January
14, 2003
Second Letter:
We are into week three at Inanda Seminary, Durban, South Africa, and starting to feel settled in and adjusting to some routines. But it still hits us with a jolt-WE ARE IN SOUTH AFRICA!
So, what are our routines? Every school day starts with chapel service at
7:30, led by Reverend Susan, who has become a great friend, or by another faculty
member. This includes songs (sometime English, sometimes Zulu) scripture and
then a message. School announcements are made after the service.
Then the girls go to classes from 8-2:40. During this time we usually go
back to Stanwood House where we are staying. Here Katrina does her schooling,
getting ready for the GED test and doing reading about South Africa. Diane
does correspondence, reading and Will usually is working on some project
for the school. Once a week we hitch a ride with Scott and Susan, the chaplain,
when they take Micah to preschool. We go to a Hypermarket (kind of like Super
Wal-Mart) or we go to Gateway (the second largest mall in the Southern Hemisphere).
There we buy food and supplies and do post office and e-mail errands. The
school is still not connected for Internet.
Stanwood was built in 1906 to house some of the missionary teachers. Over the years the school accumulated antique furniture, much of which had fallen into disrepair. So when the company, Sappi, renovated the school they had the furniture redone and most of it is housed in this building. So we are the lodgers/caretakers of this house, which serves as a guesthouse and board meeting place.
We are quite comfortable using 2 of the five bedrooms. We have a stove and mini refrigerator. We borrowed and purchased a few items to made daily life work-we do fine without a microwave, T.V or washing machine (we use the bath tub for that). When we signed on to do missionary work we didnt know how primitive conditions might be so we feel really blessed to be this comfortable.
After lunch Di and Kat go down to the library. There is still so much cleaning and sorting to do there. At 3:00 the girls have activities. Di has a library class twice a week that Kat attends; there we show the girls how to run a library so that they can take over after we leave. Twice a week Di also has an English class to help some 8th graders who speak Zulu. During this time Kat goes to Soccer, which she loves. Wills two activities are Yearbook/Newsletter, and Physical Education a walking/running class.
Di and Kat keep the library open from 4-6 for the girls to work on school projects, checkout books and read newspapers and magazines. There are usually 30-40 girls there. It is frustrating because most of the materials are old, dirty and out of date. But we make do. Will is also helping with fundraising, taking inventory photos and getting a website started.
Despite the busy school activities, we have managed to see something of Durban, a half-hour from campus. It is a modern looking city, the largest seaport in Africa on the Indian Ocean. It is one of the sites of the Cricket World cup going on until March. You always see lots of huge freighters going in and out of the harbor. There are tons of beautiful flowering trees and bushes, lush green hills, sugar cane blowing in the tropical breezes. It is like a paradise until you look more closely.
Then you see the poverty of the shantytowns. You hear how common crime and carjackings are. People are always on guard for their safety. And you note that although apartheid has been over since 1990, there is a still a big division of wealth by peoples color. We are learning a lot about South Africa, its history and issues. We will try to fill you in on that in a future installment.
We are having a South African summer now. Hot, (80s to 90s) humid with frequent rainstorms- it all feels terribly tropical. Will and Kat want me to tell you that today it is VERRRY HOT & Humid in the 100s!!!
So, that is a day in the life of the Sterbas in South Africa-an amazing experience!
Recorded by Di.
