Hello Friends,
So here’s a recap of the short time spent I spent in Johannesburg after returning from Botswana:
Me, Evan, Casey, and Pablo arrived at the Joburg Backpackers on the night of May 18th, ordered some pizza from dinner, and passed out before 11pm. After 6 nights of camping without pillows we were all eager to sleep in a nice bed; plus our new routine of waking up before 6am had worn us out. The next morning Casey and Pablo set out to get visas for Mozambique because all visitors need one (I already had mine). So Evan and I went for a walk to an undetermined destination and eventually, after almost 3 hours and a couple stops along the way, ended up downtown (we had been staying in a nice neighborhood to the west of city center). Once we got to an area that didn’t seem too safe we decided to call a taxi and get a ride to the Hector Pieterson Museum. Musa, our taxi driver, took us to one of the World Cup stadiums, Soccer City, and let us take some pictures (although the picture below isn't taken by me). The day before the 32 buses for the teams had arrived and they looked really cool. Each one had the country’s name and flag on it, and it said “It’s time for a new champion” in their language. Then he drove us through his neighborhood in Soweto. Soweto is a section of Joburg that was established during apartheid and designated for all the blacks that were forcibly removed from their previous neighborhoods. Its name is cleverly derived from South Western Townships, and it’s now home to 4.5 million people. Some live in tiny shacks while others live in sturdy houses that cost over 1 million rand. Musa continued on to the other part of Soweto, known as Orlando, where the museum is located. But first he drove us by the house that the community built for Nelson Mandela to live in once he got out of prison, the house where he lived after he stepped down as President, the house Desmond Tutu lived in, and the Hector Pieterson Memorial.
Hector Pieterson, a 13 year old boy, was the first person to be shot and killed during the peaceful protest in 1976. Thousands of students had organized themselves to protest the new law that required school to be taught in Afrikaans, which wasn’t their native language and caused everyone to get horrible grades. So on June 16, 1976 they peacefully marched through Soweto until the police through tear gas bombs and started shooting into the crowd. Some witnesses say that students began the violence by throwing rocks at police cars, but most argue that this never occurred. Regardless, several students were killed and many more injured during the uprising the followed. For days afterwards the police would just drive through the streets of Soweto, shooting and killing random people just because they could. The Hector Pieterson Museum had so much interesting information about the terrible education system during apartheid, the events in 1976, and the impact it had on the liberation struggle. Below is the famous picture (taken by Sam Nzima) that appeared in newspapers around the world and helped raise awareness about the cruelty of the apartheid regime. Eighteen year old Mbuyisa Makhubo is carrying Hector away while the young boy's sister, Antoinette, runs beside him.
After spending a couple hours in the museum, we walked through the town to see some of the schools that participated in the march, the Mandela House, and the street corner where Hector was shot. Most white South Africans would never think of walking around Soweto, but Evan and I felt much safer there than we had in Joburg earlier. Musa explained to us that the crime rate in Soweto is extremely low because everyone living their holds their neighbors, friends, and family accountable for their actions. Because the government is fairly corrupt, they work hard to keep their town safe. After walking for a bit we stopped at a small restaurant next to the Mandela House where Winnie Mandela, Nelson’s ex-wife, happened to be eating as well. She was there with her eldest daughter and a few other people who had just planted something in the garden at her former house next door. Despite the fact that she’s widely believed to be an accomplice to a murder, among other crimes, we decided to have our picture taken with her. Lots of people started coming into the restaurant to get a look and take a picture, so we headed back to the museum to meet Musa. Touring Soweto, surrounded by so much important South African history, definitely made this one of my favorite days of the whole semester.
The next day we just walked around the neighborhood then took a taxi to the Backpackers Ritz where we’d be spending the night. We got lunch at a delicious bakery and waited for our other friends to arrive. In the afternoon Chris and Lydia returned from their trip to Kruger National Park, Chobe National Park, and Victoria Falls (South Africa, Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe), and then Beth, Adrienne, and Kelly arrived from Stellenbosch that night. We made some frozen dinners at the backpackers and swapped stories about our trips until those of us that had been camping couldn’t keep our eyes open anymore. At this point my internal clock had shifted so I was exhausted each night by 10pm and couldn’t sleep past 7am. The next morning would be another early one as we had to catch an 8am bus to Mozambique. Check back tomorrow for my final vacation post!
