Leanne on bringing what we have learned to life

Kate, Leanne, & Lianna first night in Jo'burg

On March 16^th, we jetted off to Johannesburg and then drove to Kruger National Park for our excursion!  The sites and museums we visited in Jo’Burg, including the Hector Pietersen Museum, The Apartheid Museum, Constitution Hill and the site of the Sharpeville Massacre in Soweto really helped bring what we have been learning in class to life; to make everything more clear and meaningful. It has been a rare and valuable experience that I believe is usually lacking in higher education.  I can’t even remember the last time I have been on a field trip!

Sharpeville Massacre gravesite

 In Jo’Burg, we also got the chance to eat some delicious, traditional African cuisine. I think my favorite was Wandie’s Place, also located in Soweto.  The food was great, and the atmosphere was even better.  The walls of the restaurant were covered in writing from business cards, stickers, pieces of paper, etc professing love for Wandie’s and other random things.  We were excited to leave our mark…the only catch was the waiter said that in order to hang something up, someone had to ask him in Zulu, “Can I put this on the wall?” Logan eagerly took on the challenge and we all signed a piece of paper that said “UConn Study Abroad Spring 2011.”  It’s kind of cool to think that it will be there for as long as Wandie’s is! 

 Wandi's Place, Soweto

 Next stop, Kruger Park, which offered me the (probably once in a lifetime) chance me to see a variety of large, dangerous and completely awesome animals!  I was so close to a lion that I legitimately could have reached out of the safari truck and touched him!  And, on the safari walk, I had the thrilling experience of having rhinos charge towards me (it would’ve been terrifying, except our guides, Tempo and Pilot, had very large guns with them). 

 Kruger National Park

 In terms of smaller creatures, I saw a 6 inch long millipede and several black and yellow spiders the size of the average rodent.  Additionally, I got very up close and personal with a South African bee.  In case anyone was wondering, they sting just the same as they do in America!

 All in all, the trip was great.  I am glad that I got to experience another part of South Africa.  Now we have been to three of the nine provinces – the Western Cape, Gauteng, and Mpumalanga.  However, I am also glad to be back safe and sound in Cape Town.  March has flown by very quickly and I am determined to make every last minute count during our final month in Cape Town.