Our trip to Johannesburg and Mpumalanga was absolutely incredible. Johannesburg reminded me of New York City with its pace and general metropolitan appearance, especially since our hotel was located directly across the street from the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. It was especially amazing to see Sharpsville Massacre memorial and the location the massacre actually took place. As a history major, this was quite exciting, but also incredibly moving. Visiting the Hector Peterson museum was equally as moving. I spent the entire three hours reading and looking at pictures from the event. It was humbling and depressing to read of the sacrifices people had to make in the face of oppression, it really put the life we live in perspective. The simple fact that we can be taught in our native language and not have to risk being shot in the back while running away from a peaceful protest is mind-blowing. It goes to show how much I take for granted in everyday life, then again, this entire trip has had a similar effect. Visiting Nelson Mandela’s home in Soweto and being able to walk around the house that perhaps the greatest living legend once lived in was a huge nerd moment for me.
Kruger is a place that makes you think, “This is Africa,” but living and working in this country makes you realize that Kruger is the exception. The amazing part of Africa is not the Big 5 or the deserts; it is the people and the history they share as well as the precedents in reconstruction and reconciliation they are setting for the rest of the world. That aside, Kruger was still amazing. A lion trotted by right next to our truck as if it was watching us instead of the other way around. It was so nice being in the middle of nowhere and getting away from it all; except the spiders.
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