2. Eshowe - A Brief Introduction

The name of the place I'm going to be living is Eshowe. (pronounced - E -show-ee   show rhymes with how)

Near as I can tell there is only 1 Eshowe in the world!

(FYI - there is another Guelph - in North Dakota, USA but it looks like it is a former railroad station and few if anyone lives there now.)

Eshowe is in the province of KwaZulu-Natal on the east side of the country. It is ~100 km north of Durban and slightly in from the coast of the Indian Ocean.

There are several of stories of how Eshowe got named. One is that it gets its name from a milkwood shrub which is called in Zulu by the name ishongwe. Some think it means, City Set on a Hill, or Place of Cool Breezes. The other common tale is that is refers to the hushing sound of wind through the forest leaves. And indeed there is a wonderful forest there called The Dlinza Nature Reserve. This subtropical forest is 250Ha and has abundant birdlife with ferns, streams and waterfalls. It is town and is easy to walk to. There is an aerial boardwalk 10 m off the ground that lets one walk through the canopy and ends at a lookout high above the treetops. There are also interesting trails to explore the wide diversity of the forest floor. 

The population of Eshowe is listed at approx. 15,000. It has good infrastructure with paved roads etc.  It has 2 grocery stores (Pik 'n Pay and Spar) and a regional hospital. It reminds me a bit of Fergus with a central downtown street with shops and a service area to the regions to the north. But - the architecture is definitely different!

 Looking down the main street -  Osborn St. (from our trip in 2004)

It's everywhere!

And just down the road......

More later.....

1. Adventure Awaits

Pretty exciting times - My ticket to S. Africa has been purchased and my trip is starting to be real.

So - How did this come about? 

I'm pretty fortunate to be on a year's leave from my teaching work. I've been able to afford this by joining up with my school board's Self-funded Leave program (AKA 4 over 5). 

This is how it works: It is a 5 year process. For 4 years I've been on reduced salary - 80% - while working full time. The board banks the 20% difference for me. Now that I'm in year 5, I get the money that I've saved (4 X 20% = 80%) but I don't have to work. Plus when the year is up I still have my job in the same school - which is wonderful. 

I'm going to Eshowe, Kwa-Zulu Natal, S. Africa for 3 months to teach. More about that next time....