Sometimes things just work out.
We planned to get a jump on our cultural exchange and all the dreams came true about these 9 travelers, each and every one, having on time flights and zero to little travel drama.
We landed in succession. Talitha and Onikah came in yesterday. Next was Eli, Kevin and Crystal. Dante and I landed and while in the search for a SIM card or a phone card of some way to call Bob's Bunk House for our pick up, we found the three of them and that was such a great feeling! We had actually been at SFO and Heathrow at the same time but in different terminals, so I was having a strange feeling of missing them since we were so close!
Bob came to pick us up as part of our less than $15 a day charge for the hostel, and he picked all three groups up...Leslie and Kate came right on time and when they showed up at Bob's Bunkhouse this dream really did materialize.
We already had our driver and van ready for our departure for a tour of The Soweto Townships as well as a viewing of the History of Apartheid Museum.
Our tour guides were amazingly fun and friendly Jabu and Musa. They both speak many languages but conversed with us in English and with each other in Zulu. One was the driver, and wow could he manage that van in Johannesburg traffic! I am planning to be one of our drivers in Capetown and I know that I couldn't make it if I were driving in Joberg. Too much traffic, too many round abouts, too many secret mini roads, too many people walking on the highways and streets, etc.
But aside from me thinking that Jabu was driving in the left hand front seat and me feeling freaked out when I would notice him looking down or looking in the back of the van...and then realizing that he was not the driver and never would be because in SA the driving happens on the other side of the road and the driver sits in the upper right seat!...Aside from all that, it was just a miraculous day.
The biggest cool coincidence came when Jabu passed us onto a young tour guide named Tulani. Tulani came upon us in a town square area that had a few large sculptures dedicated to the principles of the SA constitution. There was a fantastic art display based on a few principles like, "the land shall be shared among those who work it." "the doors of learning and culture shall be open," "there shall be peace and friendship," and "the people shall govern," among others. I spotted his tshirt immediately and asked him if I could take a picture of it. I told him a little about YTP and CYC and then realized he would be leading the tour for us straight away. Amazing.
Tulani walked us into the Kliptown neighborhood of the Soweto townships, he was 27 and had been woking with the Kliptown Youth Program for a few years. He was bright, open, respectful, connected and willing to engage with us in any way possible. While we were waiting to get the tour started, he asked Kate and I "so how is America?" We laughed and said that was a really large question and he laughed saying that everyone asks "how is it going in Africa?"
Thulani led us up and over a colorful bridge and then introduced us to the Kliptown township from above. I was looking down at the corrogated iron walls, some of the roofs held down with rocks, some had doors, some were boarded with wood. Unauthorized (and what Tulani called illegal) electricity cords running throughout. Some of the small places held one family, some held up to 12 families within. These houses were smaller than a studio apartment in SF. As we started our way down into the neighborhood I had a profound sense of guilt run through me. I said to one of my colleagues that I if I were these people who lived here I would hate me/us right now as we were about to "take a tour." As we entered though, and perhaps because we were led by a guide, the feeling lessened. Everyone called out to our guide, greetings, hellos, conversations. Children came out of their homes, ages 3 to 12, waving at us with big smiles. We were warned in advance that we might be hit up for money while we were going through the township and indeed a couple of people did seem to want to ask us for something, but mostly people were just pretty friendly looking, sometimes smiling, sometimes saying hello.
We walked through the dirt roads, seeing chickens and the above ground sewer lines that had water snaking its way through the community. In some ways it seemed like we were walking through terrible poverty and other times it just seemed like people making strong community and living with what is. There were some areas that the community created where people could wash themselves, gather water, do laundry and dishes. There was a lot of trash around though not impossibly dirty. People lived very close to one another and some houses had satellite dishes outside their homes. Some places also had gardens. There was diversity and sameness all together.
The amazing Kliptown Youth Program had a computer lab where youth could learn to make CV's, basic Microsoft Office programs including powerpoint and some youth were creating and engaging on Facebook pages. There was a meeting of women in a meeting space. There was the smell of amazing chicken coming from the kitchen. Each day the kitchen prepared sandwiches for the kids before they go to school and each day there is a hot meal prepared for the youth after they go to school. They had a giant plastic bin of fried chicken cooking and Talitha asked for a taste. Once I figure out how to post pictures on a blog I will put some of those up.
There was a small office area we saw and we let the group know that we wanted to make a donation to them. In our fundraising efforts for this trip we budgeted $1000 to be able to donate to non profit groups we meet with and we are definitely going to donate to Kliptown. The tour ended with a peek into a room that had a solar driven flat screen tv with DVD player, etc. Some youth were watching a movie called "Sniper" that Dante recognized. The courtyard had an encased little green room with wonderful looking greens growing. The grow them and then use them in the meals.
We continued out of the program and we move through to the other side of Kliptown where Jabu and Musa were waiting for us. As I predicted, I was already changed by this one hour in this township. The poverty was deep and the sense of community was beautiful. I asked how the community handled it when people didn't get along and I learned that people identified as community leaders were called upon to handle conflicts. There were no police in the area as opposed to general Johannesburg areas where police were plentiful and sometimes very undercover looking like Caltrans workers.
We left Kliptown to see what Jabu called "Beverly Hills" where Winnie Mandela's house is and Desmond Tutu's and Nelson Mandela's place as well. We ate at a great restaurant called Sakhumzi. Though it seemed like a tourist trap, this little place that had a buffet had some outstanding and excellent local food. We ate Pap (ground white cornmeal kinda like polenta), hominy and beans, salad, a juicy beet salad, some tomato gravy, roasted chicken, mini acorn squash with cream corn and cheese on it (hmmm), tripe stew (I normally like tripe but I didn't try it this time), sausage (i also didn't eat that), greek salad, a very spicy carrot salad, homemade bread that tasted like a combo between regular white bread and Ethiopian engira. Lunch was finished with a dessert buffet of self scooped ice cream, jello, custard and some kind of cake.
Lunch was 130 Rand or $14.63 American. Our food budget is $30 per day total so it was a little more money than I wanted to pay but the food was delicious, healthy and authentic. There were entertainers in African costumes doing amazing dances and singing...and apparently there was someone singing la bamba while i was inside.
We left lunch and went to the site of the Soweto Uprising Memorial. We took a picture in front of one of the sections of the memorial and paid a man 100 Rand for 5 postcards that he printed from a tiny machine right in front of our eyes!
More from others about the Museum of Apartheid. We leave in a half hour for Honeydew where we will exchange with the African Leadership Academy. We are hiring Jabu and Musa to take us again...an unexpected expense is the $120 cab ride to get to and from the site. Excited and grateful. Thanks for reading. Jamie
