A Perfect Contrast

Our dialogue so far has been a whirlwind of emotions and activities, and we are all just getting a minute to catch our breath. The great part ab0ut this trip is, although we are constantly in motion, educational days are complemented with weekend days filled with more touristy excursions. During the week, every day is very different, but here is a snapshot

of one day of learning so far. On this past Tuesday, in the morning we visited Constitution Hill, which is the site of one of the worst prisons during apartheid. The location we toured was where the black and coloured prisoners were forced to live when arrested. It was extremely eye-opening to see the absolutely atrocious conditions the non-white populations were forced to live in and how the purpose of almost every activity in the jail was to demean the prisoners. Now, the site of the Constitutional court is in the same location to always keep in mind the country’s past. Following a quick lunch, our group headed to Hillbrow, a neighborhood in the city of Johannesburg. Here we learned about the complex history of Ponte Tower, which went from housing the richest of the rich, to the largest vertical slum in the world, to a modern-day place of middle class apartments. Finally, we returned to the guest house to have a lecture with Professor Ngwane concerning xenophobia in South Africa today, a particular issue in Hillbrow. If that sounds like a lot, you are definitely correct.

            To contrast this hectic and informational day, on Sunday, our group traveled to the Northwest Province where we went on a game drive and saw native African animals up close and personal like zebras, rhinos, elephants, and lions. Following this incredible drive, we were allotted free time to explore Sun City, a large resort adjacent to the Pilanesberg National Park. Many of us were anxious to get to this part of the trip, and it definitely lived up to expectations. However, having had the exposure we did to the more complex story that 

Johannesburg has to tell gave a very different perspective of the resort. I couldn’t help but be struck by how distinct Sun City was from the rest of the country we had seen so far. Many people probably stay there and only do the fun touristy activities like the game drive and the Cradle of Humankind, our other leisurely activity so far, and never get to experience firsthand what it means to be a South African. It also caused me to take a hard look at some vacations I have taken with my family where we would stay in a very similar resort in Mexico, but never even leave the premises to get a taste of what Mexico is really like for its own population.

            Nonetheless, I think that having a balance of intense educational days and leisurely and explorative days is critical for having a successful trip. It can be really tempting to get a single story of cities in South Africa by focusing on just one aspect or the other. If we only visited townships and informal settlements, the only story of the country we would have to tell would be its racially charged past and its not so changed present. If we only saw the safaris and the beautiful nature, we wouldn’t nearly have a picture of the true South Africa, and definitely wouldn’t earn our eight credits for this course.

            Overall, it has been a little difficult to adjust to such a rapid pace of learning, but I am truly enjoying the exposure to Johannesburg’s nuances and complexities and am looking forward to heading to Cape Town in a few days!

Ava Gallo