Aimee's intense educational encounters

It was a relief to finally arrive in Johannesburg after learning and reading about the significance of the city during the last couple of months. I was reading my non-fiction book Kaffir Boy when I got to the part where Mark Mathabane is about to embark on a journey to America with a tennis scholarship. As he was leaving his hometown of Alexandra I was arriving! He was getting a taste of my world and I was becoming a part of his. The book instantly became so real and made my experience in Johannesburg that much more meaningful. The autobiography I was reading was too shocking to be true until I realized these places and events were such a reality and a large part of recent history that still impacts people today.

It was strange to experience Easter so far from home but a few of us were able to visit a church in Soweto, called Regina Mundi, and even meet one of the church founders. The church was so beautiful and full of life. I knew I couldn’t experience Easter without visiting a faith community here in South Africa. 

                                                Aimee, Patrick and Marita meet one of the founders of Regina Mundi Church

Afterwards we went to the Hector Pieterson Museum near where the Soweto uprisings took place. Students at Bantu Education schools were being forced to have their courses taught in Afrikaans. Marches and protests included teenagers and police opened fire on crowds of students with no warning. Hector Pieterson was 13 years old when he was shot and an iconic image of Mbuyisa Makhubo holding him with his sister alongside him spread all over the world.

We then visited the Mandela Family Home followed by a nice lunch at Wandi’s. The walls were covered with messages from visitors who came from all over the world. We ate traditional African food and listened to people singing African songs. The rest of the day was spent at Freedom Square and the Rosebank Flee Market. I am definitely getting the hang of bargaining. It can actually be quite fun talking to the vendors and admiring the various pieces of art.

            

It was emotional difficult to reflect on the horrors of the tragedy of the Soweto Uprisings especially during a day that is usually supposed to be joyful. We were able to have discussions in our group, which is so essential to learning, growing, and supporting one another. Part of our discussion was about language and how it can be a form of oppression. Afrikaans was considered the language of oppression during apartheid. Some of us wondered if English could also be considered a language of oppression by many in South Africa for whom that was not their Mother Tongue. Spanish speakers in the United States don’t usually have classes in Spanish. I had never thought about language being a sensitive issue to someone. I thought about my experience teaching English at my internship. Not all of the students can understand English very well because it is not their first language. I have been reflecting on the complexity of languages and the different dialects and forms of even one language.

           

Aimee sporting her new Boys and Girls Club shirt

Monday was Family Day so we spent the day at Soweto Boys and Girls Club working on projects and playing with the children. I helped to set up a soccer field, picked up trash, danced with the girls and kicked around the soccer ball for hours!  It was sad to leave knowing that we were only there for a day. The kids were truly amazing and I met some future soccer stars. On the way to the club we stopped at the World Cup finals stadium to take pictures.

           

Tuesday we went to the Sharpeville Memorial where people protested the pass laws enforced by government. It was powerful to step foot inside the police station and cells and visit the graves of 69 people who were killed. Many of them were also young teenagers. Something that resonates the most is how determined people of all ages were to fight for their rights and be involved. These horrific events massacres not have had to happen in the first place. During the evening we ate delicious Thai at Wanghai’s and saw a play called Curl Up and Dye. It will be hard to put into words what we all experienced that night and how impactful the play was. The actors and actresses answered questions at the end of the play and opened up to us about their personal experiences and connections with apartheid. They all had completely different backgrounds and some of them are still struggling with the effects apartheid had on their lives. Even though it was just a play, they had to embody characters that felt the benefits or the pains of divisions and racism in an apartheid society. I group of us talked for hours that night about other various issues that came up throughout the play.

           

Wednesday we took a tour of the Apartheid Museum that included a Nelson Mandela exhibit and a tour guide’s personal account of training to become a traditional healer. Hearing these stories is what usually stands out to me the most. I appreciated his culture and valuing his ancestors and traditions. He was willing to open up to us about his life and the importance of traditional healing in combination with modern medicine. Later in the afternoon we took a tour of Constitution Hill and the Old Johannesburg Prison. It was shocking to learn how differently whites and blacks were treated within the prison and also men and women. Conditions were often crowded and any personal comforts were taken away. The stormy weather fir right into the rather sullen atmosphere of the tour. Our tour guide continually asked us how we were feeling as we followed the footsteps of prisoners and read about what life was like. The Constitutional Court was a really cool place and we were able to sit the chairs of judges and representatives.

Two evenings of the week I went to the movies and saw Oz and Argo. I am beginning to realize that Marita’s class is challenging me to analyze things that I see in the media. It allows us to understand how engrained these messages and stereotypes are in society.

Overall, our time in Johannesburg was filled with intense educational encounters but also group bonding, lots of great food, and relaxation.  It was overwhelming at times but definitely a necessary experience that I won’t forget. It added so much to my experiential learning while in South Africa.