Law Students

First Couple of Days- Created 5/24

By katemort

            I have now been in Durban for three days. I have yet to start working, so these first days have been my adjustment period. At first I was somewhat hesitant to put off en starting work, but I am glad that I took this time to get things figured out a little bit and get settled.

            So far South Africa has been interesting. I was in Cape Town about four years ago for a week visiting a friend and despite that being a short experience, I saw enough to know that Durban is very different. There were times in Cape Town when I wouldn?t have really known that I was in Africa. Particularly on Victoria Waterfront, it feels so European and is very white. Since I have arrived in Durban, I have constantly aware that

I am white. It is still somewhat diverse here- there are many Indians and some whites, but when we walk around town I am very aware that I am different and seemingly everyone around me is too. On the way to the grocery store today, we walked through a park and were gawked at by school children. Perhaps I am being overly sensitive to this effect, but I tend to have a heightened awareness of people around me and a certain paranoia, so this might be something I have to discuss with my roommates to see if they have experienced the same thing.

            The rooming situation is going very well. There are Susan and I who have been friends since the beginning of the school year, and then two WashU students. One is Melissa, who is very nice. We are celebrating her birthday tomorrow. The other is Ande, who happens to be a friend of mine from high school?s cousin which is great. She reminds me a lot of him so we get along great.

            The first couple of days consisted of getting acquainted with your new place and our new city.

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Full post as published by Ms. JD on May 26, 2008 (boomark / email).