Me, Evan, Casey, and Pablo arrived at the Joburg Backpackers on the night of May 18th, ordered some pizza from dinner, and passed out before 11pm. After 6 nights of camping without pillows we were all eager to sleep in a nice bed; plus our new routine of waking up before 6am had worn us out. The next morning Casey and Pablo set out to get visas for Mozambique because all visitors need one (I already had mine). So Evan and I went for a walk to an undetermined destination and eventually, after almost 3 hours and a couple stops along the way, ended up downtown (we had been staying in a nice neighborhood to the west of city center). Once we got to an area that didn’t seem too safe we decided to call a taxi and get a ride to the Hector Pieterson Museum. Musa, our taxi driver, took us to one of the World Cup stadiums, Soccer City, and let us take some pictures (although the picture below isn't taken by me). The day before the 32 buses for the teams had arrived and they looked really cool. Each one had the country’s name and flag on it, and it said “It’s time for a new champion” in their language. Then he drove us through his neighborhood in Soweto. Soweto is a section of Joburg that was established during apartheid and designated for all the blacks that were forcibly removed from their previous neighborhoods. Its name is cleverly derived from South Western Townships, and it’s now home to 4.5 million people. Some live in tiny shacks while others live in sturdy houses that cost over 1 million rand. Musa continued on to the other part of Soweto, known as Orlando, where the museum is located. But first he drove us by the house that the community built for Nelson Mandela to live in once he got out of prison, the house where he lived after he stepped down as President, the house Desmond Tutu lived in, and the Hector Pieterson Memorial.
Hector Pieterson, a 13 year old boy, was the first person to be shot and killed during the peaceful protest in 1976. Thousands of students had organized themselves to protest the new law that required school to be taught in Afrikaans, which wasn’t their native language and caused everyone to get horrible grades. So on June 16, 1976 they peacefully marched through Soweto until the police through tear gas bombs and started shooting into the crowd. Some witnesses say that students began the violence by throwing rocks at police cars, but most argue that this never occurred. Regardless, several students were killed and many more injured during the uprising the followed. For days afterwards the police would just drive through the streets of Soweto, shooting and killing random people just because they could. The Hector Pieterson Museum had so much interesting information about the terrible education system during apartheid, the events in 1976, and the impact it had on the liberation struggle. Below is the famous picture (taken by Sam Nzima) that appeared in newspapers around the world and helped raise awareness about the cruelty of the apartheid regime. Eighteen year old Mbuyisa Makhubo is carrying Hector away while the young boy's sister, Antoinette, runs beside him.
After spending a couple hours in the museum, we walked through the town to see some of the schools that participated in the march, the Mandela House, and the street corner where Hector was shot. Most white South Africans would never think of walking around Soweto, but Evan and I felt much safer there than we had in Joburg earlier. Musa explained to us that the crime rate in Soweto is extremely low because everyone living their holds their neighbors, friends, and family accountable for their actions. Because the government is fairly corrupt, they work hard to keep their town safe. After walking for a bit we stopped at a small restaurant next to the Mandela House where Winnie Mandela, Nelson’s ex-wife, happened to be eating as well. She was there with her eldest daughter and a few other people who had just planted something in the garden at her former house next door. Despite the fact that she’s widely believed to be an accomplice to a murder, among other crimes, we decided to have our picture taken with her. Lots of people started coming into the restaurant to get a look and take a picture, so we headed back to the museum to meet Musa. Touring Soweto, surrounded by so much important South African history, definitely made this one of my favorite days of the whole semester.
The next day we just walked around the neighborhood then took a taxi to the Backpackers Ritz where we’d be spending the night. We got lunch at a delicious bakery and waited for our other friends to arrive. In the afternoon Chris and Lydia returned from their trip to Kruger National Park, Chobe National Park, and Victoria Falls (South Africa, Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe), and then Beth, Adrienne, and Kelly arrived from Stellenbosch that night. We made some frozen dinners at the backpackers and swapped stories about our trips until those of us that had been camping couldn’t keep our eyes open anymore. At this point my internal clock had shifted so I was exhausted each night by 10pm and couldn’t sleep past 7am. The next morning would be another early one as we had to catch an 8am bus to Mozambique. Check back tomorrow for my final vacation post!
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