Humanity in a Rainbow Nation

Ian & Maggie were captivated by the city tour!

Braamfontein; a hip and upcoming part of town

South Africa's history is complicated, I suppose most histories are.  But there is something captivating about this story.  It is a story that includes the origin of humankind, ancient and tribal traditions, the atrocities of colonization, racism, and, of course, Apartheid, and a country rebuilding post such a destructive era.  Many things strike me about this place, but above all it is how this city is so dynamic.  As we play "tourist" here in Joburg, we are experiencing things that haven't been here long- there is, apparently, always something new.  We went on the brand new double decker bus tour that leaves from the equally new and sparkling clean Gautrain station that is situated in a less than glamorous part of town.  One cannot be any more of a conspicuous tourist- and it was a pleasant surprise all around.  The people were waving and hooting at us, apparently happy to see people enjoying their city.  The narrative on the tour was rich in history and anecdotal stories, but woven throughout is the common theme of change, growth, hope for the future, and the idea that as long as we continue to embrace the "we are one people" ideology, this country will go far.

Amazing street art all over downtown JHB.  At one point in history, building owners
bricked over their first levels to avoid forceful takeovers of their empty buildings-
now there is so much renovation and redevelopment to look forward to.

The new Nelson Mandela Bridge.  Not many bridges in a town with no water!

Replicas of the oldest human ancestor skulls;
Wits Origins Centre

South Africa's history is a old as it gets, as old as the first bipedal human-like species. We started our human history lesson at the Wits Origins Centre, a very modern and well done museum that reinforces the theme of humans all being descendants of Africa- we are one human family.  The kids got to hold pieces of the oldest known human art (rock paintings), and touch replicas of the different skulls of the various branches of early humanity.  All this history is mixed in with modern art installations; beautifully done.

To learn more, we made a weekend trip up to The Cradle of Humankind, which is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  This land about an hour outside of JHB is the richest source of archeological artifacts and fossils in the world, including the only almost complete bipedal skeleton dating 3.3 million years back.  Ian was fascinated with the story of "Little Foot" and how he likely died by falling into a cave as an adolescent boy.  There he was preserved until a gold-hungry Italian miner blasted these caves open looking for minerals to process his gold, thereby opening up this jackpot of evolutionary history for scientists to discover.  It is amazing to contemplate the evolution of your own species and to fathom how this story has been put together in such a short period of time.  Millions of years of history, all to be discovered and assembled during the last 100... it's an incredible time to be alive!

Looking back and up as we head deep into the Sterkfontein Caves at the Cradle of Humankind 

Ian looking for gold-  Matt kept hitting his head!

J burg is also known as "egoli", the land of gold.  In the late 1800's there was a gold rush when a gold reef was discovered deep underground here in the highveld, and this massive city was born.  Matt and Ian did a tour of an abandoned gold mine which took them in a lift down a mine shaft almost 3000 feet deep.  This is just the tip- this mine goes 10,000 feet down- it used to take workers packed into these rickety elevators 2 hours each way in the pitch black to get to work and back in ghastly conditions.  Can you imagine feeling like you are descending into the core of the earth every day?  Maggie was a tad too young for the tour, which was fortunate for me because the panicky feeling I was getting just reading the description of the tour told me my claustrophobia would win!  We had, after all, been stuck in an elevator at Matt's office just a few days before (it was a mercifully short stranding)!  The boys were so glad they did the tour; the sheer depth and size of these mines, and the human suffering and sacrifice that occurred within clearly left an impression on them.

Entrance to the Apartheid museum; no photos allowed
 inside, but a beautifully done museum.

We spent a morning at the Apartheid Museum, another new jewel in Jozi's crown.  This is an emotional journey from the moment you enter through the "white" or "non-white" gate, segregated randomly by the stamp on the back of your ticket.  The museum itself starts with a short movie that sets the stage for Apartheid, a word that means "separate-hood" in Afrikaans, to rise in the 40's by reviewing southern Africa's history back to colonization by the Dutch and then English.  The journey is through the violent rise and fall of the Apartheid government, and the heroes who eventually brought this systematic racial oppression to it's end with the first free election in 1994.  Nelson Mandela was elected president after his 27 years of imprisonment;  there is an entire wing of the museum dedicated to this incredible man.  We were worried how the kids would react to the museum, but as kids usually do, they pleasantly surprised us with intelligent questions and patience while we took in what they couldn't.  There were huge groups of uniformed school children everywhere, and they provided good diversion as the kids watched how other kids do field trips (much more orderly and quiet than most US school groups!).

