Soweto

The main event for me in going to Johannesburg was to visit Soweto.  At first, I was reluctant to go, since I figured it would be just like Khayaleitsha, but after talking to some locals Soweto seemed like a completely different experience.

Soweto is a township just outside Johannesburg. It's not some exotic African name, but a pseudo acronym for "South West Township".  Soweto is famous for the Soweto riots in 1976, which were the beginning of the end of Apartheid.  The catalyst was that black school kids were forced to abandon English, and learn Afrikaans.  Education is big in Africa, and this decree from the government pushed the black population too far.  Curiously, the uprising was started by the school children - with no adult organizer.  Several kids were shot and killed, and press reports of the uprising triggered riots all over the rest of South Africa.  Slowly, Apartheid was being dismantled after that, and by 1994 the African National Congress was elected into power, and Apartheid was finished.

Soweto has a terrific museum dedicated to the Soweto uprising, with photos, videos, and narratives from the events of 1976.  We also visited Nelson Mandela's house and family restaurant, which reside in Soweto.

On our tour, we also visited some of the various neighborhoods of Soweto.  Unlike Khayaleitsha, there were a wider variety of socioeconomic dwellings, with some areas looking positively suburban.  Our driver pointed out that many of the nicer homes had so razor wire or electric fencing, which contrasted to our B&B in Johannesburg, where every home had high security.

Finally, we were introduced to "fat cakes" - a donut-like snack that is popular in the township.  For about $0.10 each, this semi-sweet, lightly fried bread was enjoyable, and kept up our energy through the five hour tour.

Johannesburg

Our final stop in Africa is Johannesburg, the largest city in South Africa, and the financial capital of the continent.  We have three days here, and we've spent the last two exploring the area.

First of all, about Johannesburg itself.  We are staying in a nice area called Parkhurst, in a bed-and-breakfast.  There is one street here - 4th St. - that has a lot of activity: good restaurants, artsy shops, markets and the like.  It spans about five blocks, and is easily walkable.  To get anywhere else, you need to call a taxi. Public transit here is mostly an afterthought. Many people compare Johannesburg to New York city.

There is the aura of high security here. Every house has either electrified fencing, razor wire, or sometimes both.  We've been warned not to get into certain kinds of taxis.  Some of the cabbies we've talked to refuse to drive at night.  We've felt safe in our neighborhood, but clearly there are places one should not venture into.

On our first day, we hired a driver and drove an hour outside of town to Matopeng - also known as the "cradle of civilization".  It was here that many of the skeletons of human ancestors were discovered, and they've commemorated the area with an excellent museum of anthropology. We learned about the first continent, which was a combination of all the continents before the plates below started shifting. I also didn't know that the earth has had five mass extinctions, each one roughly five million years apart.  The countryside driving out to Matopeng was beautiful as well.

Also - the morning before Matopeng, there was a local Saturday market right around the corner from us. I walked over, and bought some excellent soups and breads for the family.  There were some youth rugby games going on in the background. It was a nice slice of Johannesburg life.

On our second day, we ventured into town to an every-Sunday event called "Art on Main". This was a packed venue, with a lot of food vendors surrounding some art galleries.  The crowd was mostly white, but definitely not exclusively so.  I enjoyed an Ethiopian plate with sponge bread, but there were a lot of other options to choose from, including Thai, Indian, Paella, Argentinian and more.  Plus, there were a few areas to but alcoholic drinks.  It was a happening place to be, and the kids put up with us while we socialized with our friends.

Art on Main market in Johannesburg