first time in South Africa

My internship has officially finished. I do get to go to the peer exchange happening in Durban, South Africa though. So today I packed my bags and went for the 2:30 am flight out of Dar to Johannesburg. (Aside: I booked through Kulula, the budget branch of British Airways in SA. Except I always call it kulala, which means “to sleep” in Kiswahili. Fits perfectly for the late night flight). I was packing until the last minute. Had to do a limited bucket shower because, of all days, it had to be tonight when there’s no water. Then right before my taxi arrived, I told my upstairs room mate that I didn’t really have any plans for my 7+ hours in Jo’burg. I was going to take some sort of transport to city centre and wander around like I usually do. She basically freaked out. “You can’t walk around in Jo’burg. It’s too dangerous. You have to take a taxi from the airport to wherever you want to go and stay there. Definitely do *not* go to city centre. You will definitely get mugged at best and hurt at worst.” I had no idea the city was actually that bad. So I got to the airport, did some quick internet research, and decided to ask the tourist information when I get there. I was hoping to book a tour with a guide that was highly recommended online for a tour of Soweto (South Western Townships; the unplanned settlement area of Jo’burg).

I arrived at 5 am and nothing was opened yet. I stored my luggage and wandered around until I finally found a shop that sold cell phone sim cards. Interestingly, Vodacom sells theirs at 100 Rand and MTN sells theirs at 1 Rand. I wonder where the competitive edge is? I went to tourist info and asked how I can get to the Apartheid Museum, which both my roommate and online forums highly recommend. They said that it was way too early and I need to wait until 9 am. Darn 3 more hours. I tried to sleep on the chairs. Not much luck. Somehow, the 3 hours passed and I schlepped back to tourist info. The taxi turns out to cost 350 Rand (approx. 50 USD; it’s ok if you have 4 people, but for one person?! That’s about the same amount my flight from Joburg to Durban cost) one way. Sheesh. (The taxi driver even said it was 450 one way, thankfully I asked beforehand). No way I could afford it. So I took my roommate’s advice to check out the humongous malls in the suburb of Sandton. There’s a newly opened express train that goes there. Even that 15 minute train ride costs 100 Rand one way…South Africa is definitely way more expensive than Dar.

Currently, there are 4 stations – the airport, Sandton, and two in between. I read online that you should not get off at the one called Marlboro because you will be mugged. But when we passed by, the unplanned settlement seemed much more orderly than the ones in Dar. Of course, the level of violence in SA is different, but to think that in Dar, I would have no problem walking through most of the settlements in daylight as long as I was dressed appropriately and didn’t wave my valuables around. It really made me like Tanzania all the more. Sigh, I would have really liked to visit Soweto and the Apartheid Museum.

Instead, I arrived at posh suburb Sandton. I followed the crowd to the closest huge shopping mall. I think I literally had culture shock when I stepped in. Plus I was dressed in baggy clothes for the plane rides. Everyone was dressed to their nines (at least compared to what I’ve been seeing for the last six months), the stores were huge and…just huge. I wandered around for about an hour. Bored out of my mind. You know how I feel about shopping, especially in posh malls that look the same everywhere in the world. I sat down at the food court and ate a fast food veggie burger from Steers (famous SA chain). Don’t give me that look… I haven’t had fast food for almost a year…forgive me. It was average.

Then I proceeded to walk around a bit more. Then as if someone took pity on me, a bookstore with comfy chairs appeared! I snuggled up in the store for a good hour and a half. I fell asleep many times, but it was so nice. Then it was time to head back to the airport. I also found the most delicious brownie I’ve had so far.

Things I’ve noticed so far:

• There really are a lot of security guards in Joburg. Everywhere. Every entrance, every train, every parking lot. No wonder the askari (security guard) at our office said his company sent him to SA for training…
• There was barb wire separating the ‘dala dala’ parking lot (they looked like dalas) and the pedestrian path leading to the mall…
• The part of Joburg the Gautrain passed through consisted of huge urban sprawl and lots of green. The landscaped actually looked quite European, with quaint-looking houses and lots of straw bales.
• When I asked how can I get to the Museum with public transport, the receptionist just laughed in my face… in that moment, I made up my mind that I can never live in a city that doesn’t have public transport that I can use. There is public transport in Joburg, it’s just too dangerous for foreign looking people to take. I don’t mind if the public transport is dalas…at least they’re safe!
• There were lots of factory-like buildings near the airport. I think SA does have a much bigger manufacturing industry.
• Airports are boring. Except Amsterdam, where you have comfy sofas to sleep on.
• The service attitude here is better than in Dar.
• Stuff is so expensive!
• On the way from Dar, I bumped into a girl many times and we started talking. Turns out she’s a student at a South African university (I forgot the name) studying journalism. She has Tanzanian parents but grew up in Namibia and South Africa. We had a cool discussion about how it feels not really belonging anywhere. It’s always nice when people understand J It’s just so hard to explain.
• it’s cold (!) I’m starting to think I can never live in place that snows again. But goodness, the coolness is amazing.