My grandma and aunts will be relieved to hear that I am safely back on "American Soil." I'm not sure what's wrong with soil in the rest of the world, but the American variety seems to be favored.
Either way, I'm home. And I'm happy.
Sure it's 7am and the sun hasn't risen yet. And sure it's cold. But I'll get used to it. I just started the coffee - how I've missed making coffee in the morning! And I slept incredibly well last night - fell asleep, just exhausted, in about 3 minutes and probably didn't stir the entire night. I feel well rested, finally.
The flights went well, for the most part. I was travelling for 33 hours. That's incomprehensible to me, but I made it. My parents and Angelina came to pick me up at the airport and I can't think of a better homecoming. I ran to give Angelina a big hug and she ran towards me and let me pick her up and twirl her around. I was afraid she would be distant at first but not at all. She's just a happy little girl - happy to see her aunt. We got caught up on school and skating lessons and how yummy the pink medicine is that she has to take for strep throat. And there's nothing a girl (even a 25-year-old girl) wants more after travelling for so long than big hugs from her mom and dad.
Seeing Blake has been more than wonderful as well. We went to get dinner last night and I was struggling because I knew that anywhere we went on a Tuesday night would feel particularly desolate and without character in comparison to Durban. But we went to Chipotle (burrito-y heaven) on East Hennepin and there was a man out front on the sidewalk playing the saxaphone. And the night skyline was gorgeous, as always. Minneapolis is home. There are great people here. There are great things to do here. It's just a matter of keeping your eyes open.
So now I start my journey back to real life. I'll be taking care of logistics today - resinstating car insurance, going through mail, unpacking, dusting, vacuuming, grocery shopping, and getting in touch with temp agencies so I can hopefully line up a job for next week.
But I'm going to do it a little more slowly than I would have before I left. I'll take a long walk through Theodore Wirth Park this morning (with hat, mittens, and flip-flops - I just can't give them up!) and maybe stop to watch the sun set this evening, if it's out.
I will dearly miss the warm Indian Ocean reaching out for my toes, but this is home. And rumor has it there's no place like it.
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Sunday, March 11, 2007
1 for 3
As of today, I have only made my return flight as planned on 1 out of 3 of my international trips. I arrived at the airport today and they had no record of me. My first clue that I was in trouble was when the check-in guy asked me, "Did you miss one of your connecting flights before this?" (I'm not really sure how that would work when I'm standing there right in front of him.) Anyway, it's a long story but I'll be flying out tomorrow instead, God willing.
There's always a positive - I now have a little more time to spend with the Hesches (I'm staying at their house tonight) and a little more time to spend in the warmth. Tonight is just lovely - I'm not sure anything will ever soothe me as much as a warm summer night does.
Meg and I did Durban in a day yesterday - well, not all of it, but we did a lot. I had about 4 days of Durban tourist activities planned for the end of my trip but stayed in Coffee Bay for 3 of those days (which I don't regret). We went to Essenwood Craft Market in the morning, had a wonderfully creative lunch from a stand there - bread, avocado, tomato, feta, some sauces. Yum. Then we went to Victoria Street Market and I shopped like crazy, walked around uShaka Marine World at the southern end of the beachfront and drove out to The Point right by the entrance to the harbor.
I said goodbye to the ocean this morning and it was hard. I'm not too sad about leaving Durban (Coffee Bay was the hard one to let go of) but leaving the ocean breaks my heart. A wave came up to meet my toes and we shared a moment with a seagull. Then I walked away. It would be easier if I knew when I would be back, but I don't.
Coming soon... my 'Best of Durban' list.
There's always a positive - I now have a little more time to spend with the Hesches (I'm staying at their house tonight) and a little more time to spend in the warmth. Tonight is just lovely - I'm not sure anything will ever soothe me as much as a warm summer night does.
Meg and I did Durban in a day yesterday - well, not all of it, but we did a lot. I had about 4 days of Durban tourist activities planned for the end of my trip but stayed in Coffee Bay for 3 of those days (which I don't regret). We went to Essenwood Craft Market in the morning, had a wonderfully creative lunch from a stand there - bread, avocado, tomato, feta, some sauces. Yum. Then we went to Victoria Street Market and I shopped like crazy, walked around uShaka Marine World at the southern end of the beachfront and drove out to The Point right by the entrance to the harbor.
I said goodbye to the ocean this morning and it was hard. I'm not too sad about leaving Durban (Coffee Bay was the hard one to let go of) but leaving the ocean breaks my heart. A wave came up to meet my toes and we shared a moment with a seagull. Then I walked away. It would be easier if I knew when I would be back, but I don't.
Coming soon... my 'Best of Durban' list.
