June 16th 18:40

I should be able to hear the sound of crashing waves but this part of the Durban shoreline is so tranquil today that I could be laying in the water and allowing the Indian Ocean to roll over me and still I would only hear slight ripples. On the darkness of the beach I see teenagers flirting and goofing off in the sand, the light from their cell phones flickering in dissonance with the flashing green and red lights of the pier and the swooping gleam of two far off light houses. Before me on the promenade more young people kick a soccer ball around, dodging the heavy foot traffic. I sit at a cafe table watching this scene, midway between the long pier and the fan park. The all brick pathway is about half a mile long, lined with palm trees, the beach on one side, bars and hotels on the other. The orange glow of the city branching out to sea down the peninsula blends along the horizon with the lights of cargo ships heading into the harbor. From every direction is the cacophony of World Cup fever in South Africa on a night where in two hours South Africa will take on Paraguay. So let me catch you up on the last two days...

So my first morning in Durban I woke up around 11:00am. Pretty late but I probably needed the sleep. Jess and Bev were already up and dressed so I hurried and showered up because I knew they wanted to go get lunch and were waiting on me. When I got out of the shower, Bev had my clothes dried and folded for me. The three of us headed over to a little Italian cafe where I managed to get an internet connection on my iPhone, so I could check some e-mail.

After lunch we drove over to the Gateway Mall. This place is crazy. Jess and I walked over to the still wave while Bev did her own thing. The wave is crazy cool, it is like indoor surfing. There is also an awesome skate park that made me wish I was 16 again and a huge rock wall. Bev eventually left the mall on her own and Jess and I met up with Nicola, who is the youngest Poulos sister. Nicola was just getting back in town from staying at a friend's house after watching the Germany/Australia match live... lucky! We hung out for a little bit at the mall and Nicola ate McDonalds which is some sort of luxury for them... I'll never get it. Maybe it is sort of like Americans and Ikea...

After the mall we drove in the girls' car back home and relaxed for a bit. The weather was windy and a bit chilly but we chose to go out to the beach front anyway. The beach is called Ushaka and is the same place I write this from now.

We spent a few hours just walking on the promenade and checking out the place. There is a big water park and a little carnival. We entered the fan park and watched the end of a match and then walked back to the car to go home. On the way to and from the beachfront I got a good tour of Durban. The stadium is really cool looking. Back at the house, Bev had prepared a cheesy pasta dinner for us that was quite yummy. We opened that bottle of wine I had given them and then made it an early night.

The next morning I woke up around 10:00am and once again everyone else was already up, but this time in PJ's. We lounged around for a long time and ate cereal and watched T.V.

After a bit we all four went to the same Italian place and the post office. On the way back into the neighborhood we saw a little patch of land teeming with male and female impala as well as monkeys. The girls had to go to work as beer pourers at a fan park located inside a horse race park. I had no plans so I drove them to work and hung out. This fan park is a little out of the way and poorly advertised so it was dead slow. I pretty much hung out all day drinking beer (and not paying for most of it!) and watching matches. I did crossword puzzles with Nicola to pass the time and Jess and I bet on a horse race. We lost. It was really cold and miserable most of the time At one point I left and found an internet cafe on the main strip in that area called Florida Road.

I made it back to the horse track in time for Jess and Nicola to be getting off work and we decided to go out to this place that is way off the grid but it has a party called Good Music Tuesday (GMT). The place was packed with trendy kids. I felt very old since most were between the ages of 18-21. The kids there were cool though and all very keen to talk to me being that I'm a foreigner and all. I really don't like dancing but after a few beers I can fake it enough to not feel too miserable and awkward. We ended up hanging out and dancing until like 3am. Jess was the sober one so she got to drive. On the way out we saw two girls on a bench, wasted, and one was crying. Nikki and I asked what was wrong and got some unclear story about apartheid, best friends, and them aid's daughter attempting suicide. Also they had no ride home and were going to "sleep on the bench". Oooooh drunk girls... So we gave them a lift home. The car ride was quite entertaining though and probably a good deed in the end. So after that we stopped by Johnny's Rottis. That is a late night spot that sells these sort of burrito things filled with almost anything. Ours had french fries and cheese (chips & triple cheese). The place is really jsut for take out and has no tables so we got our huge rotti (3 people can share 1) and took it home. We scarfed it down, said our goodnights, and asleep we went. Not before Nicola drunkenly blew a vuvuzela in the house though which almost certainly woke up Bev. Then again I doubt Bev was ever fully asleep anyway since she is clearly the type of good mom who won't fully sleep until she knows her children are safely home. She reminds me of my own mom in that way.

So the next morning I woke up around 11:30am. Less then 8 hours considering I didn't get to bed until 4am. Once again I was the last one up and the girls were hard at work making breakfast/lunch. Ciabatta with butter and sweet chili sauce, and amazing scrambled eggs courtesy of Nicola.

After that the girls got ready for work and I for the day. After Jess and Nicola left I headed out and back to the beach front for some solo time. I sat in crazy traffic because there was a match in Durban and the highways here are really not equipped to handle it. I didn't mind though because the weather was beautiful.

I finally made it to Ushaka and went straight to the beach. The weather was nice but a bit windy and it was already about 2:30pm and the sun was past its pinnacle. I chose to keep my regular clothes on for warmth, but did lay out a blanket and read for a couple hours. At 4pm I walked to the fan park and watched the Span vs. Switzerland match. Spain lost 0-1 and I wondered if back in America Lindsey was watching in dismay as her love, Sergio Ramos, walked off the field in defeat. Spain is the #1 ranked team in the world so it was a big upset.

After the match I headed back down the promenade and found a cafe to have a beer and write in this journal. Only one more day left before the long trip home... more to come.