South African Currancy and Why it Continues to Baffle Me

So today involved another fun-filled bus trip. You'd think after the eight-ten hour bus trips we took to and from our stay at Wits rural we would never agree to get in a bus again. I will admit that the bus today was actually much nicer than the bus we used to travel before. And there were much less of us because most of the South African students didn't want to do touristy stuff with us and preferred to sleep and all of that. Anywho, we got going around 10:00 and took the 'scenic route' to the mall. Which involved checking out one of the huge soccer stadiums (yes they call it soccer here. I'm not sure why because they don't have football), Nelson Mandela's and Desmond Tutu's house, and a lot of very poor and very rich areas of towns neighboring Joburg. The stark differences were similar to many large cities, but it was still a little shocking how close the two areas were to one another. Oh, and a fun fact: Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu are the only two Noble Peace Prize winners to ever live on the same street. Cool eh? Haha eh is used a lot at the end of sentences here. I don't think it's something I'll pick up, but who knows. I keep wanting to adapt a somewhat British accent because that's the closest accent I can fake to a South African accent. I've stopped myself so far though.

On our tour we also stopped at one of the most famous churches during the 60s and 70s in its connection to the protests against apartheid. When political meetings were banned, people would meet at the church to organize and give speeches. Of course the police eventually caught on and they would wait outside the church to assault those exiting. And even though the church has been renovated you can still see a couple of bullet holes in the ceiling. The balcony area has been transformed into a picture museum of sorts and the walls are covered in graffiti by people from all over the world. One of the group members had sharpies with her and I made a point of writing something encouraging the members of each new generation to never stop fighting for what they believe in. It feels cheesy writing it down now, but within context I promise it's much less cheesy.

Anyways, we finally got to the mall and were told we had about an hour and half to get lunch and shop for food. Do you know how insanely hard that is? Especially when you are shopping for your room for the first time. I needed to get things like sponges and dish detergent as well as food. I did make up a list, but didn't end up really consulting it at all. Oh well. By the end of the time limit I thought I had gotten all the things that were really important or at least semi-important and was ready to pay. I think I must have picked the slowest cash register ever because the people in front of me had some sort of problem. Anyways, I finally got to ring up all of my items and the total came out to 550 rand. Now you have to understand that a dollar is worth about 7-8 rand, so this isn't actually that much for the amount of stuff I was planning to buy... however I checked my pockets and all I had on me was 230 rand and $50 (which was of course completely useless. stupid American money). 230 bucks (they call it bucks here too. it's weird) seemed like enough early this morning, but of course I was thinking in terms of dollars rather than rands. So I had to return so much stuff. Not only did I feel bad for everyone behind me, but I felt bad because I was supposed to be back on the bus like ten minutes before. I had to give up all my spices, dustbin, special k, milk, potatoes, peanut butter etc. It was very sad. I'm going to the supermarket again tomorrow and this time I'm bringing my debit card.

After my failed supermarket trip we got back on the bus, said goodbye to our tour guide (who I'm sure was very good, but the microphone she was speaking into was so awful that I couldn't really understand any of the information she was trying to impart to us) and arrived at the apartheid museum. It is an excellent museum and I wish I had like two more hours to spend in there. There was a whole extra exhibit on Nelson Mandela that I had to leave early so I could actually check out the rest of the museum. What I enjoyed most was the video footage they had available. Since apartheid has only been abolished very recently (1990s if you can believe it) they had a lot of video available. The most common videos were ones of white politicians explaining in very rational voices the reasons why apartheid was so necessary and equally rationally black activists calmly explaining why the continued to stay in South Africa and fight for equality. One of the interviews that stuck out to me was a white politician explaining that while the system may be hard for those who do not have a voice, it was especially difficult for the white rulers. He made the argument that white leaders had to work to support their white constituencies as well as the whole black population who had no voice. I can't believe the argument of 'well, we know best. We can take the responsibility of making decisions for both whites and (politically unrepresented) blacks' lasted as long as it did.

If anyone wants to watch an excellent movie about a specific aspect of this movement they should check out Cry Freedom with Denzel Washington and Kevin Kline (you know, the famous South African actors). It focuses on the student movement, which peaked towards the end of the struggle against apartheid. While it does bother me that the movie focuses on the white guy, I did really enjoy the movie. We watched it a day or two before we left for South Africa during our orientation at Bard College. It focuses on the life of Steve Biko, one of the more famous black speakers during this time. It's a shocking idea that our program leader actually had to face apartheid during her adult life. I can't even imagine it in a modern context. I didn't have my camera today unfortunately (it still needs to be charged), but a couple of other people got pictures that I am planning on stealing. I really suggest visiting the apartheid museum. I realize that South Africa isn't always the vacation destination of choice (though I don't see why not, I've really been enjoying myself), but if you find yourself here you should most definitely make a stop at the apartheid museum.

The rest of the night has been spent eating out with some friends in a fast food place outside of Wits and helping another friend celebrate his 21st birthday (a much less exciting birthday here than in the States). The restaurant we went to is this chicken place that has no concept of the meaning of 'mild.' The food I got was hot. Or at least intensely medium. And it was my first time in Joburg after dark. I was in a large group but it still was a little scary. Especially since I don't know the area particularly well yet. We were all fine of course, but I did feel better getting on campus. The small party we had later tonight took place in one of the American's room. When we first got here her room was ready yet so they had her put her stuff in an RA's room. However when we got back her room still wasn't ready and she asked if she could stay in the same room and those in charge said it was fine. There is a reason people apply to be an RA and the reason is the room. It not only has a lot of cool windows and a bigger bathroom, but it has a balcony. It is so sweet. So I'm guessing our group will be spending a lot of time in her room. I met some more witsies (pronounces vit-sees) tonight who I am excited to get to know more.

I still haven't cooked for myself here. I keep going out for dinner with people, and for really cheap too! Seriously, I bought Chinese food last night for about 18 rand. That's like $2.50! And it was the large portion. Ok, yes it wasn't exactly the best quality Chinese food ever, but with prices like that who cares! Tomorrow I am planning on putting my lovely hot plate to the test for the first time. Hopefully it works, I haven't tested it out yet. That's only one of the very exciting plans for tomorrow. It will actually be the first time this whole trip where we don't have any scheduled activities we need to attend. One day of freedom before classes start. I guess that's enough, though I wouldn't have complained if we had another day or two.