Ashley about to enjoy a marvelous lunch at Wandi's Place in Soweto
My most recent adventure here in South Africa was the week trip to Johannesburg. I think it is amazing that we get the chance to experience another side of the country. While being in Cape Town and exposed to Capetonians, a view of Johannesburg was place in my mind. Everyone at my internship explained it as a busy, hectic, business like city. I perceived to it be a New York City in South Africa. Didn’t know what to expect but thankfully I was able to make my own observation on this much talked about place. Going into the excursion I only knew that Johannesburg is also called “the city of gold” because this is how it was founded and developed. It also goes by the name of Jo'burg and Jozi, and it is the business capital of South Africa. The first thing I noticed was that it wasn’t as “hectic” (south Africans use this word often to substitute “busy” or “crazy”) as I thought it would be. There was a lot more commercial buildings, businesses, and billboards than Cape Town but not as crowded as I expected it to be. I left with a positive image of the city and enjoyed being able to experience this famous Jozi! One thing that really surprised me was the fact that the mini-bus taxi drivers do not yell out their destination as they pass by. They only beep and have a sign stating where they are going. Oddly this made me miss Cape Town. At the beginning of the trip I would get somewhat annoyed at all these taxi drivers yelling out their windows but going to Jo'burg really helped me see how much I have grown used to Cape Town and how much I have learned to love it.
Kruger National Park was another awesome experience. I have been waiting for this safari trip to arrive and was soooooo excited to know that there was a possibility of me seeing a giraffe! It was actually one of the first animals we saw and learned some awesome quick facts that I didn’t know about. They only sleep in twenty minute intervals, and the way they do this is by slightly bending their extremely long legs the same way they bend them to drink water. It was so fascinating to see them do this, an image I will never forget. We also saw a Lion. I was surprised to see just how calm it was and how he had no reaction to us being there gasping with our eyes wide open because we have never seen something like this so close before, another unforgettable moment.
One of the museums and visits that caught my attention most was the Hector Peterson Museum. Hector Peterson was a thirteen year old boy who died from a stray bullet while marching in a protest against The Bantu Education Act. This march goes by the name of the Soweto Uprisings of 1976 and for some reason I couldn’t get over the fact that this really happened. Not only the many lost lives of school children but the way that they began a sequence of changes in their country. The law was made so that every student would be forced to be taught in Afrikaans in their many school subjects. The problem here was that the majority of these children only spoke their mother tongue and some English. I couldn’t grasp the fact that school children directed by high school students, lead such a huge and impacting demonstration. Learning something like this makes me feel empowered and gives me so much confidence to want to act for a social issue I feel passionate about. I remember the old me, before this experience, saying that there is no way something such as a protest would make government officials react to this cause. Three days after the uprisings the government banned the teaching of Afrikaans in the school subjects. Something extremely motivating and what should be taken as a challenge for us as university students that have the energy, time and connections to work towards a better community.
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