A view of the street I live on.
Views from the veranda.
A view from my roommates window....a car decorated for a wedding.
Also from my roommate's window...a car that suffered from (I'm guessing) a drunk driver late Friday night.
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Views from my apartment
Here are some views from my apartment.....Maputo is gorgeous!
A view of the street I live on.
Views from the veranda.
A view from my roommates window....a car decorated for a wedding.
Also from my roommate's window...a car that suffered from (I'm guessing) a drunk driver late Friday night.
A view of the street I live on.
Views from the veranda.
A view from my roommates window....a car decorated for a wedding.
Also from my roommate's window...a car that suffered from (I'm guessing) a drunk driver late Friday night.
My Apartment - Pics
Here are a few pictures of my apartment....
The kitchen (the counter also doubles as our ironing board).
My bedroom.
Our clothes dryer (Okay, so this isn't our clothesline - I took the picture from our back veranda of the building across the way. But ours is the same idea - the clothes are hanging on the outside of the building. If your clothes fall off....they are lost to the abyss below!!).
A Mozambican BBQ
Yesterday I had the great pleasure of attending a "churrasco" (a BBQ) at the home of one of my Mozambican colleagues. I was very excited about the whole affair - I thought it would be a great way to get to know some of my colleagues, plus, who doesn't love a good Mozambican party (not to mention the fact that it was a BBQ)? I pitched in my USD $12 for meat and booze and was told that my colleague, Milton, would pick me up at noon and that we'd be there for the afternoon. Fantastic.
The rest of the afternoon went as follows.....
12:15. Milton arrives (I was impressed by his punctuality - although I found out later that the BBQ had been scheduled to start at 11:30. Please bear this in mind as you continue to read). I hop in his car, and we head off across town. I actually had no idea where we were going...but I was not surprised that we had a few stops to make along the way. First, we stopped on some side street so that Milton can make a quick purchase (a bottle of gin and a bunch of tonics - which I think he polished off by himself). Then, we stopped at his house, so we could pick up his twin boys (this churrasco was a family affair, and he has the most adorable 3 year olds I've ever seen).
1:00 ish. We are finally on our way to the afternoon's event. We start driving, and I quickly realize that we are leaving the city. It turns out that this bbq is about 25 km outside Maputo, along the road that leads to the border with S. Africa (along which several clusters of 'condominiums' i.e. Mozambique's version of tract housing, are being constructed). It turns out that my colleague has recently purchased one such condo (in the middle of nowhere), and that is where we are headed. As we drive along, my colleague is nice enough to stop and point out a few interesting sites, and we also stop at a newly constructed Shoprite (a grocery store that could rival a Vons or Safeway in the states) to pick up beers and a few snacks for the boys.
1:45 ish. We arrive at the condo in the middle of nowhere. And lo and behold, we are the only people there. Let me repeat....the ONLY people there. People were told to arrive at 11:30, and two hours later we are the only people there. And (again to repeat), this place is in the middle of nowhere. The only other things around are the 9 other houses in the compound that look exactly like the one we've pulled up to. Luckily, we can get into the backyard (which has a table and chairs)...so we have a seat, crack open a couple of beers, and hang out.
3:00 ish. Someone else arrives. If you did the quick math, we sat there for about an hour....me, Milton, and his two boys (who were happy as can be playing in the dirt). But then a steady stream of people started trickling in, eventually the owners of the house appeared, and all of a sudden, the table was full of food (I'm not sure where it came from, as there hadn't been anyone home to cook all afternoon....I think they brought it from somewhere...???). Two large speakers and a stereo system also appeared, so we sat and ate salad, feijoada, clams, rice, and curry, listening to a mixture of mozambican and american tunes, drinking caipirinhas (a Brazilian doctor was kind enough to keep my glass full) while the bbq got hot. An interesting side note....all of the men hung out on one side of the yard, and all of the women hung out in a different part of the yard. And it was like this for the entire afternoon/evening!!
