University of Natal (NU)

For anyone who is visiting South Africa for the first time I would highly recommend living on campus. There is a large and varied array of people with many different cultures and languages to meet, and living on campus also allows you to speak with and befriend individuals that you may not otherwise come into contact with. The dorms are in good shape with communal bathrooms and kitchens. There are only single occupant rooms (mine had a stunning view of the Indian Ocean and Durban proper), and while they are nicely equipped with a sink and a large closet, there is only one electrical outlet. To those used to extreme connectivity this may seem rather upsetting, but I never heard many complaints from either native students or other exchange students about this lack. If you like animals you'll be happy to occasionally find a cat, a monkey, or an hadeda ibis hanging out in your dorm room. Finally, if you're a vegetarian be prepared to share refrigerator and kitchen space with a lot of meat eaters; Zulus and most other African cultures, who compose the majority of on-campus students, tend to eat a lot of meat. Fortunately, the meat that is produced in South Africa is far better than what is produced in America, mainly because Halal rules about preparation and killing are strongly adhered to.

South Africa is a dream come true for an anthropologist. There is such a ridiculous array of cultures, foods and ideas that it is often difficult not to lose oneself in the maelstrom that is Durban. Also, for those interested in animals and ecology, South Africa is one of the few places on Earth with a lot of natural, preserved areas. I had many encounters with exotic wildlife both in the city and outside of it. The best way to experience all that the country has to offer is to travel as much as possible. Finally, the best thing to do for yourself when immersed in a new culture is to relax and take cues from others. Africans are generally garrulous and kind people, but you'll have a much easier time of meeting people if you simply be yourself, learn the native customs and pleasantries, and understand what should and should not be said. While Africans are mostly nice people, there are many social taboos that you will not notice at first. Instead of sticking your foot in your mouth, take a while to watch and feel out how social interactions occur among native students. This not only applies to black Africans but also to whites, Muslims, and people of Indian descent. Each culture, no matter how familiar it may seem at first, has distinctive traits that could get you into trouble if you are not cautious about your actions and speech at first. This is meant as a polemic against ethnocentrism as well as a warning about how dangerous South Africa really is. KwaZulu-Natal has extreme poverty, class disparity, and nearly the highest AIDS rate anywhere in the world. South Africa as a nation is one of the most dangerous countries on Earth according to the UN. Therefore, in order to protect yourself it is of the utmost importance to become culturally sensitive towards the new groups that you will be meeting.

Durban is very different from most American cities because of the extreme crime rates. It is difficult and unadvised to walk around much of the cityby yourself during the day. At night you should only move around by car. This was truly irritating for me since I am an avid cyclist. Fortunately, I was able to become best friends with a South African student who had a car, which made both traveling and hanging out in the city much easier. Taking a taxi is a good alternative as well, but it becomes costly unless you have a lot of passengers. Another answer to the trasnportation problem is to get some money together with other students and by a used car. A few people did this and were able to travel around the country every weekend and vacation. As for places to hang out/visit, I would recommend going to Beanbag Bohemia, which has amazing cuisine, good music, and a laidback atmosphere. If you're looking for something more lively there is the BAT Centre. It is renowned as a local arts and culture center with a yummy restaurant during the day. At night the place becomes a nightclub with different themes every day, the most entertaining and crazy being hip hop night. Not into hip hop? There are many clubs featuring different styles of techno, particularly drum and bass, psy trance, and house. One of the truly annoying problems with Durban that has become a sarcastic truism for many is that there is no good rock/alternative scene. During the day there are a multitude of fantastic sites to visit including the Japanese Gardens, the Durban Art Museum, the beautiful beaches, the aquarium, a water park, Victoria Street Market, shark dissections, and a lot more that I cannot remember at the moment. Finally, for entertainment both day and night you have to visit Gateway, the largest mall in the southern hemisphere. I know this may sound consumerist and rather lame but it is a fantastic place with good shopping, enormous movie theatres, an independent film theatre, performance space, bars and a skate park designed by Tony Hawk.

Books in general are very expensive in South Africa with even the average soft cover costing about R120 ($20). This is due to a lack of publishers throughout most of Africa. The good news is that the texts for most courses are printed by the university and therefore are easy to find. Unfortunately, textbooks are not covered in tuition fees and you may be smacked with about R60 for materials for each class. It's affordable, but it was an unexpected cost for most of the international students. UKZN is well-equipped with computer lounges and has good internet connectivity. It is pretty much impossible to come across WiFi access though, unless you go to a coffee shop. Even then most establishments will make you pay for the privilege. Save yourself the worry and cost by leaving the laptop at home. As for amenities such as banks, phone minutes, or ATMs, UKZN has a few varieties of each on campus tht are accessible twenty-four hours a day. Beware the cost of using banks though; every transaction you talk to a teller for is usually charged to your account. Putting it easily - watch out for the banks and the phone companies. Both are vicious and money-grubbing with many hidden expenses.