sonbono from south africa

That's Zulu in case you're wondering. I may be in Durban, but I might as well be in India. I feel I won't really be seeing Africa until I get to Johannesberg on Sunday afternoon. Every minute has been nonstop with the Wahid family since I stepped off my South African Airways flight Sunday afternoon in Durban. I was welcomed to the country with warm, humid and heavy weather. All the better to shower and take a nap.

The first night was spent at one of Zaheera's many aunts and uncles' homes. Not a home so much as a villa on a hill over the city. Pretty phenomenal. I scarfed down some much-needed normal food, Indian of course. Still, *not* food served in little plastic cups. Before I knew it we were headed to a Bhangra club at the Durban Hilton. For my uninitiated friends, Bhangra is a poppy style of Indian music. Z's cousins tell me they think I'm part-Indian. I think they might be right. The food is great, the music is awesome. I fit in just fine. Zaheera's father even told me and Freeha (who's joining me in Jo'burg) that we're now his adopted daughters. (See mom, I told you they'd take care of us.)

Monday was spent on safari. After no sleep for two days and barely 3 hours of sleep on Sunday night, we awoke before dawn Monday for our safari in Hluhluwe National Park. (pronounced shu-shluway. "hl" is pronounced "sh""). We saw elephants, giraffes, more warthogs than I ever need to see, buffalo but unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately) no lions or other wild cats. I wouldn't have noticed. I often fell asleep in the bumpy Indiana Jones-style jeep.

Tuesday and Wednesday were spent bumming around Durban's malls and jeeps. Not much new about the malls, though I will say that they have more sari stores than South Coast Plaza. (By the way; tomorrow I'm dressing Indian style to do a dance for the mehndi -- henna -- party. Oh yes, I'm going to be the spectacle of a white girl. But Zaheera's entire family INSISTS I participate. Who am I to turn down a dance?)

As for the aftermaths of apartheid, there may not be legally imposed segregation, but there's definitely a self-segregation. Yesterday we stopped off at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (the state in which Durban is). As we walked around the campus it dawned on me that I was the only white face there. The student population was exclusively black and Indian. It was pretty incredible. Apparently it was once exclusively an Indian college and just now has started to mix with the black population. Another campus is nearly all white. I've heard it's a bit more mixed in Jo'berg...we shall see.

OK, this is the first time I've been able to get a DSL connection. All the homes have dial-up. How did we ever survive before cable and DSL? That said, however, it's $5 every 15 minutes, so I'll keep this short. I should have better Internet access in Jo'berg and will fill you all in on the details of the wedding. Right now, I'm off to the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. Keep leaving comments. Getting into my email usually isn't too difficult.

Loving and missing you all!

Your friend/daughter/niece/granddaughter/resident loon-in-exile,
Eleeza