7:00 ish. The dancing started, all sorts of meat was coming off of the bbq, glasses were still being continually refilled....so much for an afternoon affair!!! I had made plans with my roommate and was supposed to be back at 6....but I was trapped 25 km outside the city, with no way to get back until someone (with a car) was ready to leave. Since there wasn't much I could do about it, I made the most of the afternoon....eating, drinking, dancing, chatting, and generally having a fantastic time.
10:00. Someone was finally ready to leave. I got a ride home, and managed to catch up with my roommate for the late night portion of our plans :)
The rest of the afternoon went as follows.....
12:15. Milton arrives (I was impressed by his punctuality - although I found out later that the BBQ had been scheduled to start at 11:30. Please bear this in mind as you continue to read). I hop in his car, and we head off across town. I actually had no idea where we were going...but I was not surprised that we had a few stops to make along the way. First, we stopped on some side street so that Milton can make a quick purchase (a bottle of gin and a bunch of tonics - which I think he polished off by himself). Then, we stopped at his house, so we could pick up his twin boys (this churrasco was a family affair, and he has the most adorable 3 year olds I've ever seen).
1:00 ish. We are finally on our way to the afternoon's event. We start driving, and I quickly realize that we are leaving the city. It turns out that this bbq is about 25 km outside Maputo, along the road that leads to the border with S. Africa (along which several clusters of 'condominiums' i.e. Mozambique's version of tract housing, are being constructed). It turns out that my colleague has recently purchased one such condo (in the middle of nowhere), and that is where we are headed. As we drive along, my colleague is nice enough to stop and point out a few interesting sites, and we also stop at a newly constructed Shoprite (a grocery store that could rival a Vons or Safeway in the states) to pick up beers and a few snacks for the boys.
1:45 ish. We arrive at the condo in the middle of nowhere. And lo and behold, we are the only people there. Let me repeat....the ONLY people there. People were told to arrive at 11:30, and two hours later we are the only people there. And (again to repeat), this place is in the middle of nowhere. The only other things around are the 9 other houses in the compound that look exactly like the one we've pulled up to. Luckily, we can get into the backyard (which has a table and chairs)...so we have a seat, crack open a couple of beers, and hang out.
(The view from the yard.....looking out into the middle of nowhere)
3:00 ish. Someone else arrives. If you did the quick math, we sat there for about an hour....me, Milton, and his two boys (who were happy as can be playing in the dirt). But then a steady stream of people started trickling in, eventually the owners of the house appeared, and all of a sudden, the table was full of food (I'm not sure where it came from, as there hadn't been anyone home to cook all afternoon....I think they brought it from somewhere...???). Two large speakers and a stereo system also appeared, so we sat and ate salad, feijoada, clams, rice, and curry, listening to a mixture of mozambican and american tunes, drinking caipirinhas (a Brazilian doctor was kind enough to keep my glass full) while the bbq got hot. An interesting side note....all of the men hung out on one side of the yard, and all of the women hung out in a different part of the yard. And it was like this for the entire afternoon/evening!!
(The guys hung out by my colleague's flash car all evening. Note the fancy stereo system setup.)
(A look at the whole backyard)
7:00 ish. The dancing started, all sorts of meat was coming off of the bbq, glasses were still being continually refilled....so much for an afternoon affair!!! I had made plans with my roommate and was supposed to be back at 6....but I was trapped 25 km outside the city, with no way to get back until someone (with a car) was ready to leave. Since there wasn't much I could do about it, I made the most of the afternoon....eating, drinking, dancing, chatting, and generally having a fantastic time.
(The BBQ)
10:00. Someone was finally ready to leave. I got a ride home, and managed to catch up with my roommate for the late night portion of our plans :)
Advanced Leap Frog
Today was my second day of training capoeira in Maputo. Finding the group wasn’t easy – I ended up doing a small tour of all of the places in my ‘neighborhood’ where there are capoeira classes (of which there are 3 – that I know of so far) because I had the wrong information about which group trained on which days. But the third try was the charm, and an hour and a half after my ‘tour’ (which ended up involving a lot of sitting around waiting for someone who never showed up) began, I was getting ready to train.
