Johannesburg, day 1!

We got an early start today to tour Joburg.  We have a mini coach bus with a hilarious tour guide who takes us to all of our destinations and provides amusing commentary, which is really great.  Today we went to the University of Johannesburg, the Apartheid Museum, and the Constitutional Court to meet Albie Sachs.

Johannesburg is a strange and beautiful place.  BMWs and Audis cruise down the highway next to an open bed pickup truck with three people sleeping in the trunk part.  Everything is green, but the mountains in the distance are layered with smog.

So our first stop was the University of Johannesburg.  We met with faculty and a half dozen students to discuss lingering effects of apartheid.  The younger students were all significantly more progressive than the older ones in terms of addressing racial tensions.  There is an acknowledgement here that people are all the same, regardless of race - something I think we lack in the United States.  Here, they don't see it as white vs. "colored" people (they use this term freely and it is not considered offensive, which fascinates me); they see it as South Africans vs. institutional racism.  It was so amazing to hear these young students (mostly second-year law students) discuss world issues with an eloquence we don't often see in twentysomethings at home.

U of J.

We had lunch in Nelson Mandela square next.

Our next stop of the day was the Apartheid Museum, which was another few hours.

This museum was incredibly moving...  Apartheid fascinates me. While we in the US were beginning the civil rights movement in the 1960s, apartheid was becoming more stable and strong. Isn't that crazy?  For such blatant and systemic racism to exist until 1994... And think of where we were as a country in 1994.  It boggles the mind. And to think so many men (and women too) gave their lives willingly to fight this monster... could any of us say we'd do the same?

We couldn't take pictures inside, but the outside was beautiful.

I'm in Africa! Is this real life?

In the evening, we went to Constitution Hill for an event arranged through FutureGrowth, which headquarters here in SA.  We had some cocktails and some hors d'ouvres while we waited for the speaker, Albie Sachs, to arrive.  

Constitution hill contains the Supreme Court house and is situated in an old fort that was used in wars against the Dutch. When we climbed to the top of it, the view was incredible. The pictures don't do it justice at all. It kind of felt like I was on top of the world :)

If you don't know who Albie Sachs is, PLEASE google him.  He is the most remarkable human being.  After Nelson Mandela, I think he was one of the most critical players in the struggle against apartheid.  He survived an assassination attempt when a car bomb exploded on the passenger side instead of the driver side, and he lost his arm and the sight in his right eye. He went on to write South Africa's constitution and serve as Supreme Court justice, ruling in many civil rights and equality cases. He is 80 now and still so full of life. we met him and took a picture with him (I'll have to get one of my classmates to send it to me). For the picture, he held out his arm stump to me and said "come on now, take my hand!"

Dr. Sachs gave us a tour of the courthouse, explained his reasoning behind many civil rights decisions, and let us ask questions about his life. The court itself is very open and modern, full of art and aesthetically pleasing.  It was made that way to show that a democratic South Africa has nothing to hide - it's as if the courthouse is "smiling at you, not frowning at you" (quote from Dr. Sachs himself).

Watchtower 

Fort entrance. Can't figure out how to make pics right side up :( will fix later. Sorry sis. 

Ugh! These views aren't one TENTH as cool as they were in real life!

Courthouse smiling at me

What an amazing experience... I can sincerely say that that was once in a lifetime. 

I forgot to post about my flight, by the way. As we went over the Atlantic Ocean in the middle of the night, I looked out the window. Below us I could see only the blackness of the sea, but above us the sky was filled with stars as far as I could imagine. I mean MILLIONS of stars. I've never experience anything like that in my life. I pretended I was in a spaceship for a bit. 

I also wrote some mini movie reviews about all the movies I watched on my flight. 

What if:

Oh my goodness! This is my new feel good movie. Possibly the best feel good movie I've ever seen. I am a sucker for anything including romantic tension, a happy ending, and Daniel Radcliffe. The cinematography was great and the storyline was adorable. I even laughed out loud. Total WIN. 

Dirty dancing:

How had I never seen this one before? I didn't know what the heck was going on most of the time, but I did get to look at Patrick Swayze. I had many questions after this movie ended, including: why don't people dress like they did in the 60s? Why don't people look like the did in the 60s? Why don't people dance like they did in the 60s? Why haven't they done a remake starring Liam Hemsworth as Johnny???

Two night stand:

Melissa recommended this one to me. She has about a 50-50 track record.... The last time I watched a movie she recommended, I had nightmares for a week. This one was much better. Once you look at Miles Teller's face for an hour, he looks much less dopey and much more endearing. And anyone can appreciate the corny, if somewhat unrealistic, premise of this one. 

The spectacular now:

No good on this one, Meliss. You got one out of two. You must really like Miles Teller, though. Miles Teller puts on his serious dopey face in this and it's alright, but I repeatedly said WTF during this one. Kind of depressing. Unresolved ending. I don't like loose ends. No seventeen year old acts like that. Like... Ever. 

The one I love:

D minus because I had to google the inception-style ending and still didn't get a good answer. 

What if:

I'm telling you!!! So cute that I watched it twice. 

Goodnight everybody! Another action packed day is in store for tomorrow. It might thunderstorm, in which case I hope we'll get to see the crazy lightning everyone says they get here. 😊