This is Africa?

People still ask me how it is playing with lions, giraffes, cheetahs, and living in a hut all day. I know that most of them are just being facetious, but honestly many people are ignorant about just HOW urbanized some parts of Africa are. Yes, people here have nice cars, hotels, skyscrapers, cell phones, "real jobs," and are very successful. Don't be shocked- most of them are probably smarter than you are. "Developed" culture is almost as dominant here as it is in the U.S. and Europe. A lot of Americans don't understand how much South Africa (especially Durban) has evolved the last 20 or so years, and it's bringing about an interesting fusion and evolution of  culture that brings about a debate of what's truly considered valuable and important here. In some ways, it's really enhanced opportunity and a more comfortable way of life. In other ways, it's really diminished authentic African values. However, as visitors, we've gotten star treatment here and have had good experiences culturally and just as people who like to have some fun.

Here are some fun pics of urbanized Durban as we've experienced it. 

Running barefoot on the beach- the Indian Ocean is really warm. 

Easting Ostrich like a fine steak over potatoes

Getting ready to Go-Kart hard core at the Gateway

King's Park stadium for Rugby- Sam and I went to a game (left-home of the Springbox) and Moses Mahbida  (right- hosted Fifa World Cup in 2010). if you want to see what I'm going to do in MM in a couple of days, look up bigrush.co.za!!!)

Many people here really are concerned about coming across as successful and cool. The way of SA really is to host well, to have the best quality of everything, and to aspire to more. This can be a good thing and a bad thing. Many of the young adults that I talked to are fairly obsessed with American culture- and I'm not ignorant of the fact that being American may have played a hand in how kind people were to me the past few week. This attitude is seen ALL over the city-you see plenty of fancy cars, sky scrapers, top notch restaurants, etc. and American music is played everywhere.

Driving behind this baby on the way to Gateway. I love hot yellow Lambourginis.

Seen right after the Top Gear show at Moses Mahbida Stadium in Durban. I LOVE white convertables- no matter
the make. This is a Beamer.

But then, you have the "have nots." Poverty is rampant in Durban, and inflation is increasing. Right now, the Rand is 9.92 to one American $. Ouch. People who live in the dense part of the city have to deal with scambling for work, the drug indusry is huge, and theft if a major, famous part of experiencing South Africa. Here are a few examples of things I've seen:

An example of the street market. This looks quiet and peaceful, but most of the time it's a fairly hectic place. 

This is the main source of public transcrpotation. They drive CRAZY! Even though it seems fun, these minibuses can be somewhat dangerous and they drive negligibly. Interestingly enough, I never see white people ride these- again, there is still a cultural divide.

You can see people getting in and out of taxis in a typical part of town. 

Residence halls for some DUT students- in a  sketchy part of town.

Raising a child here in SA would be difficult, but i know that many women and men are strong and do the best they can to uphold values.

Anyway, I hope this gives you a taste of Durban- it may give you another perspective on life. What do you value? What do you think it takes to make a community and your family succeed?