Hello. Its been two days since I last wrote. Lets see if I remember all we have done since then. Okay so on Wednesday the 19th we began the day at the South African Council of Churches in this building called the Khosto House. It was in the middle of downtown Johannesburg. That was the first time we went downtown. We had one speaker who was from the SACC but I dont remember what his official title is. He discussed with us the role of churches in the New South Africa. The Church is not a homogeneous institution because there are many different denominations and streams that can be taken. The SACC is in the Ecumenical stream, which he described as too concerned about world things and contemporary society. He went through the history of South Africa and how the churches fit into what was happening during those times and what programs they have now. They deal with healthcare and HIV/AIDS, especially after Thabo Mbeki's reign as president. Mbeki denied that HIV leads to AIDS and that was detrimental to South Africa society. Also another program they have is Justice, Reconciliation, and Healing. This program is related to the Truth and Reconciliation (TRE) Mandela put in place. I also learned that South Africa is 77% christian, which surprised me. He also discussed that the SACC has made a conscience decision to separate church and state in their policies and programs. He was very interesting and engaging.
Right after that, in the same building, we had another group come talk to us. This was a non-partisan support group that allowed for reconciliation of victims and survivors of the apartheid. They deal with good victims and bad victims and try to turn victims into victors. They allow for their members to tell stories and to become empowered. There are 60,000 members across South Africa. It was very interesting as well but hard to sit through another 2 hours of people talking at you. We were in the same room for 5 hours.
After lunch, we went to the Apartheid Museum. This museum was designed by the same man who designed the Holocaust Museum in D.C. You could definitely feel that as you walk through it. Also, the museum was built right next to a casino and a theme park, which i found very weird. So you first walk through the museum as either white or non-white and there are signs that were used during apartheid above and around you. Then you finally get to the beginning of the museum, where you start at the beginning of when the Europeans first came to Africa in 1652. There are bushmen drawings that show the effects of the Europeans on them. Then you learn about the gold extraction that began in Johannesburg and the beginnings of the slums and shantytowns around Johannesburg as the mines needed more workers. The museum was very confusing because from that point it brings you to this giant temporary exhibit about Nelson Mandela, that I ended up spending like an hour in, not knowing that I would not have enough time to see the permanent exhibits. The exhibit about Mandela showed Mandela in all his different roles that he played for South Africa. Mandela is extremely put on a pedastool here in South Africa. No one will say a bad thing about him.
After that exhibit you go to the rest of the museum that goes through the implementation of Apartheid by the Afrikaneers, the liberation struggles, the creation of the ANC and other parties, a look into the slums, the end of apartheid in 1990 by De Klerk and so many more things. I could have easily been in that museum for 4 hours. We just didnt have enough time to go through it.
After going there and having dinner, we had our first night out on the town. We went back downtown to the Market Theatre to see Songs of Migration a musical by Hugh Masekela. I had my first drink in Africa too as well as my first South African beer. It was good. Little did I know who he was when I first saw him singing but apparently he is very famous. He married Miriam Makeba, a famous South Africa anti-apartheid activists and singer. It was amazing. There were about 50 different songs sung in different languages reflecting on the problems faced by Black South Africans related to labor and poverty. It was great to hear how all these songs have been passed down from generation to generation. Also, most of the time you didnt even need to know what they were saying in the words because their expression and power just said it all.
Okay and then onto today, Thursday the 20th. We began the day by talking to two ANC representatives. They didnt come with any agenda to talk about they just wanted us to ask them questions. They beat around the bush for every question that was asked. It was just a weird experience and was not a good reflection. Then we went downtown to talk to the main opposition of the ANC, which is the Democratic Alliance or the DA. Their presentation was much more formal and was given by one of the parties mayoral candidates in the next election. He is 23 years old too. Anyways, he criticized the ANC hardcore and went through the history of the DA party. He gave some answers of what the DA is trying to do but was very diplomatic about what he talked about.
Then we went to the Bruma Market for lunch. It was an open-air market with a bunch of little shops. I got a pair of earrings for 20 rand, which is about 2.50 dollars. There was a lot of cool stuff but there is no sense in buying things now so we just walked around for 2 hours. It was nice to be outside since it was about 75 degrees out and very sunny.
Then we had one more speaker about nuclear energy and the environment in South Africa. It was really interesting and this discussion has been the least hostile one we have had so far. A lot of us were falling asleep so that could have been a part of it. He talked about the coal industry and uranium industry in South Africa. Also about what the government has done for and against the coal industry. Also discussed the possibilities of renewable energies.
After that and dinner, we had our homestay orientation. We start our first homestay tomorrow night. My family is in Foslorus, a township in Soweto. My family is a mother, father, a daughter about 16 and a son about 6. I am really excited but really nervous at the same time. I am doing it with another girl on my program, which makes it better. However, I have barely interacted with the girl I am staying with so hopefully we will get to know each other too. This will be my first time jumping out my comfort zone so it will be a hard adjustment for me. I will definitely grow from this. This will be the first time that we are really interacting with South Africans besides our tour guides and speakers.
I will hopefully have time to upload photos after this weekend.
Bec
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