Pretoria!

After our home stay in Soweto we left for Pretoria. We drove through Alexandria and Sandton. Alexandria, is a black township, facing a lot of struggle. The poverty was immense and overwhelming. Just minutes away was Sandton, an upper class and historically white suburb, which was very nice. The disparity between poverty and wealth is astounding and I have only seen as clearly in Quito, Ecuador. 

Then we continued our drive to Pretoria. At Pretoria we settled in and spent the afternoon relaxing. We had a braai for dinner, which I unfortunately could not enjoy because I was still recovering from being sick. 

The next morning we went to the Voortrekker Monument. It was a massive building! The view of Pretoria from the monument was amazing. It was also full of information about how the Dutch immigrated to the interior to escape the British power in the cape. It was very informative. It was also sad to see how the relations between the Dutch and the Africans deteriorated. An interesting fact about the monument is that it is visible from Parliament because it served as a reminder for Afrikaaners when they governed to remember the sacrifices of their ancestors. 

Then we visited the U.S. embassy and after lengthy security measures managed to get through and speak to an international diplomat. He was from the U.S. and spoke to us about the role of the U.S. and China in South Africa. It was very interesting. America still has a wide influence culturally and economically despite the  growing influence of communism and China in South Africa.

Then we visited the Parliament and the Parliament Gardens which were very beautiful! It was also very hot! But it was well worth seeing in all its beauty and green earth.

Then we relaxed that night. The next morning we left bright and early for Johannesburg. In Johannesburg we got an a flight to Namibia. Probably one of the most exciting flights of my life!

Soweto Home Stay

So I'm back for another marvelous post! 

I'm picking up where I left off in Johannesburg, where we were getting dropped off in Soweto for our weekend home stays! Nathalie and I were dropped off in Soweto, short for South West Township. We met Elsie Mazazana, our home stay mother. She met us with open arms and a warm heart. She also had her grandson with her. He is a cute little two year old!

We entered her home and met Nkunkla her sixteen year old. She was very nice. Later Ndooro, Elsie's eldest daughter, 25, came home from work. We spent the night talking to them about many things including music, pop culture, school and people and places in the U.S. and Johannesburg. For dinner we had hot dogs with butter in our buns! It was yummy!

The next day, Saturday, we started relatively late. For breakfast, we had fat cake which is like an African donut. They are very yummy! We put bologna inside and then atchar. Atchar is a spicy spread made of vegetables. Then the five of us piled into the car and went to visit Elsie's mother and brothers, a few blocks away. Elsie's mom was quite nice. Elsie's sister Sybil also came to visit and we met up with Morgan and Lauren, two other girls in the CGE program, at the house.

After visiting the family we went to Nelson Mandela's house in Soweto. It was very informative and enlightened me a lot on Winnie Mandela's life while Nelson Mandela was imprisoned on Robin's Island. The house was originally made for miners. It consisted of a bedroom, sitting room, dining room, kitchen, bathroom and pantry. The South African police used to shoot at the house and petrol bomb it to kill Winnie and her children. Eventually she had a wall built between the kitchen and dining room in order to protect her children who slept in the kitchen while she slept in the pantry with a rifle. Eventually Winnie was arrested and later released. Then when Nelson was released the house was restored to it's historic way before Winnie had changed parts of it. Nelson Mandela lived there but only for a little while due to his popularity and high profile. He moved to a more private place.

After that we ran some errands for dinner. Then while Elsie made dinner Nkunkla, Ndooro, Nathalie and I watched 2012. Then we had dinner which was stump and boerwars rolls. Stump is sort of like mashed corn and the boerwars are sausage. It was VERY yummy!

After that we watched a movie based on a true story about a man in South Africa from Mozambique who fought against apartheid, called To Catch a Fire. It was a very intense movie. After that Elsie got to talking to us about a wide range of issues in South Africa. She spoke about what it was like to grow up during the fall of the apartheid. She was in her early teens during the nd of apartheid. Elsie said it was considered cool to fight against apartheid. She said had she been older and known more about apartheid she would have gone into exile and trained to fight against the apartheid like many others did in the Spear of Nations, the militant leg of the ANC. She also spoke about the terrible conditions that many immigrants in South Africa live in. She spoke of the racism that is still a part of South African society. Elsie said that racism is quite evident at work and many who use Afrikaans are viewed as snubbing others by refusing to speak in English. It's also important to understand how Afrikaans is viewed as the language of the oppressors in South Africa. Elsie also talked to us about her family, it's structure and much more. She talked to us about the complex nature of  marriage and engagement. Her son is engaged and working to pay the lobola, which is a bride price. It is also very complicated if a child is born out of wedlock. It was exciting to talk to Elsie about such serious issues!! I feel I learned a lot about South Africa, and in a more personal and tangible way than through all of the speakers we had heard before that. 

