Maboneng

There is a neighbourhood in the inner-city of Johannesburg that since I arrived has sounded like the coolest place to be; Maboneng! I finally went to check it out the other weekend and it epitomized the essence of Joburg, all in one small area. Beauty, revitalization, fear, laughter, segregation and reconciliation.

I went with a friend on a walking tour of Maboneng. We got to see the revitalization that is taking place as well as its historical sites.

We started the tour checking out the artistic hot spots, with lots of independent shops and restaurants.
Then we toured through the local healer's market. It's clear that tourists don't really go through there so we were a sight to be seen by them! The market was full of animal skins, horns, hairs, seeds and nuts as well as other hand made goods.

We then went down under the freeway where a group of women were cooking on open fires and selling meals. I ate the insides of a cow's head! I was thinking of Grandma Smith saying she likes to eat head cheese. It was actually not bad. haha

We also stopped by Africa's largest 2nd hand bookstore. There were piles like this everywhere, we were walking through a maze of books stacked floor to ceiling.

Then we headed up the street a ways, so to get there we hopped in a taxi. Here a taxi refers to the mini-buses that follow certain routes (a typical taxi for personal for hire is a "cab") through the city and pick up anyone along the way and drop them off wherever as asked along the route. Locals know all the hand signals to flag the one heading in the direction they're going. People pile into the taxis, up to 20 people sometimes and whoever is sitting in the front seat is responsible for collecting the money from the other passengers and divvying up the proper change (note to self, don't sit up front! Although, they aren't a mode of transportation you ever see white people in, so I doubt I'll be using them much anyways. Unfortunately they aren't too safe).

Next stop was South Africa's tallest building, I think the 2nd tallest building in Africa. It was just over 40 floors. Crazy to think it's the tallest building in SA, when our Chicago office is just casually on the 46th floor of it's building. Lovely 360 views of across Joburg though:

We walked from there down to Ghandi Square. This statue is outside of the location where Ghandi's law offices were located in Jozi. It's very cool to have such an influential figure in India's history, also have his own place in South African history. It's interesting to note that both Ghandi and Mandela were some of the first lawyers of their race to be practicing in their own law offices in South Africa, who went on to have such an impact globally.

Speaking of which...here is the location of Nelson Mandela and his partner (another famous political activist), OR Tambo 's law offices. There is a statue outside based off of a famous picture of Mandela boxing, which was an activity he did a lot of in his youth. Around the building is also a timeline of Mandela's political pursuits. There was a man who asked me to take his picture giving Mandela a rose. Haha

 All in all, a beautiful neighbourhood with many great markets, artwork and a rich history. Our guides were saying hello to people they know in the neighbourhood all day and it was clear the community is very close knit. I'll be sure to get back to spend more time in Maboneng!

SMS Culture

I watched a TEDxTalk awhile ago about how cell phones, even the most basic phones, are being used in communities across Africa, for buying goods, sending email, receiving important information about medication or farming, etc. It's a really cool talk about innovation in Africa and the SMS-culture.

Check it out here: https://www.ted.com/talks/toby_shapshak_you_don_t_need_an_app_for_that?language=en

It's fascinating that almost everyone you see, no matter their economic situation, has a cell phone. It may be a 1997 Nokia but people will buy pay as you go plans and can get a lot done just through SMS (texting). I have a smart phone, so I don't use many of the SMS-based solutions the way many others do, but I have still experienced the SMS-culture. As a security measure, my bank sends me a SMS any time I make a purchase, take out money or if settings are updated on my accounts. When booking travel for work, I approve my travel itinerary through SMS. I can request a quote for insurance through SMS. At work we even send out event advertising this way.

To be honest, I actually find it annoying to get so many texts coming through to my phone. But given the security issues in the country, I understand why people want the constant reassurance that there is no fraud taking place and because a cell phone is now so accessible, it makes sense for businesses here to use this method.

Power Outages in Jozi

I am currently writing this while surrounded by darkness. The power is out...again.

It's becoming almost a daily occurrence to have the power go out.

The infrastructure is so poor that it cannot handle the demands of the city so the municipal government has implemented rolling blackouts. There is an ongoing load shedding schedule where each neighbourhood is cut off for a few hours. It wouldn't be as bad, if not for the blackouts that also occur randomly due to transformer issues or electric storms. There are intense storms that usually roll in quickly in the summer afternoons and clear up quickly, but the lightning that occurs during these storms tends to wreak havoc on the electrical systems.

Every day I pass through at least one set of traffic lights (robots as the South Africans say) that is out.

Everything in my fridge is going to spoil; such a waste of money.

My worry is that everyone says come winter time here, the outages will get even worse with a larger strain on the systems. Let's just say, I am NOT looking forward to that.

Game plan:

- small grocery shops every couple days so if food spoils, I'm not losing much (this is so not feasible)

- invest in a good flashlight

- keep my portable phone charger always charged
- freeze a couple big blocks of ice so when the power goes out I can move them into the fridge and keep food cool (thanks for the addition, Dad!)

