So, I held a lion cub and was then almost been killed by lions; I drank in a freezing cold and dark shebeen with Soweto locals after seeing where the freedom charter was drafted; I ate mopane worms and other interesting local delicacies (not so bad as long as you don’t look at them up close); and I jumped into a frigid and dirty pool in the middle of African winter during a braai (ok so not as impressive as if it were a Canadian winter…but still!). All in all, not bad for my first 4 days in Africa!
It is an interesting place, South Africa. I landed in Johannesburg last Thursday, after a very hectic but amazing day in Cairo (where I finally saw the pyramids! A life long dream of mine) and I was picked up by my friend’s mom -- a very interesting and intelligent lady who gave me a lot of good background on life in South Africa. As we rolled past a dry and dreary Jozi through endless suburbs, there were security fences everywhere. There are no houses or buildings that aren’t surrounded by high walls and barbed wire! Yet strangely, everywhere you go and talk to someone, people are incredibly friendly rather than being paranoid and distrustful. It is quite a contrast.
Racial differentiation is still quite strongly felt however. The whole time I was in Johannesburg I never saw a white person walking on the streets. Crime, I have been now told many times, is a huge issue. My friend’s home had just been recently broken into and everyone is very careful where they drive at night. Everyone I’ve met has a mugging/robbery story of some kind, most have more than one. Yet again, people are so helpful and outgoing and have an amazing sense of humour and this goes across the racial boundaries. It is a very strange and fascinating place indeed.
On the first day we went to the Lion park which is a large section of bush where lions roam free. There is also a petting zoo type place where you can actually play with lions cubs! That was an amazing experience. Smelling like lion pee was definitely worth holding a cub! The best part was that we tried to go inside with a convertible, not thinking it was that dangerous, but luckily the lion keeper persuaded us otherwise, with a good laugh. Once we were inside we understood why – the lions were right there! Had our windows and roof been down I might not be writing this email right now.
That night we had an amazing braai (SA word for BBQ) in Fleur’s friend’s place. This was where I instigated a frigid pool jump. Two SAfricans took me up on it but Fleur chickened out last minute. It was not my smartest move ever but hey, how many people can say they jumped into a pool in the middle of winter?
The following day we went to Soweto. The infamous tomwship that came to be known primarily due to the uprisings of 1976. It was a chilly and rainy day, but somehow that seemed to fit the mood as we drove around the place. The best part was when we stopped in the shebeen to have drinks with the locals however! It was quite the experience drinking in a small tin shack, with no heating and only beer (including homemade with icecream!!) to drink and keep us warm. These are the sort of experiences that make me feel alive.
All in all it was a great introduction to South Africa (thanks Fleur and company!) and I cannot wait to get to Cape Town to start work! From now on, the blog entries will have two sections: pleasure, and business (one for general info and the other for internship related stuff).
Kisses from the African continent!
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