The next morning, Sunday, we prepared for church. Sadly, both Nathalie and I both got sick and had to leave church early. We returned to the house and were sick all day. It was pretty bad. around 4:30 p.m. we emerged from our room and hung out with the family. After some time the five of us left for a shebeen in Diepkloof. This shebeen is owned by Elsie's husband. A shebeen is like a tavern and a bar. It was very fun. We danced to the music and played pool. We enjoyed ourselves a lot! 

Then we went home and went to sleep. The next morning we said goodbye to Nkunkla and Ndooro before they left for school. Then we said goodbye to Elsie! It was so sad to leave her. She took great care of us and I love them all!!

The next item on the blog agenda is Pretoria, where we went to right after our home stays! Keep your eyes open for more!

My Johannesburg Experience!

Blog Entry Tuesday Jan 19

 

The next morning we awoke bright and early to go to a semi-private school called St. Martin’s. At the school we broke into groups of four and were escorted from class to class by student leaders. My class visited grades 8 through 12. I must say that at this point it was quite a highlight for us to be able to interact with South African people, especially students. We went to each class without knowing what to expect. Once we got there we were introduced and dispersed to different groups to talk to the students. Each student group I was with was different. Some were shyer than others but they all seemed interested in getting to know us. We were asked many questions like “What celebrities have you met?”  “When was the white house built?” “Who is your favorite artist/celebrity?” and one group even got a request to sing our national anthem after the kids sang theirs. The classrooms were very full of kids and it could get loud quickly. We only met a few teachers, all male, but they all seemed very nice. There was a long outdoor hallway that you could follow to get to your class. It was narrow, parts overgrown with grass, an broken glass littered other parts. Kate and I were shown their grounds they had to play on. It was completely overgrown with plants so no students could use it to play on. Despite some of these conditions students seemed to have an indomitable will to learn and exceed these conditions. Another interesting fact that some of the students in our group noticed was the varying level of socio-economic class. All the students in South Africa are required to wear uniforms. But there may have been some very poor and rich students there. One South African student was playing a PSP while maybe another was struggling to afford lunch. These inequalities were something not easily noticed but after some time and observation we began to see them.

 

After our morning excursion we returned to the St. Peter’s Place. In the afternoon two speakers came to speak to us. More on that later. For dinner we went to this famous bed and breakfast called Robbie’s Place in Soweto. Bed and breakfast and restaurants are common businesses that people in Soweto often base out of their homes. The food there was delicious and all South African!!! I must say that I am quite pleased with the diet here in Southern African. Popular dishes include pop, which is sort of like oatmeal and corn, atchar which is somewhat spicy and used as a spread, stump, maize meal, fat cake which is sort of the equivalent to a donut here, and boerwars (a personal favorite given it’s name) which is similar to a Polish sausage. It was also the first time I had ever tried a Windhoek Lager. Although I am certainly no expert it was a tasty drink!

 

Wednesday, January 20

 

Then next morning Wednesday, January 20^th we visited the apartheid museum in the morning. The apartheid museum is an intense place. I recommend that anyone in Johannesburg go to this museum. I also recommend that you devote at least 4 to 5 hours to it. We unfortunately only had two. So upon buying your ticket you are given a card that says that you are either white or non-white. I was given a non-white card. We entered the museum based on those cards and were submerged into apartheid as we entered with bars all around us. It was a very intense time for me. The museum is so large. First we learned about South Africa in its very early years with the various tribes, then the British and the Dutch, later to be known as the Afrikaners. Then we learned about colonialism and the discovery of gold and other minerals in the earth. South Africa began as a culturally and racially diverse place as many came to the region for its resources and a shot at a better life. From 1948 to 1994 apartheid or racial segregation took place in all of South Africa. The legacy of apartheid was a painful one. The museum excellently displayed the life of Nelson Mandela, his role in South Africa and much more about him. It also artfully and seriously portrayed the social effects of South Africa. Personally, I struggled as I saw the nooses that symbolized those killed under apartheid and the solitary confinement that prisoners were subject to at any time. The experience held much meaning for me and continues to help me grow in my understanding of the places I am blessed and privileged to go to, such as Johannesburg and Windhoek.

