Laura T had a wonderful experience which was both informative and enjoyable

This past week we went on excursion to Johannesburg and Kruger National Park, which was a great experience, both fun and educational. The hotel we stayed in was incredibly nice and had amazing breakfast! It was just a few minutes walk to Nelson Mandela Square, which had some great restaurants and a movie theater, where several of us saw Get Out, which was extremely good and I highly recommend to everyone. It was a very interesting movie that had deep social commentary about race, which was fitting given everything we have been learning while here in South Africa. We also got the chance to do some shopping at a large African flea market, which was slightly overwhelming but cool.

           

Over our four and a half days in Johannesburg we toured multiple museums, including the Apartheid Museum, Constitution Hill, Nelson Mandela’s family home, the Hector Pieterson Museum, a memorial of the Soweto massacres of 1976, and Sharpeville, where in 1960 69 innocent people were killed when protesting the apartheid law requiring them to carry passes. Although these days were heavy, I’m glad that we had the chance to visit these important memorials.  

           

The museums definitely expanded my understanding of what I have been learning about, especially in Vincent’s class, in which we learn about the history and politics of South Africa. It was nice to actually see these places that we have been learning about. Visiting the museums and memorials made everything more real to me. My favorite part of these visits was reading eyewitness accounts and personal experiences, as well as looking at the photographs. These described and showed what it was like to live during apartheid, to be at the Soweto and Sharpeville Massacres, which is something that you can’t get from sitting in a classroom.  The information provided a more in-depth perspective of what we have learned in class that I am grateful for. Although all of the museums and memorials were informative and each deepened my understanding of South Africa’s recent history, I think the Apartheid Museum was the experience that best helped me to understand the history and current political climate of South Africa, as it provided vast amounts of information on the period of apartheid. I also loved how the museum was designed, and I wish we could have spent more time there.

           

We also spent a day at a Boy’s and Girl’s Club in Soweto, helping clean the building, cook food for the kids, and play with the children. There was a massive rainstorm while we were serving lunch, and everyone was running around laughing and screaming. I loved it. It made serving the children hectic, but also so much fun. That day we also met the global CEO of Tupperware, a sponsor of the club, which was pretty cool. Overall it was a great day.

           

Finally, at the end of the week, we took an 8 hour bus ride to Kruger National Park. It was a long weekend full of very early mornings, but it was completely worth it. We saw a variety of wildlife, including several hyena, tons of impala, kudu, wildebeest, birds, and zebras, a massive herd of buffalo, some giraffes, and even an elephant! But the highlight of being at Kruger was seeing two male lions walk along the road in front of us on our first night there. It was so amazing to see one of my favorite animals so up close.

           

This week was such a wonderful experience, so informative and enjoyable. It was a great break from our routine of internships and classes, and I wish we could have had more time to explore both Kruger and Johannesburg.