Nelson Mandela's house in Soweto, now a museum, bullet
holes still evident in the brick from years of conflict and
violence.  Now, they joke, this street is the Beverly Hills of
Soweto, and very famous as the only street in the world to
produce two Nobel Peace Laureates- Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu.

There is still an obvious social divide in South Africa, but it is not just color of skin that is divisive. It is poverty vs wealth, haves vs. have nots, not unlike many parts of the world.  There is a large middle class on the rise, while on every street corner you see people of all colors down and out.  The average security guard, which are everywhere in this town, make about R2000 per month (a little over $200).  Given the prices in the malls, in grocery stores, and in many restaurants, this is not enough to live on in the upper echelon.  When you make that little, you live in modest townships or over-crowded high-rises, you shop in traditional markets, and you don't do much other than work.  The neighborhood just south of us called Hillbrow is an urban jungle of decaying high rise apartments, laundry hanging from windows, people spilling onto the streets and into the parks at all times - some say it is the most dense living area in the world, home to millions of people in just one square mile- multiple documentaries have been made about this most crowded and dangerous of neighborhoods.  Our GPS wants to take us through Hillbrow every time our destination is south of us, which is not the most comfortable driving situation, but it is an exercise in contrast. Just to the north (literally, within a block), there are miles and miles of walled-in communities, each house surrounded with barbed wire and electric fences, 24-hour security guards; where Land Rovers, Mercedes, Jaguars and BMWs are abundant on the highways.  I don't know what is right or wrong- if I lived through the turmoil and crime and urban decay of the 80's and 90's in Joburg, I'd live behind a wall too. We are behind a wall at our guest house, and I won't lie, I'm glad we are. But this also raises inner conflict for me- a very visible divide between those who have and those who we are afraid of wanting what we have.

We were lucky enough to be given a personal tour of Soweto, the famous Township in which blacks were forced to live during Apartheid, and a major battle ground during the fight for freedom.  Nicolette, our new friend through Wits, graciously showed us around- she was born and raised here in Joburg.  We didn't touch the tip of the iceberg; Soweto is massive, a "city within a city", but we saw the world's biggest hospital (not at all what you might expect from this title- it looks like a rural hospital with many small run down buildings but it goes on forever).  Soweto is another example of contrast- though it was originally a township where people were forced to live, it is now home to so many people who wouldn't leave it now that they could move anywhere.  Therefore you have unofficial settlements with no sewer or water or electricity, next to nice homes with BMWs in the driveway.  We need to spend more time here, but we were so grateful to Nicolette for spending her Sunday morning giving us the overview!

The famous Soweto Towers; once nuclear cooling towers, now massive murals
depicting the area's culture and history.  You can swing or bungy jump from the span,
and at night there is a lively bar and restaurant at the base.

One might think that walking around South Africa in the post Apartheid climate the racial tension would be palpable.  But it is not so.  This is truly a rainbow nation that is not black and white, it is every color in the spectrum. People are so warm, so friendly, so willing to answer all your questions (I usually have a lot).  Americans are perhaps even more warmly welcomed- South Africans are big fans of President Obama.  This country is on a long road of recovery, which of course is laden with difficulty, conflict, the growing pains of progress.  But there is a constitution in place, there is freedom, and there is evidence of growth and progress at an astonishing rate, no matter which direction you look.  

Our own U.S. history is not that different than South Africa's- we are perhaps the other "Rainbow Nation", with all the opportunities and challenges that come with diversity.  This realization makes me even more impressed with the rate of progress in this country.  This is indeed a special place, where the triumph of human spirit is evident in Jozi's past and her present. Another new friend, Rhian, said it best when she said there is something hopeful about South Africa that sets it apart from the rest of Africa.  I couldn't agree more in my short time here.

Lowveld Life

Here we are, in the lowveld... the country... the bush... rural Africa.  The drive from Johannesburg took most of the day, which is hard to understand since the GPS predicted only 5 hours.  Things are just slower here, and this is good for the soul. We stopped for unexpectedly amazing food, found some good shopping, and the roads are just slow-going.  We were warmly greeted in the late afternoon light by 2 warthogs rooting on their knees on our grass, monkeys up to no good in a neighbor's braii (barbecue), and impala and bushbuck grazing everywhere.  The impala are so delicately featured, slim, and pretty with their shiny coats, reminding Ian and Maggie of their cousin Nora! There are also baboons, plenty of antelope of many varieties, and rumor has it a family of 3 giraffes have moved in to camp, but we haven't run into them yet.  We've had several "what was that?!?" experiences driving these extremely back roads- we still don't know what we saw!

