Joburg, South Africa

Sorry to make this short, I must go pack and sleep before I get picked up for the airport tomorrow morning.

It is currently just after ten pm and I have spent the last two days and nights in Johannesburg. I am staying with my friends relatives. They live in a beautiful home in a suburb called Waverly, with a gated street and a gated home. They have been extremely hospitablity to me and I thank them very much.

Yesterday we joked that it was my day to experience the 1st world of Johannesburg. I went to some very up-scale areas of the city including Melrose Arch, Rosebank, The Grace Hotel and Nelson Mandela Square. Additionally, I also wandered through an African Craft Market and drove past Nelson Mandela's Johannesburg residence very near where I am staying.

Today was slightly different. While I did stop to wander the Hope School, which is a school for disabled children of Southern Africa and rests on the side of a lovely hill overlooking the whole city. The land was donated and now the school, while public, has become one of the most exclusive in the area. The rest of the day was spent exploring historical events and places of Johannesburg and furthermore, South Africa. I went to Constitution Hill. This is were many blacks were thrown in prision during Aparthied, including Nelson Mandela. I recieved a tour from a very nice young women and was taken throughout the prision. Additionally, I also was able to very the chambers of the Constitutional Court, the highest court in the counrtry. Following this I was picked up and headed to the Aparthied Museum. Here they have established a beautiful museum, full of mixed media exploring all the implications of the riegn of Aparthied. Unfortunately after these activities I was exhausted as the jet-lag finally cahgt up to me. On Thursday I survived a ful day, 8am to 11 pm. However today, after waking up at 6am I took a 4-5 hour nap and only just awoke for dinner at my friend's grandparents home. It was a wonderful meal and we had great fun discussing all sorts of matter.

I depart tomorrow for Namibia and hope to write again once I reach my destination in Rundu.