A flourishing social calendar....

I have officially moved into my new flat. Me oh my, do I love this place. These few pictures don’t do it justice. I can’t decide what my favorite part about it is. The fact that my roommate and I each have our own bathrooms, the washing machine, the oven/microwave oven/TRUE microwave all-in-one (these South Africans really love their combined kitchen appliances) or the view of the famous Durban stadium that hosted so many World Cup Games set against the blue of the ocean. It’s just wonderful. Now if only the telephone and internet companies could get their act together and stop telling me it may take months to get my internet installed….

Last Friday was a holiday here in South Africa so we had a three-day weekend. I swear I’m trying to work hard, but this country seems to want to let me take it easy. So instead of work, the people I work with (i.e. the pediatric infectious disease department) decided to organize a dinner at one of the doctor’s homes to welcome me to Durban. See what I mean about friendly? It was to be a potluck affair so I made plans with Saj, one of my co-workers who has quickly become one of my best friends here, to go over to her mother’s house and help her mother cook something for our dinner. As I pulled into her driveway, Saj and both her parents came out to greet me and welcome me to their home. Over the course of the afternoon, Saj’s mom fed me numerous times, Saj’s father took my car out to get washed and best of all, Saj decided to dress me in some of her old formal Indian clothing that she no longer wears since she’s adopted a burkah. After a full day of delicious Indian food and wearing this gorgeous beaded gown, I felt like a true Indian princess.

The rest of the weekend, I spent exploring and doing more to make Durban my home. I have to say, having a dependable car and Garmin do make exploring this city on my own quite easy and enjoyable. Who’s Garmin, you ask? Garmin is my newest electroniclove: my lovely GPS loaded with South African maps. Over the past week since I’ve been driving, Garmin and I have become acquainted and are becoming steadfast friends. We’ve had communication problems, much like any couple does after the initial honeymoon period passes—“I haven’t turned yet, you stupid machine! Don’t re-calculate! Argh, why can’t you just be patient! I’m trying to do as you say!”—but, slowly we’ve begun to understand each other. Although it occasionally still thinks I haven’t followed its instructions, Garmin always gets me where I’m going and for that I trust it with my life. (Quite literally…after all, Garmin is what finds my way home after dark when all the Durban streets begin to look alike to me.) Over the past few days, I’ve become emboldened enough to turn the little machine off and find my way home on my own, for it has become my mantra that driving without the GPS and getting lost is the only way for me to learn these streets. (For the worriers out there, don’t worry, I only allow myself to get lost during daylight). However, for any new exploration or destination, Garmin is there for me, like the best of friends. And for those of you wondering whether I came up with the name “Garmin,” alas, no. This inanimate object came with its own name.

What other updates? Ah yes, I joined a gym and wow, does it put my old New York gym to shame. Which is saying a lot because my NY gym was pretty nice. But this one, which is costing me a literal third of the price, is just so much snazzier. For one thing, it has a heated pool. Non-public pool access is as much a commodity here as it is in Manhattan. However, it also has tons of classes (my favorite!), a steam room, a health station where one can measure one’s weight, blood pressure and body fat percentage and rows and rows of machines, including the interesting “Power Plate.” The Power Plate is a vibrating exercise ball cut in half such that when you perform exercises on it, the vibrations recruit extra muscle fibers and give you twice as hard a workout. Or so I’m told. I’m feeling pretty skeptical about the physics behind this piece of equipment. Regardless, as I worked out yesterday with a trainer (I get a couple of sessions just for signing up!), I felt pretty good. Can’t wait to try out the Bollywood dance class tomorrow night.

But for now, I’m off to sleep…at 10 PM. A record early bedtime for me. The combination of being alone and not having regular internet with the added plus of not having to study has made me quite the productive person, if I do say so myself. But boy is it exhausting…zzzz...