 

That afternoon we returned to St. Peter’s to listen to another speaker.

 

After the speaker and dinner we went to the Market Theatre in downtown Johannesburg, known as New Town. The show we went to see featured music from various groups of people who migrated to Johannesburg and all over South Africa, since the early 1900s. Even though I couldn’t understand all of the lyrics of all of the songs it was amazing to hear all of thee wonderful singers! Five different languages were sung in the show that night! Hugh Masekela and female lead were incredible and we are so lucky to have seen them perform live! The music was intense and varied from mournful and slow, sensual, and upbeat and lively. It also taught the audience a lot about the transient nature of being an immigrant in Africa, separated from your family and community and the loss that so many feel from that. The show was our concluding piece for the night. I went to bed with the influences of African music streaming through my dreams!

 

Thursday, January 21

 

Thursday was an adventure of a day. What I have neglected to mention so far in my journaling of Johannesburg is the weather. The weather for our week-long stay was unpredictable to say the least. In the same day it could get pretty cold and rainy but by the afternoon you might be hot and dying for some cloud cover. Because of the unpredictability of the weather and the fact that we are in Southern Africa’s rainy season some of our plans for today were changed. Our chance to go to the Bruma market and to have a walking tour of New Town, downtown Johannesburg, was rained out. We still had the speaker for the day but we had to reschedule our fieldtrips.

 

We spent some of our free time getting prepared for our home stays in Soweto. Our home stays lasted from Friday late afternoon to early Monday morning. To get prepared we were first assigned our families and our partners since the first home stay is one you do with one other CGE student. My partner, Nathalie and I were assigned a woman named Elsi. She has two daughters. Other than this and her occupation as a secretary we knew little about our situation. Also Kristin, Urbanus, Molefi and Moketsi talked to us about what to pack for the weekend, what to expect slightly, and how to behave. It was a bit daunting yet very exciting! I really didn’t know what to expect at all. My biggest concern going into the experience was that I would do something to offend my host family. Besides that I was excited to be with more South Africans and get to know them. Also I really wanted to see what life was like in Soweto, instead of just doing things any tourist could do. So preparation was then finished and had free time for the rest of the night.

 

Friday, January 22

 

Friday morning we were off to see two more speakers. After the speakers we went to the Bruma market, as we had planned to yesterday. Bruma Market is sort of like an outdoor flea market and certainly a tourist spot! It was full of great trinkets from South Africa to buy. I haggled with the shop owners and got a lot of beautiful gifts for myself and my family and friends. I enjoyed getting to know the vendors and haggling with them. We had lunch at the Bruma market. For lunch I had a Boerwars Sausage! The irony of the name pleased me to no end! It was pretty good too! Anyway I certainly wasn’t the only one who was getting deals. Antonio, another CGE student, traded this awesome Beatles shirt he was wearing for some item at the market!

 

After the Bruma market we met up with Molefi who guided through New Town, showing us all the important places. We started outside the Museum of Africa. Then we walked through town and I snapped a million and one pictures like the true tourist that I am. We stopped at the Standard Bank. It was huge and is one of the oldest banks in South Africa. When building the downtown center they found many old mines. One they preserved and you can take an elevator into. It was pretty cool except that everyone was exhausted at that point. After that tour we sadly said goodbye to Molefi who is an awesome guy! I thank Molefi for being such an open and honest representative o his country for us!

 

After the tour we were dropped off at our home stay, but that’s for another entry…

 

A Note on Speakers…

In Johannesburg we received a crazy crash course on all things South African. History, culture, politics, economics, anything South African you name it we learned about (ok well maybe not EVERYTHING, but almost)! So I am going to give you a quick run through chronologically. I may be missing a few details so bear with me.

