Taylor's excursion to Jo'burg was one of her favorite weeks thus far

Our excursion in Johannesburg was one of my favorite weeks of the trip so far.  We saw so many amazing historical sites and learned so much in a short amount of time.  I think my favorite place we went to was the Apartheid Museum, I just wish we could have had more time there! There was a temporary exhibit of Nelson Mandela’s life which I think was my favorite part of the day, I got to learn so much about his life before becoming such a world icon.  We also got to see Nelson and Winnie Mandela’s house, which really brought everything we have learned about them to life.  Another one of my favorite places we visited was Constitution Hill, where we got to see the Constitutional Court.  There was so much symbolism and effort put in to the design of the court, and every detail was carefully planned out to represent the values of South Africa.

Constitutional Court

I think seeing the Apartheid Museum, Sharpeville Memorial, and Hector Pietersen Museum in person all helped me understand the history of South Africa and these specific events on a much deeper level.  It is one thing to read and watch videos about these events in class, but it is totally different to see photos and talk to people who experienced the events.  One of the most emotional experiences was when one of the tour guides at the Sharpeville Memorial told us that his grandfather was killed in the Sharpeville Massacre.  Once we had a more personal connection to the massacre, it felt a lot more real.  We also got to visit the actual grave site where the 69 victims were buried, and that was very emotional as well.  Overall, I am so glad we got to see all these sites and museums in person because it gave us a chance to connect with the people and events and see them as reality and not just history.

Without a doubt, the highlight of the week was going to Kruger National Park.  I went on three different game drives, one during sunset, one during sunrise, and one at night from 8-10pm.  They were all amazing and we saw new animals on each drive.  I think my favorites were the giraffes we saw during the sunrise game drive, and the male elephant we saw all by itself during the night drive.  At one point when some people were getting disappointed about not seeing many animals, Rachele brought up that it was actually a good thing, because it meant the animals had enough space to be animals and not be bothered by humans.  When we really thought about it, Kruger is such a big park that we were lucky to even see the animals we did! It felt so nice to spend those two days around so much nature and see more wild animals than many people might see in their life!