Stolen Goods

I've had my first run-in with crime here in Jozi. Over the weekend my laptop was stolen from my desk in my office at work. I came in on Sunday to do some work and found that my office looked just as I left it, except that my laptop was gone. Then I learned that not only was my laptop missing, but two of my other colleagues' laptops were also stolen. It was such a violating feeling to know that someone had gone through my desk where I have personal items and documents. It also made me realize that I need to be more mindful and not as trusting as I was in Toronto. In Toronto, I would leave my laptop out on my desk unlocked every night and never give it a second thought. That doesn't fly in a city where income disparity is much higher and some of the contract staff who come in may see an opportunity to make a quick buck selling off some expensive equipment. It's a sad reality. Sadder still because we have cameras and the thief isn't going to have a job anymore; the payoff will not be worth it.

One fortunate thing for me is that I had my laptop completely shut down and our laptops are difficult to get into so my files on there should be safe. The thief will likely trash the hard drive and sell the computer. Another fortunate thing is that our hard drives automatically back up to our server every couple of hours so I was able to retrieve everything and have it loaded onto a new computer for me. My personal photos and documents, music, the spreadsheets and presentations I was working on, email archives; all back on a brand new machine. Phew!

Too Canadian For My Own Good

Since arriving in Joburg, it has become clear to me that the Canadian manners I was raised with, are going to leave me waiting, hungry and disappointed in this country.

Everyone keeps telling me to say what's on my mind, don't wait to be served, ask for what you need, speak up, be bold, no need to sugarcoat anything...but this is hard for me!

Now, anyone who knows me well, knows that I will speak my mind and have an opinion, and I tend to be on the less than "PG" side of things, but I also tend to be quiet until I am comfortable in my surroundings and I am on my best behaviour in public. I always wait my turn in line, use my manners and smile at people as I pass by. Not that I want to disregard these actions, because people in Joburg are very warm and welcoming, but I think it's time I get a liiiittle more bold.

For example, there are a lot of people who come by your car at red lights to ask for money or try to sell random goods. I always give them a wave and a smile and say "No thank you". But this has led to a few of them sticking around, trying to get me to roll down the window, wanting to give me a fist bump, blowing kisses. I don't want to be rude so I just keep shaking my head and smiling, saying "Thank you, but I'm sorry, no." Sometimes they will try to fist bump through the glass of my window and that gets them to move on. Sometimes I just have to wait til the light goes green and drive off.

Another example, when I went to the bank to open my bank account, the bankers were very sweet, but they talk so very much, trying to walk through every detail, repeating all the steps, not efficient at all. I don't want to interrupt and be rude, but I need to get back to work. I end up just sitting, smiling through it all, subtly asking how long the process will be....so far, about 3 hours.

Yea, I know, definitely need to up my game.

Apartheid Museum

Another place I wanted to check off of my tourist checklist in Joburg, was the Apartheid Museum. I went today with a coworker. She is a "coloured" (it still makes me feel weird to say that, but it's completely normal to use that descriptor here and the topic of race comes up a lot in daily life) South African and had never been, so it was great to be able to experience this with her. Both of us were deeply moved by the exhibits, starting with us entering the museum through two different entrances - such a troubling feeling. I learned new things about the history and the main figures of the era. It is an extremely well curated museum.

It struck me, that Mandela during his time in prison found a way to reject violence, push away any notion of retaliation and didn't gain the ego that is so often the downfall for democracy following independence in many nations. He truly is one of the greatest leaders of all time. He was able to find an inner strength during his time in prison that allowed him to seek peace and reconciliation in the face of such evil. He was able to forgive and he was charismatic enough to impart that same forward thinking upon an entire nation of people who had suffered so much.

It was so interesting to see how those outside of prison were able to create an environment which made it impossible for the white government to be able to continue to lead. Many lost their lives doing this, but it created a space where De Klerk needed to release Mandela and bring this powerful political prisoner to the negotiating table in order to bring a resolution.One figure who resonates with me is Steve Biko. He was murdered senselessly in prison for trying to bring a greater consciousness to the black community about their own self worth; a brilliant mind lost too soon. In seeing the images of violence against the majority of people in South Africa, I am awed by the way the nation was able to start down the path of healing, a healing that is still carrying on today.

One portion of the museum showcased events taking place worldwide during the height of Apartheid and it was so crazy to think that the Americans were landing on the moon, all while black South Africans were still being pushed into slums and refused a proper education or living wage. It really struck me how recent these events took place. It's only been two decades since Mandela was elected the first black President of South Africa and this country still has a long way to go towards building true equality.

The high unemployment rate and weak education system, are two major issues to tackle. These issues obviously lead to high poverty levels and also bread an environment of crime; people are just trying to survive. It takes time for a nation of disenfranchised people to build up, but there is a rising black middle class and the government is trying to tackle the issues of unemployment through the Black Economic Empowerment programme. Among other things, the programme states that in order to do business in South Africa you have to have a good BEE rating, which increases with the number of black people you hire. The only issue with BEE, is that with an almost 50% high school drop out rate, the country is lacking well educated, highly skilled workers to fill all these positions. Major education reform needs to be the long term solution to the issues here.