We have had a great weekend in Jo’burg! On Saturday we visited the Cradle of Humankind in Maropeng which is about an hour away from Jo’burg. It’s a museum that shows how life has evolved over time, and was incredibly interesting! We spent a couple of hours there just soaking it all in. I couldn’t help but think back to my days in the biology courses (especially microbiology)…it’s all quite fascinating; I only wish I knew more about it so I could’ve appreciated it more!
We also went to the Sterkfontein Caves which is where thy have found the earliest fossils of humankind! The caves were a little freaky, but only because I was psyching myself out. We were 60 meters (I guess around 180 feet) below ground and it was super cold! It reminded me of the time when I was at a softball tournament, we went into the caves in northeastern Missouri where Tom Sawyer had spent his time. I remember feeling that same fear of, “Oh no, what if this cave collapses?!” Oh and then in the cave, there was a body of water that was like 40 meters deep (120 feet) and our tour guide told us a story about scientists that explored the water about thirty years ago and one got lost and they never found him. Yikes! I stayed clear!
We went to dinner at Mike’s Kitchen (our favorite place to dine, oh wait…and our only place to dine) with a group of people Saturday night. It was Tina’s last night in Jo’burg before she headed off on like a three week tour of the coast of Africa and then to Kruger (ahh, I’m so jealous)!! She’s from New York and is super super nice!
On Sunday morning we did a tour of Soweto (the Southwestern Township of Jo’burg) and I really enjoyed it. This area is home to nearly 3.5 million people. There are just houses (more like shacks) that continue on and on and on. We got to walk down some of the streets and they reminded me of the homes in Las Pintas. There’s no electricity and there’s one running water hole per street, so that means about three hundred people share one water hole. Can you imagine? There is all sorts of history that I could go into about Soweto, but if you want to know more about what I learned about…either email and ask me or Google search “Hector Pieterson.” He was thirteen years old when he was shot and killed in a protest on June 16th, 1976. There is a photo of an older boy carrying him and his sister running alongside them. This photo is what many say brought on the global attention to South Africa and the apartheid that was going on. I learned a ton, and I’m so glad we were able to do this tour…
That evening we went out to a nicer restaurant called Moyo’s and it was delicious! Those that went besides Alison and I were Pieter (from Sweden) and his girlfriend that arrived that day for a visit, Rebecca (from Scotland), and then the rest were from Germany…Ralph, Ann, Sandra, and a new guy, Alex! All but three of us did the buffet and we walked out feeling as stuffed as humanly possible. We got into a really good table discussion of different holidays celebrated where each of us were from…it was really interesting to hear everyone’s traditions! I’m totally biased, but based from what I heard I think America celebrates the best holidays!
Well, two more days of clinical and then Alison and I are off to Cape Town for five days…and then I’m coming home!!! I can’t believe how fast the time has gone!! I miss you all!!!
We also went to the Sterkfontein Caves which is where thy have found the earliest fossils of humankind! The caves were a little freaky, but only because I was psyching myself out. We were 60 meters (I guess around 180 feet) below ground and it was super cold! It reminded me of the time when I was at a softball tournament, we went into the caves in northeastern Missouri where Tom Sawyer had spent his time. I remember feeling that same fear of, “Oh no, what if this cave collapses?!” Oh and then in the cave, there was a body of water that was like 40 meters deep (120 feet) and our tour guide told us a story about scientists that explored the water about thirty years ago and one got lost and they never found him. Yikes! I stayed clear!
We went to dinner at Mike’s Kitchen (our favorite place to dine, oh wait…and our only place to dine) with a group of people Saturday night. It was Tina’s last night in Jo’burg before she headed off on like a three week tour of the coast of Africa and then to Kruger (ahh, I’m so jealous)!! She’s from New York and is super super nice!
On Sunday morning we did a tour of Soweto (the Southwestern Township of Jo’burg) and I really enjoyed it. This area is home to nearly 3.5 million people. There are just houses (more like shacks) that continue on and on and on. We got to walk down some of the streets and they reminded me of the homes in Las Pintas. There’s no electricity and there’s one running water hole per street, so that means about three hundred people share one water hole. Can you imagine? There is all sorts of history that I could go into about Soweto, but if you want to know more about what I learned about…either email and ask me or Google search “Hector Pieterson.” He was thirteen years old when he was shot and killed in a protest on June 16th, 1976. There is a photo of an older boy carrying him and his sister running alongside them. This photo is what many say brought on the global attention to South Africa and the apartheid that was going on. I learned a ton, and I’m so glad we were able to do this tour…
That evening we went out to a nicer restaurant called Moyo’s and it was delicious! Those that went besides Alison and I were Pieter (from Sweden) and his girlfriend that arrived that day for a visit, Rebecca (from Scotland), and then the rest were from Germany…Ralph, Ann, Sandra, and a new guy, Alex! All but three of us did the buffet and we walked out feeling as stuffed as humanly possible. We got into a really good table discussion of different holidays celebrated where each of us were from…it was really interesting to hear everyone’s traditions! I’m totally biased, but based from what I heard I think America celebrates the best holidays!
Well, two more days of clinical and then Alison and I are off to Cape Town for five days…and then I’m coming home!!! I can’t believe how fast the time has gone!! I miss you all!!!
1 comment:
Have a great time in CapeTown. I can't wait to see your pictures to see what all the talk is about!
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