Now, tonight training experience was much different than the one I had last week. Last week the class wasn’t terribly rigorous, it was fairly small (about 8 people), and most of the students were much younger than me (early teens). Tonight’s class was a whole different story. There were 16 people in the class – 15 of whom were ripped (and I mean ripped.....12 packs....every single one of them) Mozambican guys (late teens and twenties). And one of whom was a blonde white girl. It must have been quite a sight for anyone who was lucky enough to observe us :)
In case the 12-pack comment didn’t make things clear enough.....a quick run-down of our warm-up should give you all an idea of the kind of guys I was training with. We were in a fairly large gym (with a cement floor), and we started by jogging in a single file line around a big rectangle that is painted on the ground.....except that their jog felt more like a sprint to me. But I managed to keep up, so all was okay. This ‘jog’ was followed by a seemingly never-ending game of leap frog....same single file line.....if you do the math you will quickly figure out that we were leap frogging over 15 people at a time (because we didn’t just do it once, we kept going around and around the big rectangle). And mind you, these guys were not crouching down – they were just kind of leaning over, with their legs perfectly straight. Again, I managed to keep up (relatively well), although I was definitely pushing on their backs much more than they were pushing on mine (I think most of them just kind of brushed my back with their fingertips on their way over).
Then came the one exercise that I could not do. I’ll call it Advanced Leap Frog. It also involves jumping over people, but it’s a little more complicated than the elementary school version. What happens is this....rather than leap frogging over a line of people who are bending over, you alternate between jumping over someone who is down on the ground in a child’s pose like position (no hands involved in this one), and leap frogging over someone who is standing up (pushing off of their shoulders). Around and around the rectangle they went....while I stood off to the side and stretched....and watched them sail effortlessly over each other’s heads with – I’m sure – my mouth agape.
We did several different kinds of push ups (yeah....I was doing a modified version with my knees on the ground), some sit ups (although the ‘abdominais’ session was nothing compared to a good Saturday class with Elastico!), and then we got down to training. I think these guys were pretty skeptical of me at first, but they quickly realized that I knew what I was doing when I was able to do all of the movements they were training. The class was great, and I am definitely going to their roda on Thursday!
Now, tonight training experience was much different than the one I had last week. Last week the class wasn’t terribly rigorous, it was fairly small (about 8 people), and most of the students were much younger than me (early teens). Tonight’s class was a whole different story. There were 16 people in the class – 15 of whom were ripped (and I mean ripped.....12 packs....every single one of them) Mozambican guys (late teens and twenties). And one of whom was a blonde white girl. It must have been quite a sight for anyone who was lucky enough to observe us :)
In case the 12-pack comment didn’t make things clear enough.....a quick run-down of our warm-up should give you all an idea of the kind of guys I was training with. We were in a fairly large gym (with a cement floor), and we started by jogging in a single file line around a big rectangle that is painted on the ground.....except that their jog felt more like a sprint to me. But I managed to keep up, so all was okay. This ‘jog’ was followed by a seemingly never-ending game of leap frog....same single file line.....if you do the math you will quickly figure out that we were leap frogging over 15 people at a time (because we didn’t just do it once, we kept going around and around the big rectangle). And mind you, these guys were not crouching down – they were just kind of leaning over, with their legs perfectly straight. Again, I managed to keep up (relatively well), although I was definitely pushing on their backs much more than they were pushing on mine (I think most of them just kind of brushed my back with their fingertips on their way over).
Then came the one exercise that I could not do. I’ll call it Advanced Leap Frog. It also involves jumping over people, but it’s a little more complicated than the elementary school version. What happens is this....rather than leap frogging over a line of people who are bending over, you alternate between jumping over someone who is down on the ground in a child’s pose like position (no hands involved in this one), and leap frogging over someone who is standing up (pushing off of their shoulders). Around and around the rectangle they went....while I stood off to the side and stretched....and watched them sail effortlessly over each other’s heads with – I’m sure – my mouth agape.
