Blog from June 10 and 11th--Catching up "Howisit?"

On June 10 th we travelled from Hluhluwe to Durban. We had a pretty low-key day because it was about a four hour car ride to Durban. When we got to Durban, we went right to St. Henry’s Marist College to tour the school and to get in touch with the Marist community here in South Africa. The school ranged from primary school to our version of high school aged students. We all thought that the college was absolutely beautiful. Some of the students said that the architecture reminded them of Floridian housing. The colors were bright and sunny, and there were many columns throughout the college. Our group felt extremely welcomed at the college and fit right into the community through a luncheon that St. Henry’s provided us. It was amazing to see such a functional school after our experiences with South African public education in the townships.

That afternoon we went to the local aquarium, UShaka, which is supposedly South Africa’s best display of marine life. Shortly after this, we met with a Professor named Sean from the University of KuaZulu Natal. Sean spoke to us about the history of Durban. Our group felt that they learned a lot from Sean and his optimistic outlook for Durban’s social and economic future. From there, the group separated. Some students went to a rugby game, while others went to dinner at an Italian revolving restaurant.

The next day, June 11 th , we had a very early flight to Johannesburg. We arrived shortly after 10am and left to settle down at the hotel. From there we left to go on a bus tour of Johannesburg to see the beauty of this city. Due to the rainy weather we weren’t able to get out of the bus and check out the city. But we’ll have plenty of time to explore in the next few days! After our tour of Johannesburg, we drove to Sacred Heart College where we had dinner at the Head Master’s house and we met with the faculty and staff. Like at St. Henry’s, we felt very welcomed into the Sacred Heart atmosphere. Our group is excited for the in-class observations tomorrow that we’ll be having at the school.