Joe's excursion experience

Julian & Joe having just purchased "African" shirts in Jo'burg

Our excursion provided us with a new insight into South Africa and its culture. We started by traveling north to Johannesburg where we were fortunate enough to visit various historical sites and museums. For example, one of our first sites was Sharpeville; in 1960, the Pan-African Congress led a non-violent protest in which they burned their pass books (documentation that all minorities were requiring to carry.) The pass books were another tactic used by the white minority government to de-humanize the black, coloured, and Indian populations; if any person was found without their passbook, they would be arrested. The protests took place throughout the entire country but only in Sharpeville did it turn violent;  after one of the leaders in Sharpeville stepped forward in order to surrender himself for arrest, more people moved forward behind him which resulted in the police opening fire. They killed 69 people and injured over 100 more (some of whom eventually died because of the incident.) We visited the graves of those 69 people. Seeing all of the graves lined up in a row was a profound experience. It brought to life all some of the struggles that the majority of the population dealt with during the Apartheid era. March 21 is now recognized as Human Rights Day in South Africa.

We also visited other museums such as the Apartheid Museum and the Hector Petierson Museum. The Apartheid Museum had a very extensive exhibit on Nelson Mandela. One of my favorite parts of the exhibit was towards the end when they presented us with about six quotes from Nelson Mandela, all of the quotes represented different values that Nelson demonstrated throughout his life. They asked everyone to take a color coded stick that would represent which value resonated with us the most. After finding the right colored stick, we carried them to specific bins where there were thousands of other sticks where other visitors had previously made their decision. The Hector Petierson Museum was also interesting because it provided us with information regarding the student protests that occurred on 16 June 1976. Students protested against bantu education which was education that was not in their first language and was aimed at providing the students with more labor related skills.

At the end of our excursion we were given ample time to reflect upon the different sites we visited by traveling to Krugar National Park. It was a nice place to unwind and relax before we had to head back to Cape Town. Seeing the different animals such as elephants, water buffalo, giraffes, and leopards gave us a look into Africa. I was able to witness the most amazing sunset over the African landscape as I began to think about all that I had learned during my excursion. I am really glad that we were able to take this time off during the middle of the semester, it gave us more information about South Africa’s dynamic history and gave us a look into a new part of the country. I was grateful to be able to speak with people from Johannesburg who had a different attitude from Cape Town – people in Joburg are more focused on a business-related lifestyle while people in Cape Town are more laid back. Someone compared the difference to that of the difference between New York City and Miami. Overall the excursion was a very beneficial experience. I will try to take what I have learned during that week and apply it to my life in Cape Town; this will act a microcosm of my main goal for when I return home to the United States.