South African Journey

New Years was, like Christmas, quite different than those of the past. New Years Eve 2009 I was swimming in the Indian Ocean on the Durban coast. I along with 4 other volunteers gathered together for a few days in Durban because we were told that that is where all of Africa goes for New Years. The weather became rainy as the clock ticked towards 2010. As we walked out onto the beach a few minutes before midnight we were shocked to find it beach fairly empty. We just assumed that the rain kept most people indoors. Yet the rain didn’t put much of a damper on the many fireworks displays in the city. There were even people shooting mortars out of their 10th + floor apartment building. It was quite a site! People were so excited that the year they have been waited for for 6 years finally had arrived. 2010 is the year that South Africa will be thrust into the living rooms of nearly a billion people around the world as they tune in to watch the Fifa World Cup. As we woke up the next morning and headed out to the beach we found that almost the entire city was there. It was a great experience to be in the middle of the excitement as we rung in the year so many here are looking forward to.