Last Day in JohannesbergFriday, June 26, 2009
Today we visited the Apartheid Museum which documents South Africa's struggle over the better part of the second half of the 20th century to overcome colonial racial segregation. Under Apartheid the people of South Africa were segregated by color into the categories of white (mostly foreigners, colonial rulers and Japanese), colored (Asians and lighter colored locals) or black (most Africans) with whites recieving higher jobs and luxurious living accommodations while coloreds receiving fewer privileges and blacks fewer yet. Since the coloreds made up only a small percentage of the population and the whites even less, the museum primarily tells the stories of the black people. The black people were often forced to take very low class jobs, the worst being those of mineworkers. Mineworkers worked allday in the hot, dusty underground and were given the cheapest food and housing available so that the white owners could make the highest possible profits off the gold, diamonds etc. Further Black children had little opportunity for improving these conditions for they lacked proper academic facilities. Schools were hot and difficult to concentrate in, did not have desks or chairs, had as few as 3 teachers for 700 or so students and only taught basic skills not including those necessary for higher professions. In their desperation many children become Tsotsis or youths who turn to crime rather than work for they feel it is the only way to attain any substantial amount of money and also allows them to take away the Whites' wealth. Even students who tried to assert themselves without turning to such alternatives often suffered. In the case of the Orlando West marches and several marches involving shoolgoing children, the protesters were fired upon by colonial police despite their non-violent methods. It was only after the president of the time died of a stroke, Nelson Mandela was freed, the ban on the African National Congress was lifted and several other incidents were peace talks even allowed and by 1991 Apartheid was lifted. South Africa still suffers from the aftermath of Apartheid but has progressed significantly in the past 18 years. As we left the museum we were allowed to choose from a variety of colored sticks each representing a set of traits Nelson Mandela prized, and set the sticks in holders outside the museum and in doing so represented the unification of the values that helped end Apartheid in South Africa. After the museum we visited Nelson Mandela's previous home. In it we saw several awards Mandela has received over his lifetime and the conditions under which his family lived. The house also had several reminders of the Apartheid era such as bullet holes along the walls from attacks against him and his family. Last but definitely not least we visited the Masibambisane center which houses and feeds schoolgoing children whose parents are unable to take care of them or have died primarily as a result of AIDs. As a result, their caretakers need only provide a bed for them to sleep in every night. The kids were all very nice and were interested in our lives and we played several games together; it was a lot of fun. With that we concluded our adventures in Johannesberg.
Johannesberg: Day 1
Today we visited the Sterkfontein caves where we first visited the cave museum which documented several interesting theories concerning the creation of the earth and the evolution of mankind through words and artifacts. We then proceeded to visit the caves which are extremely rich in fossil deposits. The original entrance to the cave was a small opening, that would easily have gone unnoticed causing unsuspecting tresspassers over the centuries to fall in and get trapped. Furthermore, the caves contained limestone and a combination of sediments known as breccia which together helped preserve these bodies and allowed for fossilization. The Sterkfontein caves were discovered when miners, blasting for limestone came across bones resembling those of humans at which point archaeologists began searching the caves. The caves yeilded many fossils amongst which the most significant were those of "littlefoot" and Mrs.Ples (some researchers believe that Ples may be a male so the fossil's gender is currently unknown. The caves also contained several amazing stalactites and stalagmites. Following our visit to the caves we continued on to join paleontologist Collin Mentor for a presentation about his research. Along the way to his digsite we saw several wild animals such as a zebra, rhinos, baboons etc. When we arrived we ate several delicious snacks and then were given a fascinating presentation about the evolution of humans through the observation of thier skulls. By documenting the progressive change in nost shape, teeth size, location of the intersection of the backbone and the skull as well as several other factors, paleontologists can discover at what period in history humans began walking and how we have taken the form we posess today. He also showed us samples of the vast number of bones he had found from the small but bountiful digsite that he had been excavating over the past 17 years and plans to continue with for the rest of his career. Towards the end of his presentation were forced to return to the hotel due to the rain but everyone throughly enjoyed the visit, and the wealth of knowledge and insights we had gained from Mr.Mentor.
