The Journey Inward

It was a long week with not feeling well, so I capped Friday off with some spa care rather than happy hour. I chose a manicure and pedicure at a salon near me, though it was not quite the relaxing afternoon/evening I had hoped for! The nail technician used a nail file for everything she did, but didn’t differentiate between nail and skin. I came home with pretty fingers and toes underlined with bloody little cuts! Sidenote: they don’t wash your feet before the pedicure, but after. I felt sooo bad for her, as I’d been on my feet in socks and sneakers all day long.

I don’t know if I mentioned that I began binging Breaking Bad last weekend during the storm and continued this week in the evenings when I was too exhausted to do anything else. I continued that Friday night after dinner and a walk where this beautiful design in the sky was with me from different vantage points for quite awhile. I walked by the house where one of our estate residents passed away on Wednesday and said a little prayer for him. It was so sad. He collapsed in his house and stopped breathing. Neighbors rushed in to help and an ambulance came, but it was too late.

On Saturday, my principal arranged for the new hires to take a Hop On/Hop Off bus tour of Johannesburg. The only complication? It was G20 weekend here in South Africa, Johannesburg specifically (or G18 as they’ve been calling it here!). Sheena, a colleague of mine, and I met early at school and grabbed an uber I had reserved the night before. Many roads were closed, but our driver knew the detours way better than I would have. The roads were mostly empty and we made it to Rosebank Mall in 40 minutes. Two other teachers were already there and a third showed up soon after, so I got tea and they all got McDonalds drinks and breakfasts while we waited for the others. Our principal arrived and got all our tickets and the final three we were waiting for were still stuck on the roads in Pretoria, so we got started.

We didn’t do much hopping off, but we saw a great deal of the city in our 8 hours on the bus! I have so many places I want to return to for a deep dive! Our first stop was the little center of Melrose Arch, a gated area only accessible on foot, where we walked as we waited for our stragglers to arrive. Having gathered them, we hopped on the next bus.

Here are some facts I learned along the way on the tour. We entered the CBD (Central Business District) in the City of Gold, so named because of the gold stores discovered in this spot. It was an unlikely major city because it does not have a water source. It is not on the coast, a lake or river. Other than Las Vegas and some smaller cities, it is a stand alone in this department. The city is plagued by a lack of housing, poor infrastructure and traffic, as it is the place to go for opportunity for people from all over the world. It is a very diverse and cosmopolitan city.

The homes in Jozi are beautiful, with elaborate gardens. People here enjoy spending time at home. The stakes are high here and you can make or lose a fortune. There are tree-lined streets, green parks and beautiful views in this mile high city.

South Africa experienced one of the very few peaceful transitions of power following apartheid and as a result, there is much optimism here. They generate practical, logical solutions combined with their warm, African hearts that allow forgiveness.

The TRC, or Truth and Reconciliation Commission, based in Johannesburg, investigates why prosecutions of apartheid-era crimes didn’t happen. I listen to some good politic/history podcasts here, my favorite by Dan Corder, and I’m always interested in the work by this commission.

Back to Jozi being the City of Gold, or eGoli, The Place of Gold. It began with the discovery of the Witwatersrand gold reef in 1886 by Australian prospector George Harrison, which triggered a global gold rush. This event led to the rapid growth of a small mining camp into a major city, attracting a diverse population of migrants, some 60,000 of them Chinese, and establishing the foundation for South Africa’s economy. Local SA blacks were used to mine, too. Mahatma Gandhi arrived on the scene. “He fought for equal treatment for Indian and Chinese residents, developing Satyagraha or passive resistance, adopted by the African National Congress at its formation in 1912. Like Nelson Mandela decades later, Gandhi was locked up in the Old Fort Prison in Hillbrow, the town’s first prison, both of them for the same reason: fighting for equal rights for their compatriots. The striking Constitutional Court now sits among three prisons: the Old Fort, the notorious No 4 black men’s prison, and the Women’s Gaol”. History of Joburg, City of Gold. Jozi was said to have the richest gold deposit in the world. Vestiges of the mining can be seen all around the city.

We drove through Houghton Estate and saw Mandela’s homes, private schools, and gorgeous views. We drove through the Parktown and Braamfontein sections, as well as Gandhi Square.

Our next stop was Gold Reef City, a place that reminds you of how the country embraces both its contradictions and complexities. Gold Reef City has a mining museum and amusement park, as well as a casino.

After a bathroom break and nourishment for some, a walk for others (okay, just me!), we got onto a different bus to take the Soweto tour. Soweto is the South Western Townships, and I had read all about them in Trevor Noah’s book, so I was looking forward to this part. To be continued…