Durban: A Truly International City

On Monday, we dispersed from our in-country orientation in Pietermaritzburg to our host sites.  Now I had heard that Durban was a diverse, international city, but I never truly appreciated that until I arrived in Durban to stay.  One of the sites where I will be working is a creche (pre-school for children aged 0-6) started by refugees and operating for refugees from various conflicted regions in Africa.  Walking down the street, I see people from all over the world mingling with each other, going about their daily business.  The very first night I was in Durban, there was a parents meeting at the creche where one of the sponsoring agencies, the Mennonite Central Committee, brought in speakers from the US and Canada to talk about parental involvement in their child's education.  While at the meeting, I was introduced along with a German volunteer who is also working at the creche.

Being in a very international environment has served as an immediate reminder to me of the many tensions I will be living this year on my journey.  There are dichotomies between serving and being served, learning and teaching, doing and being.  Orientation helped me to cast aside my old way of approaching life and become open to new ways of living.  As I expand the relationships I have already formed and develop new ones this year, I will learn to adjust to these tensions and experience a new way of approaching life.