Midnight Crowds

1/5/2012

Exhausted from my first full day in Pietermaritzburg, I fell asleep at 18:30.  I abruptly woke just after midnight to what sounded like engines roaring followed by a huge crowd cheering, whistling, laughing and screaming with joy not far from my window.  This happened repeatedly so I got up, but couldn’t see anything going on and I was too groggy to go and find out.  This morning I asked Fish what the commotion was about and he explained that it was the day that it was published in the newspaper whether or not students passed their exam so that they could graduate from high school.  So everyone stays up to buy the newspaper it is usually sold out by about 1:00 in the morning.

Clearly I am still jetlagged as I woke up at about 3:30.  I read out of a book for one of next semester’s classes for a few hours, ate a bowl of cereal, and went to work.  It rained all day today so I spent the day in the office at my computer.  Today I mostly worked on creating contact lists for paint/hardware stores in case they are interested in donating paint for the Y-Zone building, and contact lists of YMCAs in the United States in addition to a few other smaller programming/organization tasks.  Since the YMCA in the US recently changed their logo to “the Y,” our hope is that they will donate extra t-shirts with the old Y logo on them since those can no longer be used in the U.S. and we can then distribute the t-shirts during summer camps here.

After work, Reinhardt was working security until 22:00 so I stopped and talked with him and Fish as they smoked.  Mr. Frank raced by looking dressed up – he was on his way to church, as the boys explained he goes all the time.  Fish was playing Akon as well as some African artists on his phone.  He finished smoking and then he went to the gym to work out.  Reinhardt was telling me that he hoped a soccer team that was planning on coming to the Y a bit later would not show up so that he could get off of work early (they run security in 12-hour shifts here so he had been working since 10).  He asked me if I’d like to go out and grab a drink if he gets off early and I accepted, explaining that this would be my first time ever going out for a drink because the drinking age in the US is 21, whereas here it is 18.  However, 21 is still the big birthday in South Africa because when you are 21 you are legal in every way.  For example here, one needs to be 21 in order to sign their own documents (instead of having your parents sign it for you).  He did not get off work early and I fell asleep immediately after dinner at 18:30, so I am now up at 3:30 in the morning once again.  Will I ever adjust to the time change?!