Johannesburg - Day 2

Another morning, another jet lagged/confused body and another breakfast buffet. However, today we did it in matching shirt! Here is the first group picture of the Mark Day School South Africa Delegation 2014.

The itinerary today began with a driving tour of Soweto, a township of 3.5 million people. Blacks were displaced here during the apartheid. Since then, many parts of Soweto have been developed and become affluent, whereas other parts have changed little since the apartheid. The people in the more affluent areas choose to stay in Soweto, instead of moving into Johannesburg, because they see it as a source of pride. 

The 2010 World Cup Statium is located in Soweto, along with the freedom square and Nelson Mandela's home. We stopped by the freedom square, which is where the freedom charter was signed. In honor of that, the square has 10 pillars starting the basic rights blacks wished to receive; the people shall govern; all national groups shall have equal rights; the people shall share in the country's wealth; the land shall be shared among those who work it; all shall enjoy equal human rights; all shall be equal before the law; there shall be work and security; the doors of learning and culture shall be open; there shall be houses security and comfort; there shall be peace and friendship. The square also had 9 X's that presented different provinces, along with a tree native to that area. All the rights were described in detail in a free standing cone shaped room. It's so saddening that they were denied the simplest rights.

We were then treated to a traditional lunch at Sakhumuza. It was gorgeous to sit outside and try delicious chicken in curry sauce, rice with a tomato based sauce and beef sausage. We enjoyed sipping an appletizer ( a sparkling apple juice drink) and watching some young men perform some native, most likely Zulu, dances. After lunch, Nelson Mandela's house was a short walk away. His house has been turned into a museum since his passing last year. He lived humblely in a small house, until he was forced to move into Winnie's house due to safety risks and constant freedom songs be sung out front. While freedom songs sounds great, a man who is trying to change a country needs his sleep.

With about a hour to spare before we were expected at KYP, we stopped by the Peterson memorial museum. Hector Peterson was a 13-year-old boy who was shot and killed by police during a non-violent protest. The students were protesting the the implementation of Afrikanns as the main language in schools. There are nine plus native languages spoken in Soweto, but Afrikanns was a language created by the Dutch immigrants that was used in the mines for the Dutch mine owners/ bosses to be able to communicate to the black/ native workers. The language was difficult for the students, and honestly, it was destined to keep them uneducated and unable to rebel. Hector's sister said she did not want Hector to be thought of a martyr, because he was just an innocent boy caught in the cross fire. However, he still became the symbol of an unjust nation.

Our final stop of the day was our most exciting, KYP! Entering Klipptown reminded me a lot of the streets of India, dirt roads, shacks, trash, dirty water running down the roads, barbed wire on fences and lots of dirty faces.

However, every face had a smile and a hello and every door was open. We could hear the singing before we reached the gates of KYP. Hundreds of children were lined up singing our welcome. KYP was located in the center of Kilptown and consists of about four building, including a computer center, a kitchen, an office and classrooms. KYP is an after school program, which you have to apply to and be accepted to. There is currently a very long wait list. This first afternoon was mainly about introductions and having a good time! I cannot explain how friendly and warm everyone was, child and adults alike!

It left us very excited for the days to come!

Johannesburg - Day 1

Back to the blog! I can't believe I totally failed at posting at all this past year. I had so many ideas, but the excitement/ relief of having a light (ish) schedule all last year was distracting. However, I'm glad I took a little extra me time last year because I will be starting grad school in September (and I except I'll have very little time for relaxation during the next three years. Back to the now!

After 35 hours of travel we made it to South Africa!! We are meeting up with a group of about 40 parents, kids and teachers from Mark Day School (formly Saint Mark's School). Maddy and I graduated from Saint Mark's in 2010 and 2005, respectively. The little girls, Callie and Morgan, are going into 3rd grade. If you asked me if I'd every travel to Africa with some of my K-8 school teachers, I would have said no way. They again, I would have been wrong. Along with a couple other members of faculty, Ms. Becker, my first grade teacher, and Mr. Evans, my sixth grade teacher will be part of the group. Saint Mark's has been sending a delegation to South Africa every other year for the past 12 years. It started with a sister school, eSibonisweni, in rural South Africa, and has recently added a partnership with the Kliptown Youth Program (KYP), in Soweto.

Saying we were out of it when we arrived at our hotel would be an understatement. Luckily, our hotel was located directly across from Nelson Mandela square, which was filled with high end retail shops, but more importantly, food. (The placement of these shops made a lot more sense after I found out that we stayed in the wealthiest square mile of Africa, like all of Africa!) The first day was a blurr of food and sleep. (All photos in this blog post where taken by my dad, Steven Zimmerman.)

The first full day started with a delightful breakfast buffet. My only (nitpicky) complaint would be that the bacon was Canadian style. Nothing against Canada, but I like my bacon thin and crispy. Regardless, I thoroughly enjoyed my breakfast and we were all in much higher spirits after spending our first night in a bed in two days.

All of the delegation loaded into our bus with our friendly driver John and our KYP tour guide Thulani. At one point, Thulani trained to be a tour guide, therefore, he gave interesting and insightful information during our drive to the Apartheid museum. We may be all smiles in the picture below, but I promise the museum was no joke. 

I know I learned about the Apartheid in history, but I don't think I realized that it took place during my lifetime. When you are given your ticket, it says white or non-white. Depending on your ticket you have to take a different enterance into the museum. I definitely learned a lot, however, I was left feeling slightly self conscious about being white at times. This was only because of how horribly whites treated the natives and others of color. I can only hope I would have been courageous enough to stand up and fight for equal rights for all. The museum had a big, temporary exhibit on Nelson Madela. Wow. I can't imagine how great a world it would be if we had just 10 more leaders like him. He approached every situation with calm, focus, strength and passion. Many South Africans refer to him as father. Overall, I'd highly recommend visiting this museum, but be prepared for an emotional roller coaster.

After a quick lunch, we wandered around a craft market. I LOVE markets. South African craft markets definitely rank high on my market scale, because it was awesome! I was luckily enough to take home a shirt and a large beaded lion head! I can't wait to find a place for the lion head in the bedroom of my newly leased apartment.

The first day was a great way to ease into our South Africa trip and get me excited for more!