In the evening we visited a local market which was a very different experience for every vendor was extremely interested (to say the least) in convincing us to pay thier shops a visit and dole out a good sum for thier goods although almost everyone had the same things to offer and was an experience I'm sure most of us won't forget. We then headed to the Lesadi cultural village in which we were introduced to the Zulu, Sotho, Xhosa, Pedi and a few more tribes and thier customs through a tour of thier villages. After the tour we saw traditional dances and participated in a few and Daniel bravely volunteered to fight as a Zulu warrior after the dances. We then ate and extravagant dinner including some exotic specialties such as ostrich, beans that thunder the buttocks, crocodile and other more recognizable dishes such as chicken, beef etc. The village was a great conclusion to a very educational, fun day. Fw: Drum Circle and DinnerMonday, June 8, 2009
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Powered by NetMobile. ----- Original Message ----- The other night we visited a local resident's house. Upon our arrival we were greeted to the sound of rhythmic drumming, performed by three local artists. We all took a seat and enjoyed a quick performance, and then tested our own rhythm with the drums given to everyone. The drummers first described the drums we were using: the "jemba" takes the form of an hourglass so that when the drummer strikes the sheepskin topped upper half, the sound is amplified by the lower half. We were informed of the 32 different sounds the jemba could produce: this was very useful for not only did this allow for variety in music but also permitted communication over long distances. We were then taught two basic sounds: a deep and a high pitched sound produced by striking the drum in its center and closer to the outer ring respectively. After learning a simple series, we combined several sets of notes to make a wonderful, upbeat song as the first drummer assisted us and the other two threw in extra beats here and there to compliment the music. Soon the called up 4 volunteers to dance along and gave some drummers alternative instruments such as bells etc. After synchronizing ourselves, we played and had a blast. After the drum circle we enjoyed a traditional dinner. We started with a soup and a few dishes that resembled pakodas and samosas (both are Indian dishes) for lack of another comparison. The entree consisted of cooked squash, rice, a beef pie of sorts and specially cooked corn. The desert was a sweet, compacted jelly square with a local syrup topping. We can all agree it was one of the best meals we had and the evening as a whole was truly enjoyable. --- ______________________________________________________________________ Fw: Diving
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Powered by NetMobile. ----- Original Message ----- Today we prepped for scuba diving. We wore wet suits which were comprised of a body suit, an additional top suit with a hood, a tank with attached gear, flippers and goggles.. We then dove into the water and ran through several dive excersizes such as clearing your goggles of water, romoving and replacing your regulator etc. It was an amazing feeling to remain underwater for extended periods and we are all looking forward to observing sharks as we apply our new skills. --- ______________________________________________________________________ Fw: Robin Island
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Powered by NetMobile. ----- Original Message ----- Today the principal of Robin Island talked to us over a wonderful dinner. The Robin Island School consists of grades 1 through 7 with a total of 22 students . The Robin Island School was originally built for children of the island's warden and prison gaurds but was converted into a public school when the prison was closed. Since its conversion, the school has lost a lot of funding and has been forced to lose some extracurricular activities. When functional, the maximum security prison housed Nelson Mandela and several political prisoners. The prison was ideal because it isolated the prisoners and there was very secure (only 1 escape in 350 year history). Robin Island is also home to many bird species and is amongst the most visited sites of Capetown. Has many bird species. --- ______________________________________________________________________ Bidding Capetown Farewell
Yesterday morning we left for the Cape of Good Hope, one of the southern most points on the continent and a beautiful nature reserve. After a 90 minute ride in which most of us caught up on our sleep, we arrived and were let through the gates. Immediately upon arrival we spotted the rare Bonka Buck. Prior to conservation efforts only 30 Bonka Bucks remained worldwide but even today thier population is unnervingly small. Later during our time in the reserve, we saw two baboons; baboons are very clever creatures whom we were warned to be wary of. We learned that a baboon can attain the same number of claories from a bag of chips as from a full day of foraging and consequently we had to keep all food like items out of thier sight (thier sight is much better than thier smell). Soon we arrived at the cape and enjoyed the beautiful view of waves crashing against the staggered, jagged rocks. We werejoined by two ostriches whom we were able to get surprisingly close to (within 5-10 feet). After enjoying the area we headed to cape point. There we walked along a beautiful, pathway to the top of the point which ended in a lighthouse where we took many pictures and marveled at the crashing waves, beautiful beaches, steep cliffs, clouds and several other beautiful sights. After leaving the reserve, we ate lunch at a pancake house in which pancakes were stuffed with a variety of foods such as chicken, tomatoes, cheese etc. After lunch we left for SANCCOB a bird rehabilitation center. There we learned of capetowns efforts towards saving birds (primarily African Penguins) who have been hurt by other animals or as is most often the case, by oilspills. The center generally releases "patients" as soon as they are back to their original form, howeversome birds have been affected to the extent that they cannot be released or come from other parts of the world and hence can't be released. Amongst these afflicted birds was a penguin named Rocky whom the group became very close to. ONce we were done exploring the rehabilitation center we bid a bittersweet farewell to Cspetown and left for the airport. We flew for 2 hours to Capetown and took a bus to our hotel. Our new hotel featured soft beds, an odd key activated lighting system and many other ammenities our old hotel lacked, but we still miss the scenic views and meeting rooms of the Protea Hotel in Capetown. We are all very excited for the next few day's in Johannesberg and hope they prove as rewarding as Capetown.
RosaFriday, June 5, 2009
Today we met Rosa and her story touched us all:
Rosa lives in a squatter settlement outside Capetown and works toward feeding children. Every morning she gets up at 4 and works till 7:30 pm in order to feed 300 kids. She lives in very poor conditions and must cook in a small shack since her home burned down. Many homes burn down often due to simple candle fires and in Rosa's fire she was burned when she had to return to save her two children. Eventually, Rosa hopes to ensure that no child in Capetown has to sleep without having eaten at least one meal. --- ______________________________________________________________________
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