I might have overestimated the amount of time needed to catch our flight yesterday out of Victoria Falls. We were at the airport before most of the airport staff. We gave ourselves plenty of time for coffee and breakfast at the airport. The kids attempted eggs Benedict again. Yesterday’s version was served on two halves of a hamburger bun. Getting closer.
Super easy flight and transfer to our hotel in Sandton which is considered the “New Town” of Johannesburg. Our hotel is right near Mandela Square where Dave and I visited in 2010. Tourism is taking a very long time to recover in Africa, most in the industry out of work for 3 years, but, we found all the tourists last night. We grubbed on a very delicious late lunch and cruised the adjacent mall looking for some simple birthday items for Dagny’s birthday. We found her some earrings and some Lego daffodils and also a little birthday cake.
We are not big consumers. Dave and I almost never shop, but I do love to buy Swatch Watches when I travel. I have probably owned 20 over the last 20 years and this is my new favorite because it is yellow.
Dave and the kids have been excited to go see the movie, Barbie. Zero for two on theater popcorn. Nope, not as good as the US at either theater we have visited, but the movie was cute.
McLain family tradition is to be woken on the morning of your birthday with the family singing happy birthday to you with breakfast in bed. We couldn’t execute breakfast in bed, but we did have the pretty cake we found the night before. Dagny is 17 today and this is the third birthday she has celebrated while on sabbatical. Her 7th birthday was in Florida with good friends at Gatorama. We all remember the pictures of Dagny holding a baby gator on her birthday. Year 12 was at Bryce Canyon in Utah with a day full of hiking. Seventeen celebrated today in Johannesburg, South Africa and Soweto. Happy birthday Dagny!
We enjoyed a comprehensive tour of JoBurg to include Constitution Hill and the former prison, Nelson Mandela’s house from after his release from prison in the 90s in JoBurg and his home in Soweto from before his arrest in the 60s. We saw the site of Desmond Tutu’s house, not far away. Both Nobel Prize winners from the same neighborhood. Orlando West High School and the site where Hector Pieterson was shot during the youth uprising of 1976.
The best part of the tour for me was a walk through the township where we were invited to learn about everyday life in this crowded settlement. Our guide showed us the homes, the well women use to pump water for washing clothes in tubs, and how they splice power from the street lights for limited power. I was pleased to learn that most of the children do attend free public school paid for buy the government even if the cost of uniforms is a hardship the community works together to ensure children have the necessary clothes.
HIV/Aids is still a major concern in Africa. Free medications are available from the government but some refuse treatment because of the stigma of taking the drugs and admitting they are infected.
Unemployment is 50% in South Africa which is an improvement over Zimbabwe which was 80%. The majority of unemployment is outside the city. Our guide said people in the city are “hustlers”. I think that means they have more access to day labor and odd jobs.
Teen pregnancy is a major factor in Soweto. We were invited to visit a children’s center where two women provide care for about 25 preschoolers so their teen mothers can attend school. The little bunch liked us a lot and particularly my kids.
We will find a fun dinner spot to celebrate Dagny tonight and try to get her to wear her birthday crown we picked up a few weeks ago. No doubt she is missing her friends and looking forward to celebrating with them this weekend, but for now, we get her all to ourselves. This will likely be the last birthday for her on the road. Such a precious part of her August birthday. Happy birthday to her.
Jll
No comments:
Post a Comment