This warthog and his buddy snorted a welcome to us

Why, it's a soccer field, of course!  Field cleared and set up
by some soccer crazy Spaniards who live here!

Our house is basic but totally comfortable.  It is built of brick and corrugated tin roof, it looks and smells so much like our house in Kenya years ago- down to every last detail of the interior.  We are situated in an old game lodge area, now known as Wits Rural Facility, not in any town but in the greater municipality of Bushbuck Ridge.  Despite the sparse population, we have found a rich sense of kindness and have been warmly welcomed.  We've been to houses for dinner, had playdates 3 afternoons running, and there will be a braii in our honor tomorrow night.  Maggie has found a long lost soul mate of a friend, Samantha, who cried last night as she wished that Maggie could actually be her sister.  Ian, after one short hour of playing soccer with some local village boys (none of whom speak fluent English), was spotted doing a silly dance with them and they had all made up nicknames for each other. Stares of curiosity meet us as we drive down the street (I am driving now too!  On the left side of the road, in a stick shift, on largely unpaved and unnamed potholed roads!), and then the stares turn to wide smiles as you wave and smile at them.  It is said that the Shangaan people are about the nicest you will meet in the world, and I believe it.

Barefoot soccer- Ian too for a while!

Maggie having fun at a village playdate

One welcome we could have done without came just about 45 minutes prior to our arrival here... we had read the guidebook for the area which warned about "over-eager traffic police resting under shade trees"... Well 3 lady officers who had been lounging under a shade tree were suddenly pulling us over.  The first one came to the window and said "Do you know why I pulled you over?  You are in trouble.  Now you have to come with me to the police station".  Well, the kids burst into tears (don't tell Ian I told you! He denies it.), and I leaned over and said "REALLY??".  To this she replied that of course we could pay here instead, in cash, but she could not give us a receipt.  Since we passed in a no-passing zone (debatable...), it would be R1500 (a little over $150).  Need an ATM to pay?  No problem, they offered to take us to one.  When Matt paid the fine in full in cash and then told them he was a professor going to work at WRF, I think she felt a little bad.  She suddenly became very interested in us and very sweet, but did not reduce our fine at all.  Two days later, the very next time on this road, another traffic police car followed us at least 30km.  Matt drove 10km per hour under the speed limit and passed no one, until they finally gave up on him making a mistake!

Maggie's photography on a game drive

On a much more pleasant note, today I was given a personal tour of Tinswolo hospital (where Matt has been working this week), which was a flashback to Kenya as well.  The smell of strong cleanser masking the earthy aroma of old concrete, illness in the wards, new life in the "martenity ward", so the sign reads.  The nurses still wear white, many of them with nursing caps.  The open and airy hallways are lined with patients and family perched on hard metal chairs for long hours waiting for their services, but no one complains.  The cost of a visit to the hospital?  130 rand, under $15.  This includes anything that might happen at the hospital, even xrays, being admitted, or having surgery.  The clinics are free.  The morning at the hospital starts with a lengthy prayer/sermon in Shangaan language in the main waiting area.  My NP friends will love to hear that "Primary Care Nurses", the South African equivalent of the NP, run the outpatient clinics entirely, run the family planning clinics, and much else at the hospital.  Most of the doctors are foreign, from all corners of the world.  HIV and drug-resistant TB are rampant here.  In some villages, 1 in 5 people is HIV+.  Matt is helping the Agincourt rural health group study the rising prevalence of non-communicable diseases such as obesity and hypertension.  My new friend Rhian, a community liaison for the research group, has a job lined up for me in the clinic should we find ourselves back here again... I could get a whole new education here.

The most beautiful setting for a (very cold!) pool!