We did several different kinds of push ups (yeah....I was doing a modified version with my knees on the ground), some sit ups (although the ‘abdominais’ session was nothing compared to a good Saturday class with Elastico!), and then we got down to training. I think these guys were pretty skeptical of me at first, but they quickly realized that I knew what I was doing when I was able to do all of the movements they were training. The class was great, and I am definitely going to their roda on Thursday!
A Perfect Sunday Afternoon
The Fish Market is one of my favorite ways to spend a Sunday afternoon in Maputo. The market is right on the water, next to a big open area full of tables and surrounded by little restaurants. You simply choose from the seafood that has been brought in by the fishermen that day, choose a restaurant, and have them cook your meal while you sit outside enjoying drinks and (usually) live music. I made plans to go with some colleagues, plus a group of Peace Corps people on my first Sunday afternoon back in Maputo.
(The fish market)
On the way to the fish market, the group decided that we should go check out one of Maputo’s newest attractions – a brand new driving range just outside the city. What better way to spend a Sunday afternoon than to hit some golf balls, drink some beers, and then have some fresh seafood....right? With the luxury of Andrew as our chauffeur, and some vague directions to the driving range, we set off down a dirt road. We drove, and drove, and drove. And drove. Eventually we came to something that, after some debate, we decided must be the driving range. At first glance it seemed just to be a continuation of the flood plane that we were driving past. But after more careful observation, we spotted some flags and banners with what appeared to be distance measurements, plus two small huts. We drove along some tire tracks through the grass until we reached the huts – one of which turned out to be a bathroom (with proper toilets and running water – imagine that!). The other contained a few tables and chairs, plus several buckets of golf balls and some rakes (but no clubs). The only person around was the guard, who informed us that the “boss” would be back in “20 minutes”.
(The driving range, and the view opposite the driving range)
i.e. I took a picture of the driving range and then did a 180 and took another....hoping it would become clear why it was difficult to find
i.e. I took a picture of the driving range and then did a 180 and took another....hoping it would become clear why it was difficult to find
We waited for about 40 minutes, then decided that perhaps Sunday was not a day for golfing after all, and headed to the fish market for fresh seafood.
Finding capoeira
Having known before I arrived in Mozambique that my life would likely end if I were to be deprived of capoeira, I did my research ahead of time (as much as was possible) and discovered that, much to my relief, capoeira did exist in Maputo (that is, according to some website that had last been updated in 2004.....but I was still hopeful). I started my search last Monday, and after several tries which involved dodgy directions and lots of confusion around what exactly I was looking for (it took me a while to convince some guards that it wasn’t a cooking school I was after, but a Brazilian martial art) finally managed to locate a group. The group was great, and the instructor was nice enough to give me the lowdown on the other groups in the area....I am still in the process of checking them all out in the hopes of finding somewhere fantastic to train while I am here.
I also stumbled upon a Mozambican/African dance class, complete with live music (drumming and other percussion provided by 4-6 very talented Mozambican men) and some very talented dancers. There is a beginners class three times a week....and I assure you that I will leave here having mastered at least some of the movements they teach (others seem like they should be physically impossible....I’m thinking those might be a bit beyond my skill level). I’m also not going to hold out hope that I’ll graduate from the beginners class to the advanced class, as the advanced class is when the national dance company trains (but one of the drummers turns out to be an old friend of mine, so I’m hoping I can at least get in there and watch!). Photos and video coming, pending approval from the instructor :)
I also stumbled upon a Mozambican/African dance class, complete with live music (drumming and other percussion provided by 4-6 very talented Mozambican men) and some very talented dancers. There is a beginners class three times a week....and I assure you that I will leave here having mastered at least some of the movements they teach (others seem like they should be physically impossible....I’m thinking those might be a bit beyond my skill level). I’m also not going to hold out hope that I’ll graduate from the beginners class to the advanced class, as the advanced class is when the national dance company trains (but one of the drummers turns out to be an old friend of mine, so I’m hoping I can at least get in there and watch!). Photos and video coming, pending approval from the instructor :)
Back in Maputo
Maputo is much as I remember it....the best place to buy things is still from the guys on the street, public transport (minibuses called chapas) is still overcrowded with people, animals, groceries, etc., people are still surprised when I speak to them in Portuguese, and the people are still warm, friendly, and almost always laughing or smiling.
