experiential learning is great =)

Sorry its been awhile – this update is going to be a doozy! (i think we'll have to do another one for the rural area or it will be way too long!)

We’ll start with the classroom. We’ve had lectures on gender, religion, development, reconciliation, and education and some wonderful excursions that went along with these talks!
In connection to development we went on a beautiful ride up through mountains to a place known as Inanda Dam. During apartheid, the land was sold by a chief and entire communities were flooded out to make a huge dam. Tragically, the chief stole the money and none was paid to the people. There are currently rumors that a Korean company wants to build a super hotel on the communal grazing land of the remaining community. With this excursion and lecture, the question we were left with is: what is development and development for whom?
We did have an opportunity to see an example of good development when we went to Warwick Junction. Its a very large market on the edge of Durban where approximately 800,000 people travel through daily. You can find anything you want there- from herbal remedies and fresh produce to clothes and cds. We each bought a pair of plastic blue “jellies” (shoes) for 20 rand ($2); they are incredibly comfortable and very popular with the kids where we live! We toured the market and spoke with a city official whose office was next to the market and it appears that in recent years the development projects for the market have stemmed from the needs of the vendors and have been very positive/effective. Unfortunately, we learned that due to the push for “development” for the 2010 World Cup, many officials want to take out all the vendors and replace them with a mall =(.
On Saturday, we went on a 6 hour walking tour of Durban with a very eccentric man which ended at the infamous Bat Center. We had heard about it since our 1st day in Durban but we hadn’t yet had a chance to go. We were very impressed with what we saw on Saturday and during our subsequent visits. As some of you may know, we are interested in creating our own community center and this would be a great model. Among many things, the Bat Center has an art studio and gallery, a café, and a stage area which constantly hosts events that serve as a creative outlet for young adults such as concerts, spoken word performances, etc. We have enjoyed visiting again, it’s a great place to meet South Africans our own age, which we have been wanting to do =).
We've also visited the largest mosque in the southern hemisphere, a refugee center, a women's cooperative. Sigh...there is just so much...I guess we'll leave some stories to be told in person when we return...