July 15th, 2018 by edwardchristiansen

Hello to all. I have been trying to do this for the last 12-14 days. For numerous reasons which are less than important, I have been unable to begin my blogging experience. From no internet, to lack of other resources and power, etc. this trip has been a whirlwind thus far. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the initial aspect of my trip from which most international travelers experience; CULTURE SHOCK.

Having travelled internationally before combined with seeing real poverty in the hollers of appalachia in  Stinking Creek, Kentucky, I felt minimally/moderately prepared for what awaited me in South Africa. Oh how I was wrong! As I flew the 16hr flight into Johannesburg, I prepped for an international airport-type feel. Security was surprisingly well-organized and swift. Having some difficulty finding my small regional flight to Durban, South Africa, I wandered rather aimlessly around the large airport. After finally finding the terminal, I boarded a plane and flew the remaining hour to Durban. I found a taxi and proceeded to my hotel for the evening, as it was 9pm already. I stumbled into a rather unassuming hotel and grabbed my room key. Exhausted, not acclimated, and annoyed by the 20+ 13-15 year olds that composed an international children’s choir on my 16hr flight(oh how my patience was tested), I stumbled to my room. As I opened the door, my grouchiness worsened. All I see is a kitchen and a couch…where’s the bed? Turns out 160Rand(~$12) gets one a two-story, two bathroom apartment. Ahhhhh. Suffice it to say, my nights sleep would be well-appreciated for the following day I was set to travel to Mseleni Hospital by taxi.

After a lovely breakfast buffet, I had the front desk call me a taxi and gave them the place I wished to go. I boarded a lovely indian taxi driver’s cab and set out for what would be a rather long, arduous journey. The trip was presented to me in the following manner:

“It should take about 3 hours by taxi. Make sure to follow the signs.”

However, when you look at the website, it says the following:

• Take the N2 northbound out of Durban towards Stanger
• Continue along the N2 for approximately 300km past Stanger, Empangeni and Mtubatuba. (Note: there are tolls along this road)
• Take the turning off the N2 for Hluhluwe. This didn’t look “right” to the taxi driver…so we asked for directions from someone on the side of the road.(see below)
• At the end of the offramp turn right, following the signs for Sodwana Bay
• Follow the road through Hluhluwe (past the Engen garage and Wimpy restaurant)
• At the T-junction turn left  There were no T junctions only roundabouts
• 1km along this road turn right across a railway line, following the signs for Sodwana Bay
• Follow this road all the way to Mbazwana (Note: there are nasty speed bumps along this road–be particularly careful of the ones at the turning for Phinda)
• At Mbazwana there are 2 roundabouts. Go straight on at these roundabouts, following the road around clockwise.  Taxi driver got confused and took the 3rd turn as opposed to the 4th. This took us 40 km down a dirt road until we hit a quarry. We asked directions here again. They had never heard of Mseleni!(see below)
• 20km along this road there is a green sign for Mseleni. Do not follow this sign, but continue for another 3km until you see a brown sign for Mseleni Hospital. There were at least 3 signs and they were all green!
• Turn right at this junction and continue to the end of the road, up the hill and through the gate into Mseleni Hospital

Go straight!!! What?

The quarry. 40km in the wrong direction.

I arrived 5 1/2 hours later. Dr. Fredlund, whom I was staying with and was set to meet, was “in theatre.” As I waited for him, I was shown to my room. Long story short, the Fredlund’s had an event and could not house me for the first week and I was put up in one of the lodging houses on the hospital premises. I quickly dropped my bags and headed back up the hill to the hospital where I met Dr. Fredlund. A very kind man, we discussed a few items and he began to walk out the gate of the hospital. He stopped, turned around, and asked if I had plans for dinner. I politely said no and was invited over to his home where I was told we’d be attending a large revival of the AEC(African Evangelical Church) in another town. We packed into a small red car and set off. On the way, I learned how to make that clicking sound common in so many Zulu(the native language here) words. Among other things, I also learned unlike in the states where I am from, here one worries about hitting zebra and giraffes while driving! Yikes. Talk about some damage.

We pulled up and I was quickly shuffled to a small room. Dr. Fredlund began explaining that I’d be eating with the married men. A small schoolroom full of men was what I walked into. After nonchalantly sitting down, i was quickly passed a plate of food. This appeared to be a meat dish with some thick brownish gravy sitting on a bed of thick rice. Everyone prayed by singing a zulu song and the eating commenced. No one spoke and I did my best to shovel the food in. I had some idea that regardless of the taste of this food, it would be rude to leave anything behind. About halfway through the meal, I realized a piece of meat was chewier than I was accustomed to. Yep…that has to be tripe! This was my first time trying this and while I had no issue with the taste, the texture left much to be desired. As I looked up, every other man in the room had finished there plate and was looking at me. I shoveled the remainder of the food in quickly and handed my plate to the woman who served everyone. She grabbed the plate and the room began laughing. As I sheepishly leaned over to Dr. Fredlund to ask if I’d offended anyone, he giggled and said “no.” “They just realized there’s no way you’re married!”

Google image of tripe with samp

The revival is what one would suspect. I didn’t understand any of the service as it was in Zulu, but the music was praise-like and happy. Singing is very important in the worship of the locals. After 2 hours, we loaded the car and headed back. I stumbled to my room and crashed excited for the next days rounds. What would I see? How would my presence be interpreted by the other healthcare personnel? Would the tripe stay down?

The tripe stayed down!