I am definitely gaining a new perspective on life in Mozambique....the non Peace Corps perspective, that is. I am living in an apartment (in the small ex-pat world of Maputo I met two other ex-Peace Corps girls who are living in a three bedroom apartment and were in need of a third roommate....I moved in last week) with running water, cable tv, internet, an indoor kitchen, and in indoor bathroom with a hot shower. I’ve also been meeting lots of other foreigners who are living and working here – many of them have cars, they go out to eat and drink at all the restaurants that I couldn’t afford when I was in the Peace Corps, and they all know each other (and each other’s business). I am still trying to figure out where in this network I am going to or want to fit in and/or spend my time. More thoughts on this will definitely be coming.....
I am definitely gaining a new perspective on life in Mozambique....the non Peace Corps perspective, that is. I am living in an apartment (in the small ex-pat world of Maputo I met two other ex-Peace Corps girls who are living in a three bedroom apartment and were in need of a third roommate....I moved in last week) with running water, cable tv, internet, an indoor kitchen, and in indoor bathroom with a hot shower. I’ve also been meeting lots of other foreigners who are living and working here – many of them have cars, they go out to eat and drink at all the restaurants that I couldn’t afford when I was in the Peace Corps, and they all know each other (and each other’s business). I am still trying to figure out where in this network I am going to or want to fit in and/or spend my time. More thoughts on this will definitely be coming.....
My Intro to ICAP
As soon as I got to Maputo, I was off and running. I spent my first two days here in a workshop being given by some colleagues from the NY office on ICAP’s new “Clinical Systems Mentorship” approach to the work they are doing (it’s based on the idea of clinical mentorship, but trying to adapt that idea to working with whole health facilities).
Following the workshop, I sat through a week-long peer educator training. ICAP supports clinics and hospitals to provide better care and treatment for people living with HIV/AIDS and their partners and families. The idea with the peer educators is to have them present in the waiting rooms where they can interact with patients, providing information on HIV/AIDS, Antiretroviral Therapy, prevention, etc. and also share their personal experiences (the peer educators are all HIV+ and most are on ART). The training was a pretty amazing experience. First of all, it gave me a good introduction to the work that ICAP’s Adherence and Psychosocial Team is doing. And secondly, it was very moving to hear a room full of people stand up, introduce themselves, and announce that they are HIV+ and receiving their treatment from Hospital X....particularly in a country where there is still so much stigma surrounding HIV/AIDS.
This week finds me, for the first time, actually in the office with a chance to sit and catch my breath. The exact details of my workplan are still yet to be determined.....my boss has been stuck for the past two days in a meeting at the Ministry of Health, but she has assured me that is her first priority when she gets free.
Following the workshop, I sat through a week-long peer educator training. ICAP supports clinics and hospitals to provide better care and treatment for people living with HIV/AIDS and their partners and families. The idea with the peer educators is to have them present in the waiting rooms where they can interact with patients, providing information on HIV/AIDS, Antiretroviral Therapy, prevention, etc. and also share their personal experiences (the peer educators are all HIV+ and most are on ART). The training was a pretty amazing experience. First of all, it gave me a good introduction to the work that ICAP’s Adherence and Psychosocial Team is doing. And secondly, it was very moving to hear a room full of people stand up, introduce themselves, and announce that they are HIV+ and receiving their treatment from Hospital X....particularly in a country where there is still so much stigma surrounding HIV/AIDS.
This week finds me, for the first time, actually in the office with a chance to sit and catch my breath. The exact details of my workplan are still yet to be determined.....my boss has been stuck for the past two days in a meeting at the Ministry of Health, but she has assured me that is her first priority when she gets free.
The Journey
The Journey
I wouldn’t exactly call it smooth sailing. My trip to Mozambique involved....