 

Molefi Mataboge

Pretty much one of the coolest South Africans ever! He spoke to us about common cultural customs and what to expect when with South Africans. He also spoke about important cultural influences in South Africa, such as the philosophy of Ubuntu. Ubuntu means I am human because others are humans. This means that my personal humanity is defined by your personal humanity and everyone else’s. This theme pervades almost all aspect of South African life and community. The people give and give selflessly. They value community above all else and our home stays showed us how much their fellow human, neighbor and community means to them. Molefi accompanied us through many of our events. I also got privileged to talk to him about current politics which is quite fascinating to me!

 

Khulumani Suport Group: Truth and Reconciliation Commission

This group was a quiet but passionate one with an important message. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission, or TRC, was created after the fall of apartheid to try to equalize the negative effects of apartheid. It is attempting to rectify the human rights abuses of many through the court systems. Khulumani means “Speak out!” This group was set up to give victims of that abuse the venue to talk about what had happened to them and work through the harsh psychological effects of it.

 

Economy of the New South Africa by Dr. Dale McKinley

An outspoken communist American who had been raised in Southern Africa, Dr. Dale McKinley, was quite enlightening. He spoke to us about how after apartheid instead of the government providing basic services, like water, housing and electricity. He spoke about how the government privatized these services. Despite the U.S.S.R. helping the ANC in the liberation struggle when it won power it aligned itself with the U.S. and capitalism. The problem with privatizing these companies is that there is no profit to be made from it when providing it to the poor. As a result all of the deliveries of these are quite flawed. Poor South Africans are given a pre-paid meter on their houses which measures the amount of water consumption on the house. When the poor reach their limit, which is drastically less than what the World Health Organization says a person needs, the meter stops the water from coming. McKinley talked about how this was unconstitutional because all South African citizens have the right to pay off their debt and to be notified before their water is cut off. McKinley was starkly anti-privatization and critical of the South African government but not a pessimist. He was hopeful for change for the young country.

 

Representative of the ANC Youth League

This woman I unfortunately did not get her name, but she is a young South African woman from the ANC Youth League. She was a volunteer, very committed to the party. She spoke about the awareness raising that the ANC Youth League and the campaigning they do for the party. She also spoke about the opposition party Democratic Alliance and some of the challenges South Africa and the ANC face in regards to employing the youth and keeping them HIV/AIDS free.

 

Eddie Makue-South African Council of Churches

This soft-spoken man was passionate about the churches role in South Africa. He explained how the Europeans brought Christianity to South Africa. He said that the Europeans came with the bible and the Africans had the land and now the Africans have the bible and Europeans have the land. The church bumped up against some problems with generational issues as it is increasingly difficult to reach the youth. The church is trying to reach the youth in the streets and be relevant to their lives. He was somewhat critical and simultaneously supportive of the church. He also tried to help those in need suffering from human rights abuses.

 

Ashor Sarupen- Democratic Alliance

This intelligent young man was the head of the research committee for the Democratic Alliance. He spoke about the history of the party and its founder. Helen Suzman, a Jewish South African woman who spoke out against apartheid was one of the founding mothers of the Democratic Alliance. The DA is currently the only opposition party with any influence against the ANC. They have only won the Western Cape in all of the thirteen provinces. The ANC won all the other provinces in the last election in 2009. The party seemed to me socially liberal and economically conservative.

 

Tristen Taylor-Environment, Energy and Climate Issues

This young environmental activist came to speak to us about the damaging effects of certain South African behavior. The mining had devastating effects on the environment and the South African people. Taylor advocated the use of alternative energies, especially solar and wind power. Wind power could potentially make up one fourth of South Africa’s energy needs and is continuing to be advanced. He also spoke against nuclear power and how it was not feasible in South Africa.

 

A note on malls…

We strangely spent a lot of time in malls and Johannesburg and I don’t want to hear anymore about American consumerism because, wow! The malls we visited, Maponya Mall and South Gate, were HUGE! They were so big that grocery stores were attached and people used the carts in the mall! According to my home stay family, these weren't even the biggest malls in Jo’Burg!

 

So there you have it folks! My Jo’Burg experience, not yet my home stay, is all laid out there for you! Eat your heart out folks. Please comment, ask questions, I'd love to talk you about my time!! More to come on my home stay, Pretoria and Windhoek of course!