Thursday, March 8, 2007
"To Getting Stuck in Coffee Bay"
Last night, Sam - the resident surf instructor from the UK - offered to toast me (it turns out he was just trying to catch me drinking with my right hand so he could call me on "buffalo," but a nice thought, nonetheless). I asked him what we were toasting to and he said, "To Coffee Bay - to getting stuck here."
Cheers to that.
Nate - my fellow American (who is from Indiana and also grew up thinking Indiana Beach was the most wonderful place in the world) - has been at Coffee Shack for almost 3 weeks now. Much like me, he only intended to stay a day or two.
I did intend to leave today. I even had my name down for the shuttle to town. But it's a hard place to leave. So I'll stay another day - but only another day. If I stay any longer I risk missing my flight out of Durban on Sunday. And now I only have one day when I get back to Durban. It's hard to believe.
So another day in Coffee Bay - coffee and time in the hammock, exploratory walks and sea life, the companionship and stories of fellow travelers.
The only way I have been able to console myself about leaving has been to promise I'll be back. Maybe I can come visit for 3 weeks every year. Or maybe I'll again find myself at a place in life where I want to spend 3 months overseas, maybe volunteering at the school here.
Walking along the rocks yesterday - watching the fish in the tidal pools and seeking shells - I was overcome with contentment at the thought of one day bringing my future kids here to explore the beach with childlike wonder, just as I have been doing.
It's a playground for imaginative wanderings and whimsical delights, Coffee Bay.
Cheers to that.
Nate - my fellow American (who is from Indiana and also grew up thinking Indiana Beach was the most wonderful place in the world) - has been at Coffee Shack for almost 3 weeks now. Much like me, he only intended to stay a day or two.
I did intend to leave today. I even had my name down for the shuttle to town. But it's a hard place to leave. So I'll stay another day - but only another day. If I stay any longer I risk missing my flight out of Durban on Sunday. And now I only have one day when I get back to Durban. It's hard to believe.
So another day in Coffee Bay - coffee and time in the hammock, exploratory walks and sea life, the companionship and stories of fellow travelers.
The only way I have been able to console myself about leaving has been to promise I'll be back. Maybe I can come visit for 3 weeks every year. Or maybe I'll again find myself at a place in life where I want to spend 3 months overseas, maybe volunteering at the school here.
Walking along the rocks yesterday - watching the fish in the tidal pools and seeking shells - I was overcome with contentment at the thought of one day bringing my future kids here to explore the beach with childlike wonder, just as I have been doing.
It's a playground for imaginative wanderings and whimsical delights, Coffee Bay.
Monday, March 5, 2007
Home Part II
So I've become somewhat of a resident here at Coffee Shack. It's quite lovely. Every time I think I might leave I decide to stay another day or two. And when I tell the staff my new planned departure date they smile at me - knowing I likely won't stick to it and saying, "You'll stay forever, you love us!" And I agree - I do love it. But I am flying back home on Sunday, so I must make it back to Durban by then.
The staff has been incredible from the moment I arrived - remembering everyone's name (which is impressive with 40+ guests on any given night) and making it feel just like home. If I'm not greeted by my name it's "sweetie" or "sisi" - it feels so much like a big family of people from random corners of the world. There are about 30 people from the local village employed here and 30% of the profits go back into the community. It's impressive, to say the least.
I met a girl who was born in Minneapolis and will be moving back in a few months to do her residency. We got to talking and it turns out her grandma lives about three doors down from me on Parkview Blvd. How's that for a small world story?
The staff has been incredible from the moment I arrived - remembering everyone's name (which is impressive with 40+ guests on any given night) and making it feel just like home. If I'm not greeted by my name it's "sweetie" or "sisi" - it feels so much like a big family of people from random corners of the world. There are about 30 people from the local village employed here and 30% of the profits go back into the community. It's impressive, to say the least.
I met a girl who was born in Minneapolis and will be moving back in a few months to do her residency. We got to talking and it turns out her grandma lives about three doors down from me on Parkview Blvd. How's that for a small world story?
Saturday, March 3, 2007
Coffee Shack
Coffee Shack is the name of the hostel I'm staying at in Coffee Bay. If anyone has seen the movie Camp Nowhere, it reminds me a lot of that. Camp Nowhere is about a group of kids that create a summer camp without any adult supervision - except that we're all (supposedly) adults here.
These are the rules at Coffee Shack:
1. Do not feed the dogs.
2. No shoes in the hammock. (The hammock is a huge net about 10 feet off the ground and 4 people can lay in it at once.)
3. "Buffalo Rules" in the bar - you must drink with your left hand (if you're caught doing otherwise you must finish your drink) and no drinks on the pool table.
That's it.