* 3 flights on South African Airways – an international flight, a domestic flight, and another international flight, in that order (which caused a huge amount of confusion for all involved....more details below)
* a night at the “Emperor’s Palace” casino and hotel compound in Johannesburg,
* several hours in both Johannesburg and Durban International Airports (I will later offer my opinion as to whether or not the airport in Durban really deserves that grand of a title – see “I thought international airports were usually big”)
* a flight crew that moved through the cabin to collect ‘outstanding catering equipment’ rather than ‘remaining cups or glasses’
* several very puzzled looks from South African Airways personnel trying to figure out...
a) why I would fly from Johannesburg to Maputo via Durban (which is not on the way) rather than taking a direct flight from Johannesburg to Maputo (of which there are several each day)
b) whether it would be possible to check my luggage all the way through to Maputo or whether I would have to collect it and re-check it at every airport due to the fact that I was taking a domestic flight in between my two international flights (if you are wondering how this turned out.....let me just say that I am thankful there were luggage carts at all of these airports!)
* and a waitress (at a Durban Airport café) named Primrose
But in the end I landed safe and sound, with all of my luggage, and found my boss and an ICAP driver waiting to take me to my hotel. All in all, no complaints, just funny stories.
I thought International Airports were usually big....
I had the pleasure of spending several hours in the Durban International Airport, and more than enough time to fully explore the ‘international terminal’ at said airport. After a significant amount of confusion (details below), I came to understand that the international terminal at the Durban International Airport consists of:
- three gates (or so they claim....I only saw two, and together they took up about as much space as my apartment in NY)
- one duty free shop
- and a restroom.
And the entire international terminal is closed until approximately one hour before the first international flight of the day departs (which in my case, happened to be my flight to Maputo).
The Details
I arrived at Durban Airport at 7am, but my flight for Maputo didn’t leave until 10:10. Although I sat and had breakfast at the airport café, I was still ready to get to my gate and relax by about 8:30. However, I encountered several problems in trying figure out how to make that happen. To get specific, I couldn’t figure out...
a) How to check in. At the airport. Where there are usually big signs and lots of arrows pointing to ticket counters with smiling flight crew. It turns out the international desk wasn’t open. That combined with the fact that it was poorly marked and not well lit resulted in me checking-in at the domestic counter (without realizing that there was a separate international counter), which very much confused the guy who helped me. I was certain at that point that my bags were not going to be waiting for me in Maputo (and then how was I going to explain why they were in Durban when I was really coming from Johannesburg?).
b) How to get to my gate. Again....at the airport, where the point is to get to your gate so you can catch your flight. The reason? Again, things in the international part of the airport weren’t really open yet. Including international security...which leads to the international ‘terminal’. And again, due to things being poorly marked and my inability to understand that 1.5 hours before an international flight the entire terminal (and everything associated with taking an international flight) would be closed, I ended up going through domestic security. I realized this when I looked for my gate number and saw that it was on the other side of a wall, which was blocked off by the immigration counter, which was on the other side of the rope that I was standing next to. Eventually a very nice woman at the still closed security machine for the international terminal rescanned my bags and allowed me into the roped off area in front of the immigration counter.
c) Whether or not I was actually supposed to pass through immigration. There was no one at the counter. Because it wasn’t open yet. But fortunately I didn’t have to wait long...the appropriate person showed up, stamped my passport, and allowed me into the international terminal (where I found the two gates and the duty free shop that was – you guessed it – not open yet). Where I sat alone for about 30 minutes before anyone else decided to show up. And in the end, it didn’t take very long to load up the plane and take off – the plane only had 9 rows of seats. And each row had only 3 seats. So there weren’t many passengers.
[In case you were wondering....there was one flight attendant who served beverages and snacks during our hour long flight from a miniaturized version of the cart that flight attendants wheel up and down the aisles on normal sized planes. The beverages were your normal water, juice, coffee, tea stuff, but the snacks consisted of entire packages of cookies. This made more sense for the people on the 2-seat side of the aisle, as they could share....I was in the only seat on my side of the aisle, and was a bit surprised when she offered me a whole package of ‘chocolate biscuits’ at 10:30 in the morning.]
I wouldn’t exactly call it smooth sailing. My trip to Mozambique involved....
