From my time in South Africa in December 2018:
South Africa felt like home. I saw people around me who reminded me of friends, family, classmates, etc. that I knew in the US. I visited 4 South African cities - Johannesburg (aka Joberg or Jozi), Pretoria, Cape Town, and Port Elizabeth (PE). I traveled by Greyhound bus (not the American company) from Pretoria to Cape Town, stayed for a few days, and then took the bus to PE. After a few days in PE, I rode the bus back to Pretoria. In each city, I experienced the spirit of Ubuntu. Ubuntu is a Bantu concept from southern Africa, which connotes human connection, and is sometimes defined with the phrase, "I am because we are". It essentially means that all humans are connected, and when we recognize our common humanity, then we treat each other with respect, humility, compassion, and love.
I had a bright idea to travel across Africa overland from Cape Town to Cairo, but I didn't have much time to plan the trip myself, and the tour companies were pretty expensive. I will return to the continent one day and make it happen.
South Africa was more than I expected, and it was exactly what I needed at that time. I heard several people from SA, Egypt, and Ethiopia describe the country as "different from the rest of Africa" and "Africa-lite". To me, it was a great blend of the familiar and the exotic. It was very western in many ways, and still traditional in other ways. The country is still shedding the cloak of apartheid and mistakes have been made along the way, yet there is hope and optimism as they continue to develop. I could see myself living there.
Johannesburg
Joberg seemed to be the soul of South Africa. It felt alive to me. The city buzzed with excitement and energy. It was in Johannesburg and nearby Soweto where many political fights against apartheid happened. One of the things I loved the most was that I finally had someone else wash, retighten, and style my hair, which hasn't happened in years. I also saw a movie at a small arthouse theater in Maboneng, called "
High Fantasy". I purchased a ticket for the
City Sightseeing Bus to go around the city and see the most popular landmarks, like the
Apartheid Museum,
Constitution Hill, and the
Carlton Centre (Africa's tallest building). As much as I enjoyed Joberg, the city has a bad reputation amongst tourists and other South Africans. People like to highlight crimes committed in the area, however, I view it as any other big city where you always should be on alert. A Capetonian told me that "Johannesburg is like Chicago". Maybe that's true. He meant it negatively, but I know that there is much more good in Chicago than the violence that is continuously reported, and the same goes for Joberg.
When I was considering covering the continent, I reached out to a couple of friends with African connections, and one of them led me to Pretoria. The city is one of 3 South African capitals, and it is located about 45-60 minutes from Johannesburg. It is calm and relatively quiet compared to neighboring Joberg. I stayed with my new family in Pretoria. I was initially confused when they told me they spoke Swahili, because I knew it was considered more of a central/eastern African language. I also figured that Swahili wasn't one of the 11
official languages of South Africa. It made more sense when I learned that they immigrated from Rwanda by way of Congo to South Africa. The family made me feel so welcomed and comfortable in their home. I was the first American visitor they had, and they invited friends to come meet me while I was there. I was also the first vegetarian, which was a curve they didn't expect. I had great food prepared for me, and I also showed them how to stir fry broccoli with onions and peppers. We later added carrots and potatoes. It was the first time they had cooked broccoli at home. They introduced me to the dramatic South African "soapies", like "The Queen", "Scandal", "Rhythm City", and other nightly soap operas with varied story lines that all seemed to run together. The kids took me on a brief tour of the city. There's not much to see in Pretoria other than the Union House capital building. We also went to a nature park on a hill overlooking the city. We stopped at the city's bus station too. I wanted to rent a car and drive from Pretoria to Cape Town to Port Elizabeth along the garden route, but it was much cheaper and easier to take the bus. I also was unsure of my driving skills on the opposite side of the road and car. My new family helped me find the right ticket and took me to the bus station to see me off. They took great care of me. I returned to Pretoria for a couple of days before I left the country. It felt good being surrounded by family.