We have been busy fitting in fun and tourism as well, of course.  The kids and I visited the Hoedspruit Endangered Species Center for a game drive and some serious education on endangered species, especially the Cheetahs.  I left that place with a heavy heart- the stories of individual animal successes and failures, and the greater issues of why most of these species are endangered- man, of course, and our consumption of land, resources, and the animals themselves through poaching.  On a much more peaceful and happy outing, we arose before the sun the other day and drove about an hour south to visit the Elephant Sanctuary.  While these tours can have up to 20 people, no one else booked the early morning brushing and feeding experience with these gentle giants, so we had them to ourselves.  So big, so strong, so gentle, so smart, with such soulful brown eyes.  They love to be brushed, and make a low rumbling sound not unlike a cat's purr as you brush them.  There are really no words to describe that whole experience!  The Sanctuary does a beautiful job of educating you on the elephants themselves and the issues that face them as a population.  These big boys are the only ones at this location- Keto is 14 and Casper is 27 years old- they roam free during the day except when they are interacting with humans, and they are the very lucky elephants who have survived against many odds.

Maggie giving Keto his morning brush down 

Trying to talk Ian into a kiss from Casper- no go!

Walking hand in trunk- literally.

Matt getting a kiss from Keto

We are in the full swing of this trip now.  There reaches a time in every trip of any significant length when you find you are really not thinking about home as much, your worries of a few weeks ago seem very distant, and you are focused on right now.  That is the essence of travel, for me.  Somewhere along the way it has started to feel normal to drive on the left, think in celcius, think in rands versus dollars, measure distance in kilometers.  We are calling cookies biscuits and stoplights are robots, and it no longer feels foreign. We needed this change in perspective- every one does from time to time.  There is something to reminding ourselves that we do not have to be high maintenance people. Struggling to get around town or showering by lantern on occasion and dealing without our everyday comforts and luxuries reminds us that they are just that- luxury.  We don't need them. It is refreshing to not be bound by things when most of ours are a world away; it clears the way to be present for the experiences and relationships that are happening right now.   The next time I feel plaintive about something insignificant, I will remember the young girls pushing wheelbarrows of water barrels down the highway, and the smile and wave she gives to the strange passerby.  I will remember the laughing barefoot children who are eager to make new friends when I need an attitude adjustment, and I will be forever grateful for my blessings in life. 

Wildlife in the City

Sweet babies sleeping.

We come to Africa for many reasons, but high on the list are the animals.  We have real safaris in our very near future, but today, still in Jo'burg, we got warmed up with a visit to The Lion Park, which is a wildlife sanctuary for many species but especially lions, white lions, wild dogs, and cheetahs.  Just 45 minutes from downtown this little gem has made Newsweek's top 100 destinations, and I see why.  We started our morning in "Cub World", in which we were let into an enclosure with 3 month old lion cubs, a litter that had been abandoned by their mother.  They were mostly sleepy (they sleep 18 hours a day!) but also a little feisty, one of them getting snappy with me and flicking Ian with his tail.  Very cute when they are relatively harmless.   Today's post is perhaps related best in pictures!  It is hard for me, an amateur, to put into words how these animals make you feel in their presence.

Completely in awe that we are petting baby lions.  Who gets to do that?? The pen behind us holds 6 month olds- so much bigger than these 3 month olds- I get why they sleep and eat so much!

2 month old rowdy cheetah cubs; also rescued from a mother who rejected them.  Fast even when just romping. 

We fed a giraffe with her big slobbery black tongue.  Her baby was there, but not interested in us since she is still
a nursling. Human mamas know how that goes! Turns out, they like a scratch behind their ears, just like a dog.

Maggie on lookout, on our "warm up" safari.

We then got to do a "mini safari" as the kids are calling it- the Lion Park has a self drive option through their herds of zebra, impala, and wildebeest. There are also ostriches roaming- now those are funny creatures with their long swiveling necks that reach out to peck food out of your hand.  To have Ian and Maggie say "Stop!  I need a picture of this bird" or whatever else has wandered into view is very rewarding.  At times we feel like we are dragging them around the world for our interest, but moments like these we know they are absorbing it all like little sponges.

We were all positively giggling with excitement when we entered the first lion camp and saw all ages of lion from large cub up through the stately and fierce looking full-maned males (think Mufasa).  They had just been fed, so were fat and happy, mostly lounging around knawing on bones.   They have the different prides separated into camps, I assume to prevent all out brawls for territory, but it also has to do with mating, I'm sure.  The second camp held a treat I will never forget!  These are the rare white lions... gorgeous animals.  They were really hungry, therefore pacing and roaming waiting for the food truck to show up.  When it did, they ran full speed across the large camp to the truck as it was dropping a huge pile of raw meat.  They are such majestic creatures; it was a breathtaking sight.

This big papa walked right up alongside our car, actually marking it as
he passed!  Such attitude, but I suppose it's warranted as we gawk at him.