* 3 flights on South African Airways – an international flight, a domestic flight, and another international flight, in that order (which caused a huge amount of confusion for all involved....more details below)
* a night at the “Emperor’s Palace” casino and hotel compound in Johannesburg,
* several hours in both Johannesburg and Durban International Airports (I will later offer my opinion as to whether or not the airport in Durban really deserves that grand of a title – see “I thought international airports were usually big”)
* a flight crew that moved through the cabin to collect ‘outstanding catering equipment’ rather than ‘remaining cups or glasses’
* several very puzzled looks from South African Airways personnel trying to figure out...
a) why I would fly from Johannesburg to Maputo via Durban (which is not on the way) rather than taking a direct flight from Johannesburg to Maputo (of which there are several each day)
b) whether it would be possible to check my luggage all the way through to Maputo or whether I would have to collect it and re-check it at every airport due to the fact that I was taking a domestic flight in between my two international flights (if you are wondering how this turned out.....let me just say that I am thankful there were luggage carts at all of these airports!)
* and a waitress (at a Durban Airport café) named Primrose
But in the end I landed safe and sound, with all of my luggage, and found my boss and an ICAP driver waiting to take me to my hotel. All in all, no complaints, just funny stories.
I thought International Airports were usually big....
I had the pleasure of spending several hours in the Durban International Airport, and more than enough time to fully explore the ‘international terminal’ at said airport. After a significant amount of confusion (details below), I came to understand that the international terminal at the Durban International Airport consists of:
- three gates (or so they claim....I only saw two, and together they took up about as much space as my apartment in NY)
- one duty free shop
- and a restroom.
And the entire international terminal is closed until approximately one hour before the first international flight of the day departs (which in my case, happened to be my flight to Maputo).
The Details
I arrived at Durban Airport at 7am, but my flight for Maputo didn’t leave until 10:10. Although I sat and had breakfast at the airport café, I was still ready to get to my gate and relax by about 8:30. However, I encountered several problems in trying figure out how to make that happen. To get specific, I couldn’t figure out...
a) How to check in. At the airport. Where there are usually big signs and lots of arrows pointing to ticket counters with smiling flight crew. It turns out the international desk wasn’t open. That combined with the fact that it was poorly marked and not well lit resulted in me checking-in at the domestic counter (without realizing that there was a separate international counter), which very much confused the guy who helped me. I was certain at that point that my bags were not going to be waiting for me in Maputo (and then how was I going to explain why they were in Durban when I was really coming from Johannesburg?).
b) How to get to my gate. Again....at the airport, where the point is to get to your gate so you can catch your flight. The reason? Again, things in the international part of the airport weren’t really open yet. Including international security...which leads to the international ‘terminal’. And again, due to things being poorly marked and my inability to understand that 1.5 hours before an international flight the entire terminal (and everything associated with taking an international flight) would be closed, I ended up going through domestic security. I realized this when I looked for my gate number and saw that it was on the other side of a wall, which was blocked off by the immigration counter, which was on the other side of the rope that I was standing next to. Eventually a very nice woman at the still closed security machine for the international terminal rescanned my bags and allowed me into the roped off area in front of the immigration counter.
c) Whether or not I was actually supposed to pass through immigration. There was no one at the counter. Because it wasn’t open yet. But fortunately I didn’t have to wait long...the appropriate person showed up, stamped my passport, and allowed me into the international terminal (where I found the two gates and the duty free shop that was – you guessed it – not open yet). Where I sat alone for about 30 minutes before anyone else decided to show up. And in the end, it didn’t take very long to load up the plane and take off – the plane only had 9 rows of seats. And each row had only 3 seats. So there weren’t many passengers.
[In case you were wondering....there was one flight attendant who served beverages and snacks during our hour long flight from a miniaturized version of the cart that flight attendants wheel up and down the aisles on normal sized planes. The beverages were your normal water, juice, coffee, tea stuff, but the snacks consisted of entire packages of cookies. This made more sense for the people on the 2-seat side of the aisle, as they could share....I was in the only seat on my side of the aisle, and was a bit surprised when she offered me a whole package of ‘chocolate biscuits’ at 10:30 in the morning.]
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