Here's a day in the life: I wake up at about 8am and have a cup of coffee and some cereal while I sit in a tree and watch the waves roll in. Whatever outing is planned for the day usually begins at 10:30am. Today we went to another beach - about half an hour away - surfed, played volleyball, had sandwiches toasted over a campfire for lunch, and just laid in the sun. When we got back here I climbed into the humongous hammock and listened to some music for a while. Then I played a game of pool. Dinner is served at 7:30pm and is consistently delicious - tonight was pasta and chicken with traditional Xhosa bread. The remainder of the evening is just spent hanging out - cards and Jenga are popular. Anything you eat or drink at the bar just gets added to your room fee - and it's all reasonably priced.
I can't complain.
These are the rules at Coffee Shack:
1. Do not feed the dogs.
2. No shoes in the hammock. (The hammock is a huge net about 10 feet off the ground and 4 people can lay in it at once.)
3. "Buffalo Rules" in the bar - you must drink with your left hand (if you're caught doing otherwise you must finish your drink) and no drinks on the pool table.
That's it.
Here's a day in the life: I wake up at about 8am and have a cup of coffee and some cereal while I sit in a tree and watch the waves roll in. Whatever outing is planned for the day usually begins at 10:30am. Today we went to another beach - about half an hour away - surfed, played volleyball, had sandwiches toasted over a campfire for lunch, and just laid in the sun. When we got back here I climbed into the humongous hammock and listened to some music for a while. Then I played a game of pool. Dinner is served at 7:30pm and is consistently delicious - tonight was pasta and chicken with traditional Xhosa bread. The remainder of the evening is just spent hanging out - cards and Jenga are popular. Anything you eat or drink at the bar just gets added to your room fee - and it's all reasonably priced.
I can't complain.
Thursday, March 1, 2007
Coffee Bay
I don't know where to start. Simply said, it's beautiful here - and a much welcomed break from the city-speed of Durban.
Even driving in yesterday through the countryside I was in love - the green hills, shades of gray mountains in the distance, Xhosa hut after Xhosa hut (they're circular and usually turquoise), and children - just playing. That's what children do - in whatever nation, in whatever climate, in whatever state of poverty or wealth - children play.
I've met so many interesting people - from England, Germany, South Africa, Denmark, and the US - and I've been fascinated listening to everyone's stories. Apparently I'm not the only one who takes 3 months off from the real world to spend time in Africa, and that's reassuring. People have such diverse backgrounds and yet such consistently human needs, wants, and desires.
After we arrived yesterday we went up to the top of a big hill with a cliff dropping right down to the ocean for "sundowners" (drinks at sundown). Dinner last night was fish on the braai (bbq) and some girls from the village came to perform traditional Xhosa dance - then there was a group of drummers. We spent today at the beach. I had another surfing lesson and actually did alright.
The coast is just beautiful. And my favorite part about the town is that the farm animals roam freely - even by the shoreline. A bunch of cows were hanging out with us while we surfed today. It's hard to move too quickly when there is a cow sitting next to you munching on grass. It's such a humane pace of life.
So I cancelled my bus ticket to Cape Town tomorrow. I'm not sure if I'll go at a later date or skip it altogether. I love it here - and I'm not feeling any desire to try to navigate my way through another big city. We'll see what happens. Isn't it wonderful that I don't have to decide right now?
I'll just be here for now, hanging out with the goats and the waves - absolutely loving every moment of it.
Even driving in yesterday through the countryside I was in love - the green hills, shades of gray mountains in the distance, Xhosa hut after Xhosa hut (they're circular and usually turquoise), and children - just playing. That's what children do - in whatever nation, in whatever climate, in whatever state of poverty or wealth - children play.
I've met so many interesting people - from England, Germany, South Africa, Denmark, and the US - and I've been fascinated listening to everyone's stories. Apparently I'm not the only one who takes 3 months off from the real world to spend time in Africa, and that's reassuring. People have such diverse backgrounds and yet such consistently human needs, wants, and desires.
After we arrived yesterday we went up to the top of a big hill with a cliff dropping right down to the ocean for "sundowners" (drinks at sundown). Dinner last night was fish on the braai (bbq) and some girls from the village came to perform traditional Xhosa dance - then there was a group of drummers. We spent today at the beach. I had another surfing lesson and actually did alright.
The coast is just beautiful. And my favorite part about the town is that the farm animals roam freely - even by the shoreline. A bunch of cows were hanging out with us while we surfed today. It's hard to move too quickly when there is a cow sitting next to you munching on grass. It's such a humane pace of life.
So I cancelled my bus ticket to Cape Town tomorrow. I'm not sure if I'll go at a later date or skip it altogether. I love it here - and I'm not feeling any desire to try to navigate my way through another big city. We'll see what happens. Isn't it wonderful that I don't have to decide right now?
I'll just be here for now, hanging out with the goats and the waves - absolutely loving every moment of it.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
