From Ocean to Ocean

By Caroline Pratt

Appreciating the Durban skyline

Still recovering from the busy month of October, I was exhausted and excited about the last few trips of the semester. While all of the CGEE trips are great, some independent travel has made my study abroad experience so much more impactful. Last weekend I traveled to Durban, South Africa. One of the other students and I caught a plane after class on Friday and made our way to a city so different from Windhoek. Durban, a common tourist destination for South Africans, was like no other South African city we had visited so far. It was so diverse and full of surfers and beach goers. Walking around, I felt just like I was walking down the boardwalk of California. While we were just there for the weekend, we filled our time with people watching, eating the local cuisines like Bunny Chow (half a loaf of bread filled with curry, one of the most filling meals of my life), and spending time on the beautiful Indian ocean. We also visited the Moses Mabhida Stadium, constructed for the 2010 world cup, and the Ushaka Marine world, the largest aquarium in Africa. It was incredible to have the freedom the explore the city independently and see an entirely different part of South Africa, far different than what we had seen in Joburg, the Eastern Cape, or Cape Town.
 

Coming back on Monday, there was no time to waste with classes and internship Tuesday and Wednesday before the entire group left for Swakopmund. One of my highlights of the week though was visiting the local Mosque in religion. Being Catholic and never having the experience of going to a Mosque before, it was eye opening to see a place of worship that functioned very differently than my own. We spent most of the lecture learning about the history of Islam in Namibia and about the teachings of Islam. With the Muslim community making up such a small percentage of the Namibia population, it was cool to see how they functioned as a minority religion.

 



Becca and I enjoying the Swakopmund Atlantic Ocean

Come Thursday the group headed to Swakopmund, a coastal town on the Atlantic Ocean, known for its German architecture and beautiful beaches. On our first day, we took a tour around town where we saw the many lasting memorabilia to German colonialism. In the center of town, we saw a giant sculpture commemorating the fallen German soldiers and went to the glamourous German cemetery, located just next to the large resting place of the Herero and Nama that died during the genocide, with graves unmarked. In the very corner of the cemetery is the monument to the Hereros and Namas that was removed a few years prior because it ‘smelled’ and was moved back after it received some push back. We then saw the townships and where most of the population of Swakop lives. Laidlaw Peringanda, our tour guide and artists/activist, did a great job of providing a holistic view of Swakop and we saw it for what it was instead of the German tourist town that looks like it could be straight out of the German section of Epcot.

The second day of our trip we spent learning all about foreign investment in Namibia and conservation. We visited Sea Works, a Namibian run fishing factory. We learned about all of the laws and regulations put in place to ensure Namibia benefits from the industry such as 51% of all industry must be Namibian owned. Unfortunately, we went while the factory was closed because Namibia has a law that there can be no fishing done during the month of October. This was great though because it allowed time for employees to return home and still received compensation. Later that day we went to the Namibian Dolphin Project where the two employees were working to do research and help the local industries. 

Group photo during our ATV Dune trip in Swakopmund

On our free day, the entire team went ATVing all around the dunes and I spent the rest of the day enjoying life on the Atlantic. It was truly a week to remember, from the Indian ocean to the Atlantic in just seven days. Study abroad is something.