Friday 8 June 2007- Day Seven

Today we went on a bus tour of Joburg. The focus of this tour was in the Central Business District (CBD) of Joburg. I really loved the Newtown area. It reminds me of the downtown area of Houston. The mix between old factory buildings and new arts space is an aesthetic that I love. The Zulu market was also nice to see. The people in the market were nice to us and one group asked one of the New School students to take their picture. This also happened to me this morning at Stay City. I took a picture of receptionist Betty and the housekeeper Betty wanted me to take a picture of her as well. She turned a posed for me the way a supermodel might. I believed that we mentioned something in class about people associating someone taking their picture with a sense of self worth. It really is a beautiful picture. I’ll try and post it.

I do have some issues with the tour that we took and they tie into feelings that I had during the brei. The tour guide showed us the revitalized CBD efforts and kept describing the driving factors as white business trying to create upper level housing and amenities. This tour seemed to only show us what the white tour guide thought we would like. This is similar to the local family in that there seem to be areas and attractions that are only meant for whites and those that are only meant for blacks. It also seems that the people of Joburg have a set list of attractions that they want to show visitors. There have been several comments from the Stay City staff when we go to the townships. They tend to question why we want to see those areas. I suppose it is only natural to want to show visitors the nicest parts of your city but this means that there is a whole section of Joburg that we would not get to experience.

This evening we went to a wonderful Cuban son/salsa/samba club. I love, love, LOVE to dance and Cuban music is the best (I’m not Cuban but my sentiments lean toward Cuban culture). My feelings about this part of the evening have little to do with my feelings about Joburg and more to do with my feelings about US/Cuban relations. The club was sponsored by Havana Club rum, something that is not imported to the US. Every time someone asks me if I have been to Cuba it infuriates me that my government tells me what I can and cannot purchase and where I can and cannot go. It is amazing that I had to come to Africa to experience the products of my (husband’s) family.