Johannesburg

January 11, 2010

Our plane touched down at O.R. Tambo Airport at 07:20 in the morning. Joe and I were exhausted because unlike the first leg of our trip we could not really sleep when we boarded. After deplaning we had a longish walk to passport control. The world cup was still being advertised and I assume the latest in South African pop was playing over the loud speakers. The mood seemed upbeat so going through customs was not an issue and we passed through without any hassles despite the long lines.

My aunt was waiting for us on the other side and we greeted her with smiles and hugs. Off we went to her house to get situated and rested. When we arrived we met my uncle’s high school roommate that had come with his family all the way from Vermont! However after about an hour of chatting we couldn’t take it anymore and took a rest. It must have been about 09:00 hrs when we hit the bed and about 16:00 hrs – 4 pm – when we awoke! For the rest of the night we chatted with everyone while we ate fresh homemade pizza that my uncle’s friends made. What a lovely second homecoming!

January 13 - 16, 2010

A few weeks ago I received an email from the Chair of my advisory committee stating that she was going to be in Johannesburg. We met up with her two times while we were here. Once for a light lunch and coffee and another time for a proper lunch at a place called Moyos. I brought my little cousin because I figured it would be a nice experience. Moyos is a sort of upscale chain restaurant with an African theme. My advisor described it as a place where they perform Africanness. They serve indigenous meats that are considered exotic to Western visitors – like ostrich and springbuck – and North African cuisine – such as couscous along with other African samples.

We entered the area to the uproarious beats of drums filling the dining room. After a few minutes they settled down and we were able to hear one another, browse through the copper covered menus, and order from the fuchsia feather headdress wearing waitress. We all had lovely conversation and were able to take in all the sights and sounds the establishment. Cowry shells were embedded in the walls, medieval styled heavy brass doors, and multi-colored walls with feathers in the bathroom. While we ate some light jazz was played by that Sunday’s act. When they took their break four women in brightly colored dresses with equally brightly colored head-wraps went from table to table singing different South African songs.

We spent about 2 hours with at lunch before we had to rush off to drop my advisor and cousin to their respective residents before rushing to Market Theater inside the city. Luckily it was Sunday so traffic was not too bad and we happened to make it just in time. We met my aunt there to see Songs of Migration featuring Hugh Masekela, Gloria Bosman, and Sibongile Khumalo. It was an amazing show primarily documenting the movement of rural black South Africans from their homelands into Johannesburg or eGoli to make their fortune. In order to represent the rainbow nation they even included a Yiddish song and two Afrikaans songs. For some reason they also included about five abridged versions of “Ancient African American Spirituals”.

The singers all had amazingly powerful voices that worked together in a harmony that evoked powerful images of loss, hope, shattered dreams, listlessness, and heartbreak. Masekela who just turned 70 was as lively as ever - bending low and hitting high notes throughout the show. After the show we just happened to be having coffee and juice at the café in the theatre when I spotted Thumbeza Hlope fromthe performance – and from the popular musical Sarafina – at the bar. A few minutes later we saw Hugh. Joe stood up and urged us to follow him because he was going to get a picture. We all got a picture with him to our delight and even got a group hug! After leaving we dropped my aunt off to church and ended the day with a visit to my cousin. It was a lovely day filled with adventure and we were all very grateful.

January 17^th, 2010

Mondays are usually quite hectic in Johannesburg with everyone rushing to work and school for the new week. Mondays are even more hectic when the power goes out in most of the city. Before we left the house it came on and off about three times. We accompanied my aunt to the airport to catch her flight to East London. We headed to the nearby mall afterwards to take care of some business and then returned to the house.

At about 15:00hrs (3pm) we got back to the house switched out the cars – because the power had gone out we couldn’t open the garage door to get our car out and ended up driving my aunt’s BMW. From there we drove to see my cousin to find out about her wedding and then attended the Trevor Noah show at Urban Brew Studios.

To see some of Trevor Noah's comedy and find out more about who he is please visit the following website: http://www.trevornoah.co.za

Trevor Noah is a young Johannesburg comedian who has become extremely famous in the past year or so. We were able to watch the second to last taping of the show and even go to meet him. We also met Elvis Blue who was last year’s Idols – the South African version of American Idols – winner. Although we didn’t seem to do very much in the day it went quickly and seemed to be full. We head South in a few days time and then the real work begins.