Johannesburg

I’m finally in Johannesburg! The 15-hour flight was really long, but kind of awesome too. We each had our own TV and got a really wide selection of whatever movies, TV shows, and music we wanted and it made the time go by a lot faster. Once we landed, we exchanged some Dollars to Rands, (the exchange rate is roughly 8:1.) We bought a calling card and called for a ride to our first hostel. There were about 5 of us who got there first and we were able to bond for about 7 hours before the rest of the group showed up. We had dinner at the hostel and all crashed early because of the jetlag.

This morning we woke up and went to Soweto. Soweto is an abbreviation for “South Western Township,” and was originally established as a black township under the apartheid government to assure that they remained as laborers. Most of the major apartheid riots took place in Soweto. We went to the Nelson Mandela house, where he and his family lived before he was arrested, and then afterwards went to the Hector Pieterson Apartheid Memorial. Hector Pieterson was a 13-year old boy who was killed by white apartheid police in the June 16^th, 1976 Student Uprisings. A picture of his body being carried away by a fellow student became an iconic image of the uprisings and apartheid, and captured the corruption of the government. Today, June 16^th is National Youth Day in South Africa and serves as a symbol of youth resistance to the apartheid government. It was great to go into Soweto because it really painted a great picture about South African politics, which will be helpful to me in applying it to health and health policy.

After we left, we passed by Soccer City, where a HUGE rugby game is taking place tonight with the Springboks vs. New Zealand. We tried to get tickets but it’s been sold out for months apparently. We’re watching the game on TV now though. We also went to a mall to pick up some last minute items that we forgot, and I invested in a fleece coat because it’s COLD HERE! Apparently Durban is much warmer than Joburg, but the nights and early mornings here have been cold because it’s winter here. I’ve been making an effort to talk to as many South Africans as possible, and everyone has been so happy and friendly so far. I’m catching up on some of the South African lingo already. My favorite so far is when they think something is cool they say “hundred percent.” South African music is really awesome too and I’ve been exchanging music with our drivers Thula (pronounced Tula) and S’du (pronounced Stu).

I found out some information about my homestay family too. Apparently most of the home-stay family dynamics are a single mother living with her children because father figures are not as much a presence in most households. My home-stay mother is named Nokuthula Mthembu, and lives with her 21 yr old daughter Thah, 18 yr old daughter Neliswa, and 14-year old son Mqapheli. They speak Zulu, (which by the way DOES have clicking consonants!) and I’ll be meeting them next week. Tomorrow we drive 6 hours to Durban and will be staying in another hostel for the next few nights. I’ll write back whenever I get a chance. Hundred Percent!