Essay. Topic: My Life In eShowe

Inspired by my friend Denis I decided to create a blog. This is the very first and therefore amateur version of what a blog should be. Anyway, My Blog. So that I can write about things I see and how I see them. There definitely were moments worth some blog posts while I lived in cold, northern, Danish culture in Aalborg. Too late for those, now. Let me introduce you to my African life.

A girl from Eastern Europe, growing up in a village of one thousand people (for some of you it is only a tribe, ha?) in the heart of European continent – Slovakia –   whose mother tongue reminds you of  “mother Russia” decided to conquer the world ;) Conquer herself and learn a lot!

That’s the introduction.

Here we go.

[Editors note: not edited]

Thanks for all the “likes” on my facebook updates, posts and pictures. Now is the time for me to write something more about the life here, how it works/ doesn’t work… and how do I see it.

It was clear and natural that the arrival to a new culture on the other side of the globe would be difficult. However, humans are adaptable creatures and so am I. It took a while to get used to it. It also took some tears and my friends’ time- chatting, calling, texting. All of you deserve a big “thanks”!

Before and also during my travelling, people used to ask me where am I going, why am I going there and what am I going to do. I just kept repeating the same phrase all the time:“ that as a part of my university studies in Denmark I am going to do my 3-months internship in South Africa in a small NGO which is working on various project with vulnerable children in rural villages." And I swear that it was all I knew. (until lately)

After a long journey I arrived to Durban on Monday 26 Sep. 2011. The boss and two other colleagues from the NGO came to pick me up. Very nice people. Really. But since that day I haven’t really seen them, because they’ve been attending some workshops and conferences for two weeks now. Anyway, they drove me to “the town”. To Eshowe.. or eShowe as they write. You can google all the information yourself. All those facts and numbers can hardly describe how’s the reality. It took me 3-4 days to find out where I came and where I am going to stay for next 3 months. As the sun sets around 5.30PM it gets dark soon, and everyone keeps telling you that it is not very safe to walk around here alone (even in a group), once you are done at work (4PM) you prefer to go home, cook something and stay in a safe place (bed) watching pictures and reading articles about eShowe online.

Those were my first days. I live with a colleague (24) from France. Her boyfriend (29) from Libya joined us a bit later. No comment! "Nice" cultural mixture! And not only cultural! I don’t want to write a lot about my accommodation. But at least something: we live in a house of the NGO’s director, “low-cost conditions”, but I have my own bed and some shelves in a wardrobe, I share a room with Marie (French girl), we have a kitchen, a living room with huge LCD TV and hundreds of channels, and in the bathroom there is “flushable”(=not 100% flushing) toilet :) And we also have hot water.. ehm.. warm water.. in the shower. I have everything you are used to, everything you consider a must and necessity. Maybe a bit damaged or with limited use.. but I have!

 Well almost everything. I got a slap in the face the second day already when the temperature outside was about 15°C. And me- naïve European- haven’t brought anything warm when I left my home. I thought “Well, Africa!” and my baggage limit was only 30 kg. But I couldn’t resist and in the last moment I decided to take 2 long-sleeve sweatshirts putting one into another. So I was traveling with my huge bags (actually not that huge) and 2in1 sweatshirts hanging over my arm, bag or somewhere else. When traveling on the train in Johannesburg one man was obviously very impressed by the amount and size of my luggage and started to talk to me. After reciting my “as a part of my university studies in Denmark I am going…” monologue, he- slightly smiling (maybe thinking I am strange) looking at my “2in1” gave me an advice that I am not going to need “it” (=2in1) there. Me being a strong personality, I kept on struggling with all those bags and an extra 2in1. (But I need to point out that those are only a bit warmer than a regular t-shirt! So that you don’t think I was carrying some knitted woolen sweaters. Now it actually doesn’t seem to be a bad idea at all)

Our office is situated in the town, approx. 15 minutes walking distance form where we live. Though, the picture I uploaded on facebook may resemble nice tropical summer house, or as Lukas commented “a nice weekend dwelling place” (for relax I guess), the reality is slightly different. A brick house! And that’s it! Well the toilet here works 100%. And so does the insulation. I guess it would take around 3 hot weeks full of sunshine to let some warm penetrate throughout there cold walls inside and the temperature rises above 15°C.

So.. I am sitting here today dressed in my 2in1 (and I didn't plant to wear them both at the same time. The 2in1 idea was mainly to save the space and make my travelling and manipulation will all the luggage easier;) ), the electric radiator is on, my fingers are getting more and more blue, outside rain and wind.

I am not complaining, because I know that in december I will hardly breath in the heat and my 2in1 will be forgotten long before.

So. This post was about my life here in eShowe.  I will add more later;)

How is „their life“ and what I have experienced yesterday.. comming soon.

Apologies for my English (spelling and grammar).. but I have mentioned that I live with a French and a Libyan and local people here speak Zulu.