South Africa: Day by Day

Day 1: We arrived via bus to Johannesburg from Masvingo, Zimbabwe. Our bus reached the border around 11pm, and our passports were stamped shortly after midnight. Our adventure in South Africa had begun. After a few more hours, we found ourselves in the center of Johannesburg. As we walked around our hostel’s neighborhood, we appreciated the urban artistry throughout the city, taking many pictures of beautiful graffiti.

Day 2: We walked to a Greek Orthodox church and enjoyed a beautiful service. We ate cake and drank tea after the service and met the priest along with many parishioners. One parishioner named George offered to drive us to the Apartheid Museum! As he drove, he pointed buildings out to us and told us more about the city.

We arrived at the museum about noon, and we spent over 5 hours there but did not get to read everything. We learned so much.

I will try to explain Apartheid in a nutshell, if that is even possible. There are 11 spoken languages and many tribes in South Africa, two of which being Xhosa and Zulu. The Dutch arrived in South Africa during the 17th century and created a language called Afrikaans. The British also arrived, and both groups warred over control of the land. Over the course of many years, there were multiple categories of race established, and each race had a different status in the culture. There were restrictions on where Europeans and Non-Europeans could go. Each race lived in separate neighborhoods. The government outlawed interracial marriage. Each person had to carry a pass that specified his or her race, and the police checked passes to restrict or permit access. There was a committee that recategorized people’s race. In 1948 the government made the segregation of race official and called it “apartheid”. Schools were unequal; each white student received 644 Rand ($37 USD) of funding and other students received 42 Rand each ($2.43 USD) of funding. The government evicted entire neighborhoods so the whites did not have to live close to native Africans or could use the land themselves. There were political parties that protested the evictions and segregation, but the government outlawed the parties and imprisoned many of the leaders (Nelson Mandela being one of them). The government then forced the biracial and native African schools to use the Afrikaans language in school, and the students boycotted with large marches around the cities. On May 17, 1976, police shot and killed 176 to 700 students (the bullets were found in their backs, because the students were running away). The tensions, violence, and deaths continued. In February 2, 1990, the South African president released the political prisoners and legalized their political parties. More violence ensued, as many Afrikaans fought back. After a deadly few years more, the government became a democracy and Nelson Mandela became president. Since then, the country has tried to reduce the inequality and improve the freedoms and opportunities for all of its citizens. This is a very short and incomplete summary, but hopefully it captures the gist.

After shutting down the museum, we stayed at a bed and breakfast where we fell in love with the host and fellow guests. We talked and laughed until late that night.

Day 3: We took a tour of Soweto, a famous township in Joburg that was claimed by millions of displaced, homeless native Africans. Almost overnight, people built small houses out of corrugated metal. Now, 10% of the region is upper class, 60% middle class, and 30% lower class. Out of the 6 million people that live in Joburg, 3 million live in this area. We visited Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu’s homes, both of which are on the same street. More recently, Trevor Noah, one of my favorite comedians and author of the book Born a Crime, lived in Soweto.

We visited the Hector Peterson Museum, which chronicled and honored the students who were killed during the march protesting Afrikaans used in schools on May 16, 1976.

We finished our day in Soweto with a Braai (or barbecue) of various meat and pap (a fine grain made from corn, which is a staple in South Africa).

When we returned to our bed and breakfast, our amazing Nigerian host named Eva walked us through how to make jolof rice, a staple in Nigeria. After learning how to make it, all of the guests sat around the table to dig in. We met such special people there; Eva’s Bed and Breakfast was definitely one of the highlights of the trip.

Day 4 & 5: We took a bus from Joburg to Cape Town. The drive into Cape Town is unique; first we saw vineyards, then we drove through red rocks that reminded me of drives through Utah or Arizona. Cape Town itself is a city tucked between the Atlantic Ocean and the beautiful Table Mountain and Lion’s Head Mountain.

We arrived in Cape Town early and began to explore the city. We walked through a large botanical garden and then took a tour of the colorful Bo Kaap neighborhood. South Africa is known as the “Rainbow Nation” to honor the diversity of its citizens, and the colors around Cape Town clearly celebrate this! We tried a Bobotie, which is a unique South African dish with beef and eggs surrounded by rice and fruit chutney on top. It was delicious!

Day 6: We hiked Table Mountain today! At the top of the mountain were astounding views of the cape. The mountain looks like a table because it is flat on top, and oftentimes there is a mist that covers it called a tablecloth.

Day 8-10: We continued to explore Cape Town. We tried the gargantuan Gatsby sandwich, which was a roti stuffed with meat and french fries.

We attended church service at St. George’s Anglican Cathedral where Desmond Tutu was archbishop. This church, which is also known as “The People’s Cathedral,” had been one of the only churches that welcomed everyone to their church services, no matter their race.

We took a walking tour of the city, which included District 6 (where 600,000 native Africans were evicted and became homeless in the 1970’s) and a Dutch castle.

Day 11 & 12: We took a bus back to Joburg. Our fellow bus mates were friendly: one talked to us about astronomy, and one shared his fish biltong (or jerky).

Day 13: We flew from JoBurg to Antananarivo, Madagascar.