Walking away from our car after marking it as his; you can see Jo'burg in the distance.

Lunch time.  They got scrappy with each other; the deep guttoral roars were awesome and chilling.

A baby Nile Croc- this guy could grow to 18 feet!

We all held this strong little sucker. 

After the Lion Park, we hit up a small place down the road called Croc City.  It is an educational center run by a commercial crocodile farm!  Maybe this is just PR, but after learning ALL there is to know about crocodiles from this Afrikaaner guy who clearly loves reptiles with all his heart, I think it's not such a bad thing.  In the wild, only 1/100 crocodile eggs makes it to 1 year old, while in captivity the rate is 85/100.  Nile crocodiles were being hunted at a rate that would have them near extinct by now before regulation.  Now they are thriving, and they really are magnificent creatures.


There is also a reptile room on the tour, which houses the nastiest snakes I've ever seen in my life (I'm sorry if you love snakes...   clearly not my thing.) In this room live the world's top 3 deadliest snakes... including green and black mambas, among plenty of other venomous creatures -even ones that spit their venom at you.  Most of them live here... I was really hoping he would say they did not.  At one point I had envisioned some hikes in Kruger National Park (guided, of course) when we go, but after this demonstration I have no such notion.  Our guide told us, in graphic detail, how one dies from each of these snakes, and many do every year.  Good Lord, this will be my test.

Elvis, "the sweetest python ever"... not loving they way he wrapped himself around
my body like a tree trunk. I don't care how sweet he is, he is a snake. 

Maggie, Sister Francis of Assisi when it come to bunnies.  These roam free at
the Crocodile farm... don't tell her that these guys and their offspring are not
only cute, they are dinner for many of these hungry reptiles.  

I will end with the story of Yvonne, the goat, our indigenous wildlife of Mallen House.  Jan and Lawrence's son, Scott, is an African political and cultural researcher and writer.  About 6 months ago he was returning from a trip through Africa, collecting data and doing his research.  They were planning a welcome home party for him, and Lawrence thought he needed a gift to celebrate his homecoming.  There is nothing that says Africa more than a free range goat.  So, in his own flavor of humor he went to a local township woman who is a goat herder and he bought a goat, who is now known as Yvonne.  He didn’t tell anyone that he was doing this, including Jan.  He brought her home in the back of his Audi, and set her free in the garden.  The next morning Jan woke up, went outside for the first time of the day and said “Lawrence, there is a goat in our yard”.  He replied that yes in fact there was, so let’s give it to Scott for a welcome home present.  They put it back in the Audi that night, tied up, and took her and set her loose in the party.  Everyone had a good laugh.  The next few days passed, and Lawrence was planning on taking the goat back to its’ origins, when he noticed she was tattooed with a number.  Suddenly Lawrence realized this goat’s fate was to be sold for stew meat in the near future, and he realized he had fallen in love with her.  So, she didn’t go back.  Yvonne got to eating some tasty berries in the backyard, until one day Jan and Lawrence realized that she was neuroleptically poisoned!  Turns out, these berries were not so good for poor Yvonne!  Lawrence called a running friend of his who happens to be a veterinarian nurse at the Joburg zoo.  Somehow, through his charm and charisma, Lawrence got Yvonne the goat admitted to the zoo hospital as a zoo animal (read “for free”!), where she remained on an IV drip inpatient for a week.  Her ward mates that week were a depressed baboon and two little monkeys who had escaped their enclosure only to find themselves in the crocodile enclosure, both requiring surgery to repair their injuries.  They joked that it wasn’t all that different from any old Jo'burg hospital!  Once Yvonne recovered, Jan insisted that Lawrence look for a farm to donate her to, where she could live out her days in greener pastures.   They located a home for adult developmentally disabled persons that was located on a farm.  They were set to deliver Yvonne when the director of the center admitted that he was scared of goats, something about the way they look at him with those eyes.  So, no go.  Yvonne the naughty goat still lives here, 6 months later, and they suppose she will just stay.  Tonight she snuck in the open front door of the house, and was “choosing” her desired variety of birdseed in the front entrance by picking up the bag with her mouth, spilling contents all over the floor, and butting it with her horns!  Until today she was tearing apart an antique suitcase that adorned the front porch.  All they ever say, chuckling, is “that naughty girl!”.  They are so welcoming, and they go with the flow in all things. We can learn a lot from them.