Johannesburg, cont'd.

Ok, so I have a little time before we start our lecture about Zulu culture, so I will try to catch everyone up with what I'm doing now! On Tuesday we went to the apartheid museum, and spent a LOT of time there. It could sort of be compared to the Holocaust museum, but not quite as depressing. I found it to be really interesting, and I learned a lot. I feel like when we learn about apartheid in school, it doesn't seem like some of the things that happened were that bad, but the museum really showed how it affected everyone. Also, fun fact: the new constitution was signed on my birthday in 1993! Pretty cool. That afternoon we took a tour of the school next door to our lodge that used to be run by some monks and nuns, and they still have some connections to the church. Then we rested a little before having a discussion about the apartheid museum and a lecture about Cato Manor, the area where we will be living. It used to be a thriving African and Indian community until the apartheid government ruled it to be in a "white area" and had the town completely destroyed.

That night for dinner, we had a braai (prounced like fry but with a "Br") , which is a traditional South African BBQ. We had this really good sausage, chicken, potatoes, corn on the cob, and lots of other good food! It took a long time for it to cook, but it was fun to stand out around the grill, huddling for warmth. It was pretty cold in Johannesburg. Also, it was one girl's birthday, so we had lots of wine and like, 3 different kinds of cake. Good times!

We left Wednesday morning for Durban, it was about an 8-hour drive, but it wasn't too bad. There was lots to see (we saw several ostriches, and some people saw a zebra!) because we drove through the Drakensburg mountains. We stopped at a lookout point and saw a whole family of Baboons! It was really cool! We had lunch at this random restaurant that I can only describe as a South African version of a cracker barrel- lots of memorabilia, and a really fun little country store that had all sorts of goodies. We arrived in Durban later that afternoon, and we were allowed out on our own for the first time since we've been here. We decided to try Taco Zulu, the local mexican restaurant....it was okay. We're currently staying in a hostel that has about 10 beds to a room, but tomorrow we move into our homestays! I'm pretty excited! My family consists of a mom who runs her own small business, a dad who is a taxi driver, a 13-year old sister, and a 17-year old brother. I think it will be lots of fun!

Well, I have class now, but I'll try to catch up and talk about my Durban excursions tomorrow. Bye!