talking, playing the questions game and then which kitchen appliance would you be? It was a fun night, and we decided to start the malaria pills. FUN!
We went to bed around 11pm or so, and it was really nice until I woke up at around 3am and it was FREEZING in the compartment. It was literally so cold that I couldn't have my head outside of the covers.
So Johannesburg was freezing when we got off the train and we huddled together on the wrong floor waiting for our ride, then felt stupid when we had forgotten the difference between the ground floor and the first floor. We got to Brown Sugar Backpackers at about 9:30am and had to leave at 10am for our Sowetan tour (that Quinton set up and paid for--yay!). Our tour guide was called Temba (sorry for botching the name, man) and he was completely awesome. We went into a bank that had a mine shaft museum room, then went to a Sharpesville museum and read about the student strike. I bought a beautiful cloth (tapestry type thing) from a vendor outside and we headed off to Soweto, which was at least an hour outside of the city. The tour was amazing and we learned a lot.
For lunch we stopped at a restaurant in Soweto and had the most incredible food. We ate so much and it was all good. Then everyone fell asleep on the way back into town and we got back in time for Evan to nap and the rest of us to shower at the hostel before dinner.
Night all!
So it closed and we went in search of some Indian market (medicines and such) but got completely lost. Dawn later said that when we walked through a tunnel (a big one--it was still part of the huge market) someone brushed against her checking her pockets. But no incidents. We saw people congregated in areas watching informal performances (not in English, of course). We had finally found all the black people in Durban! Yay!
But the Indian market was completely unfindable, and we ended up asking outside the closed Tourist Office. We got lucky, because the guy sitting in a car outside the office worked inside it, so he offered to take us to Florida Street (the major street in Durban) as a favor. We ended up giving him R60 for gas, and I think he was embarrassed. But we were very grateful, as we were SO lost before.
Florida Street was quiet and looked suburban. We walked up it, went to a little park and got stared at by parents who didn't like us there (most were Indian) and then walked up and down the street five times trying to find a place for dinner. One rejected us because three of us were wearing shorts, so we stopped at a fairly empty place for drinks. We played this game that Claire knows that's like 20 questions but unlimited. It got darker and we decided to go to dinner at the Indian restaurant down the street. We were the ONLY people in the restaurant. It was odd. We got wine and awesome food and it was a good evening. Our waiter (who I also think was the manager) called a cab for us, and we went back to Anstleys where we played pool and then watched In & Out. Limbardo left the bar and living room open for us so we could finish the movie.
--Day Three--
We woke up with the sun and ran down to the beach, where we walked down toward another restaurant. It was low tide, so Dawn, Evan, and Claire went out into the tide pools (which had pretty much been wiped out by a storm) while Sally read the Quran and I took pictures with Dawn's camera. The restaurant place had just opened, apparently, so they had NO idea what they were doing and it took a while to get our orders right. The food was okay, but I found that I really dislike mince. It's just like ground beef. Yuck.So we went back on the beach and hung out for a while and I think people got burned. We had a deep conversation about race and class and decided that we're total geeks. It was a chill day, so we decided to head back to Anstleys after getting ice cream and sat by the pool (I find that I want to chronicle everything we drank on this trip just because it's all so novel). But we just sat around talking about things and doing nothing in general.
Rob drove us to the train station and proved to us just how creepy he is (a picture of his son was on his rear view mirror). We asked him something about the xenophobic attacks and he said he doesn't pay attention. Such a beach bum. No one had mentioned that we needed to pay for the trip, so we were surprised when Dawn offered him gas money and he said no, it's R100. Creepster.
The little store in the train station had cheap chocolate and we got lots. We also had stopped at a grocery store and had peanut butter, crackers, nut and raisin mix, and water. When we were about to get on the train the woman checking our tickets said we'd be in different compartments and Dawn freaked because she had been told that was not the case. Anyway, they figured it out and the train was pretty empty so we had two four-person compartments. One had three beds, the other two, and we hung out in the one without the upper bunks down. Upon first arriving in the compartment, we closed the door and hung out, then tried to leave again. But the door would not open. We all tried and started freaking out. Dawn hung her head out the window and asked a guy on the platform (it was EMPTY otherwise) to help us. He slid the door open. We did a collective *facepalm* and felt really stupid.
So we hung out in the same compartment, eating and talking, playing the questions game and then which kitchen appliance would you be? It was a fun night, and we decided to start the malaria pills. FUN!
We went to bed around 11pm or so, and it was really nice until I woke up at around 3am and it was FREEZING in the compartment. It was literally so cold that I couldn't have my head outside of the covers.
--Day Four--
Our stop was supposed to be around 6am so we got up at about 5:45 to get ready. Turns out the train wasn't on time and we sat around being freezing until about 9am. It was INSANE and HORRIBLE and I don't like thinking about it because my room in the res right now is kinda cold and it's a bad memory. UGH.So Johannesburg was freezing when we got off the train and we huddled together on the wrong floor waiting for our ride, then felt stupid when we had forgotten the difference between the ground floor and the first floor. We got to Brown Sugar Backpackers at about 9:30am and had to leave at 10am for our Sowetan tour (that Quinton set up and paid for--yay!). Our tour guide was called Temba (sorry for botching the name, man) and he was completely awesome. We went into a bank that had a mine shaft museum room, then went to a Sharpesville museum and read about the student strike. I bought a beautiful cloth (tapestry type thing) from a vendor outside and we headed off to Soweto, which was at least an hour outside of the city. The tour was amazing and we learned a lot.
For lunch we stopped at a restaurant in Soweto and had the most incredible food. We ate so much and it was all good. Then everyone fell asleep on the way back into town and we got back in time for Evan to nap and the rest of us to shower at the hostel before dinner.
--to be continued--
I actually can't remember anything else that happened that day. Besides, it's late and my feet are freezing.Night all!
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