I tried chakalaka today!

So much has happened within the last two days! First and foremost, I met up with pretty much everyone who is in the SIT program with me! Thank goodness, I was getting pretty lonely. Everyone seems pretty chill and ready to have a good time, which I am definitely okay with. There was a small group of us who got picked up from the airport around noon. The next group was going to be picked up at 7:30pm, so we had some down time. There was a small marketplace within walking distance of the hostel we are staying at (called Shoestrings, it's adorable). The group of us decided to walk there. However, someone with extremely pale skin (hint: that's me) forgot to put sunscreen on (sorry, Mom). So I had a nice red glow all down my arms and chest.

On our way to the market, a school must have let out for the day because we ran into a big group of kids walking home from class. Fun fact about South Africa, the school year starts in January and goes until December. Makes a lot of sense, right? Anyway, we got mixed in with these school kids and they would say something, I'm assuming in Zulu since there is a huge population of Zulu people in Johannesburg, and then all start laughing. So of course they were definitely talking about the strange Americans who would jump out of the way whenever a car came speeding down the road. Another fun fact about South Africa, sidewalks aren't a thing. And everyone drives like their hair is on fire. And they drive on the opposite side of the road than Americans do. So you have to look left instead of right before crossing a street. And you get into the shot-gun seat by getting into the left-hand side. It's all very confusing.

Anyway, we made it to this market where it was incredibly shady. Or, I guess, it was shady compared to an American market. We ended up not buying anything, but it was nice to walk there and stretch our legs. The walk back was less eventful, since we kind of got the hang of the street concept.

We waited around for everyone to join the rest of the group, and then we called it an early night since everyone was all jet lagged anyway.

Today was the fun day! We woke up around 7:30 and had breakfast at 8:30. Breakfast was good, it was pretty simple. I love breakfast so I hope that maybe my host family is a big believer in breakfast like I am. The morning was kind of chaotic, since there is 23 of us and only one shower in this entire place. I'm serious. One shower. There's one outside the hostel, but I can tell you right now that that is NOT going to happen.

During the rest of the morning, we spent going over the schedule for the week and some of the rules for the rest of the time in Joburg. Then after that, we broke off into groups to talk about our hopes, expectations, and fears. I think this was a good exercise, especially for me, since seeing all of my fears for this trip didn't make them seem too scary after that. It was also nice to know that my fears were similar to several other people going to Cape Town. Another part of this exercise that I liked was that we were told to write down our expectations, and then cross them all out. The idea of going into something with absolutely no expectations kind of terrifies me, especially since I like to know exactly what is going on at all times. But South Africans don't work like that, So I guess this will hopefully be a great learning experience for me.

After lunch, we drove into downtown Johannesburg. That city was definitely much bigger than I was expecting! I couldn't get any good pictures of the skyline because the sky decided that right then and there it was time to open up and release tons and tons of rain. I didn't think we would actually make it to our destination, the Apartheid Museum.

The best part of the entire museum was that parts of it were outside. Which I would have enjoyed much more if it wasn't POURING. The workers at the museum assigned you a random ticket that either said "Whites" or "Non-Whites" and then you had to go through the appropriate door, and you would experience apartheid style conditions through the first five minutes. However, due to the torrential downpour, we just ran straight through into the inside of the museum. So I was kind of bummed that we didn't get to experience that part, but the rest of the time was absolutely phenomenal. It was so humbling and inspirational to walk around and see the struggle that so many committed their lives to. There was also an entire exhibit dedicated to the life of Nelson Mandela, who is personally one of my heroes. It was amazing to watch how he continued his fight even while in prison and once he was released.

One of the most haunting exhibits for me was a room that was simulated like a prison room. It listed all of prisoners who died in custody, and listed how they died as well, such as police brutality and injuries already sustained while brought in. But the most common way of death was suicide by hanging. When you looked up at the ceiling of this room, there were hundreds of rope nooses. It was actually terrifying to see that and to think that these political prisoners found this to be their only way of escape. It truly made me stop and think. (The Internet here is being weird, so I can't post a picture of it. But the website has tons of pictures to offer if you're interested: http://www.apartheidmuseum.org)

Another part of the museum I loved was the wing of influential women in the movement. There is a saying, "Malibongwe," which means, "let them be praised." It refers to the women who marched in 1956 in an anti-pass book demonstration. I loved walking around and seeing the portraits of these inspirational women who gave up so much to provide for so many.

So yeah, today was an amazing, humbling day. We ended the night with some brie, which is was South Africans call barbecue. We also had chakalaka, which is like a South African chili, and another fun fact, I saw them make it on a food show on the African Channel before I left! The food here is DELICIOUS in case anyone was curious! I'll try to post pictures of it when I get a better internet connection!

To wrap up, I would like to leave you with this quote from the museum. Have a wonderful weekend!

"When it is over, I don't want to wonder if I have made my life something particular, and real. I don't want to find myself sighing and frightened, or full of argument. I don't want to end up simply having visited the world." -- Mary Oliver