Welcome to Johannesburg!

we just arrived in Johannesburg.  

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Mandela Center, Nkanyezi, and Community

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This morning, we left St. Martin's parish early to visit the Mandela Center in Rosebank for a meeting with Verne Harris, a historian, co-founder of the Mandela Center, and close friend of Mandela. We arrived and entered a meeting room where we would be able to speak to him for about 45 minutes and ask any questions we had. With all of the questions, we were able  to get another telling view of the Apartied Era. I remember one of the questions where someone asked Mr. Harris if he believed South Africa was free. He simply responded with "No." From his response, we all were able to see that although the most oppressive regime in South African history was over, the racial divide and cultural stigmas have not progressed. Most everything Mr. Harris told us was extremely eye opening and and he provided a new viewpoint we had not encountered yet. Besides speaking with him, the Mandela center houses both an exhibit on Mr. Mandela as well as his office that has been p...
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While today's events lacked signifigant human interaaction, they involved deep immersion in the nature of South Africa. Today we went on a safari. About a six hour round trip was satisfied by a beautiful destination. While Cape Town and Soweto suprised many of us with their urban appeal,  the game park was more in line with the stereotypical idea of Africa. It was teaming with wild life. I recall a conversation with Alex. He said "I would have been happy to see one elephant." Not long after, we would be roadblocked by multiple elephants too stubborn to move. Despite the joy of the game park, we encountered a disturbance on our way back. Just north of Soweto, small wild fires emerged on either side of the highway. Some of us assume them to be the result of people attempting to burn their trash. It was a reminder of a reacuring issue in the area. There is a lack of public means of disposal. As a result, the streets are littered by mounds out trash. We have seen many peo...
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Walking tour of Johannesburg

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Today we took a walking tour of Johannesburg which included a visit to the Central Business District, the Witswatersrand University art gallery, Constitution Hill, "Number 4 Jail" (where Ghandi, Mandela and many others were jailed),  and the chambers of South Africa's Constitutional Court (the equivalent of the U.S. Supreme Court).  We were received by Justice Edwin Cameron a current member of the Court and his clerk, Disantha, who gave us a detailed, guided tour of the courthouse and the chambers.  Justice Cameron spoke in depth about the progress South Africa has made, impediments to the country's past and future development, and the daunting tasks still remaining in South Africa. Finally, Fr. Bruce gave us a tour of the Jesuit residence in Johannessburg.  Esuamo Capula, a young lawer who worked for the Jesuit Institute in South Africa, delivered a lecture on South Africa as a geo-political linguistic and cultural entity.   Finally, we concluded today's ...
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