Cape Town
The bus to Cape Town took nearly a day and was a few hours behind schedule. We stopped in every little town between Johannesburg and Cape Town (almost 900 miles) with a break of 15 minutes every 3-4 hours. Most of the journey was at night. I know I could have flown, but I wanted to see as much of the country as possible. South Africa's landscape is magnificent. I passed by farmland, vineyards, mountains, and grassy prairies. The view of Table Mountain welcomed me into the city of Cape Town, the final bus stop. The natural beauty of the city was captivating. I found it very ironic though that this city that was surrounded by water was experiencing an extreme drought and so was the rest of the South African cape (coast). Evidence of the drought was everywhere. Residents and businesses were required to follow strict water restrictions. For example, I saw public restrooms with 8 or 9 sinks, but the taps were only open for 2. Signs around the restrooms asked visitors to restrict flushing unless necessary and use alcohol-based hand sanitizer. Homeowners were not allowed to fill their pools and each home had a per person water quota that included fines for overuse. It's a good thing I learned how to be efficient with bucket showers in Indonesia.
Once again, I found it cost effective to tour the city on the
City Sightseeing Bus, so I bought a 2-day pass that included all the major points of interest, plus a canal tour, sunset view of Table Mountain, and a stop at wineries. I took the city bus downtown in order to start the tour each day. I also purchased a ticket for a city bike tour, which included Bokaap, the former home of enslaved Muslims that is now being gentrified.
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| Table Mountain |
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| "Tupac Amaru Shakur is alive...I think he's in Canada." - Mr. Steward |
I arrived on the bus from Cape Town not knowing what to expect in Port Elizabeth (PE). What I encountered was much more than I dreamed possible.
The day before I arrived, my Airbnb host contacted me asking if I would be interested in a township tour when I arrived. Of course I said "yes!". My tour would include Zwide Township where my host, Nick, grew up.
The first night of my arrival, we watched the Global Citizen concert celebrating Nelson Mandela live on tv from Johannesburg. His daughters walked out on stage and greeted the South African audience with the familiar "Amandla!"(power), and I responded along with the audience, "Awethu!" (to the people). Nick was shocked that I knew the popular Nguni phrase used by freedom fighters during apartheid. I told him that I was in the process of creating a nonprofit organization focused on empowering communities through education, and it would be called "Amandla!" He was impressed.
The next morning, Nick and his girlfriend took me to the township, and pointed out meaningful landmarks along the way. Our first stop was the
Ubuntu Centre. The center included a clinic for HIV/AIDS patients, a nursery school for families being treated by the clinic, a cafe, a vocational school, a computer lab, and much more. It started with a couple of volunteers tutoring students in a broom closet at a school several years ago, and became a beacon of hope in the middle of the township. Our tour was led by the Deputy President, Gcobani, who enthusiastically shared the history as well as the future goals of Ubuntu. He also tried to teach me Xhosa words along the way. We were only supposed to spend 30 minutes at the center, but we actually stayed for 2 hours, and I loved every minute. Nick knew from our conversation the night before that the work they were doing was important to me. I could have stayed all day. Seeing the Ubuntu Center gave me visual confirmation of my dream for Amandla! I saw what was possible.
After leaving Ubuntu, we visited the local school where the program first began, and where Nick attended. The students were on break, and we toured the building on our own after checking in with the office. I saw the broom closet. I saw the computer lab that was donated to the school by Ubuntu after they moved to a bigger space. I also saw the classrooms and schoolyard, and was quickly reminded of scenes from
Sarafina. From the school, we went to a new business development center for entrepreneurs. The business that we visited was a bread shop owned by a woman. We watched her take the balls of dough and fry them on a hot plate. Her business was doing so well that she no longer had space to make the bread from her home, and she won a grant for cooking equipment that still needed to be installed after the electricity was properly setup. We bought a few pieces of bread and took them to Nick's mother's home for a snack. His mother reminded me of my aunt. She was generous, kind, and gave all praise to God for everything.
Many people have asked me if I would want to live in any of the countries that I visited on my journey, and I enthusiastically tell them that I could see myself living in South Africa and Thailand. I absolutely loved my time in South Africa, and I look forward to going back again.
