Living It Up in South Africa

Behold our lodgings. As soon as we tidy it up a bit, it will seem like home. Meanwhile all thoughts of starting a more simple life among the locals evaporated during the first few hours.

After two days in Joburg, we took a short (expensive because of excess baggage weight) flight to the new King Shaka airport in Durban where we were met by Ross Olivier and his wife, Shayne. Ross is the president of the seminary. They have begun to take us through the maze of South African living with great patience and humor.

We were thinking that the address we were given was where we would be living - among the seminarians in a block of flats. The address was actually the temporary office of the seminary. And it was essentially uninhabitable. The office is now located in the new building about a mile away. Instead, we are in a house owned by the seminary, by ourselves, furnished, with kitchen, running hot and cold water and electricity. It has enough room for guests, so make your reservations. The "hut" in the photo is actually in the back yard as a sort of covered patio.

Now we are learning how to buy food and cook using the metric system, open a bank account (2 days), get a land line (not yet), buy cell phones (3 days), deal with faucets where the hot water is on the right of some of them, and some on the left side, and figure out which of the dozen or so keys to this house work. We've also looked for cars and I think we found one provided the Bank of Tampa gets the $$ wired. Getting used to driving the hilly roads on the left side of the road is upon us. As well, the little Toyota we are getting has a left-handed stick shift. The turn signal is on the right and the wipers on the left. Otherwise, it's a walk in the park.

And there are the wonderful things. This is a beautiful city. It is very dry during the winter and we can only imagine what it will be like in the spring. The weather is nearly perfect. We were able to get an appointment with our new Dr. with a call on Mon. and an appointment the next morning. We have taken walks around the neighborhood and the university athletic fields across the road. No more flat surfaces for awhile.

A couple of days ago Peter Storey stopped by to welcome us. We sat outside on the patio and had tea……really. He remembered that the start to the journey of being here began nearly 3 years ago at a place named "Bertha's" where we had lunch together in Peter's hometown of Simonstown, just south of Cape Town.

The lady who waited on me at the bank was Indian. There is a very large Indian community in this city. I asked her if there were any good Indian restaurants here. After consulting her mother about the best one's, she e-mailed me to invite us to her mother's home for "real" Indian food.

There are malls here. There are malls in the U.S.. They are indistinguishable.

We think the Rays have lost just one game since we left on the 20th. If that's all it takes, we're glad to help.

Our first day at the seminary will be Wed., Aug. 4. While Ross has discussed only briefly our assignments, we are already very excited about the possibilities.

I will be managing the field education program. From what little I know, it will be challenging and involve a lot of interpersonal contact. As well, he is considering having me teach an eleven week course on the laws of the Methodist Church of South Africa. What?? But the more I think about it, the better I like it.

The best thing about this corner of South Africa? - the hospitality, curiosity and joyful attitude of so many of the people we have met. Of course, there are the others, living on the margins, but what happens at this seminary and what we do here promises to set into motion a flock of religious leaders, equipped to address the needs of their congregations and communities. It is a high honor to be a part of it.