Durban/Wedding One week, one wedding. That’s how my first week in South Africa started. Ezlyn, Cedric, Jake and I went to a traditional Zulu wedding, for one of Cedric’s good friends, right outside Durban. Expectations of a white wedding were shattered as we walked up to traditional garb, people dancing in the street, and a cow being slaughtered right there and then. All the guests warmly welcomed us and were pleasantly surprised that we had an interest in learning about their culture. Jake and I watched in awe of the traditional Zulu dancers and the passion they had behind those dances. We were treated to an incredible dinner, which featured amazing meat, pap, and other traditional food. Although it was blistering hot under the Durban sun, we had a surreal experience and met a lot of wonderful people along the way. Arrival of Padre Being without a car in Johannesburg is the same as being without a car in Los Angeles, which is where I’m from… terrible! There’s an unfortunate lack of public transportation in Joburg and having a car is nearly crucial for getting around. Luckily, the DAD Fund purchased a beautiful white van, which we named Padre (Dad in Spanish), for us interns to use during our stay here. It has made life a lot easier on us, as well as Mrs. Barends car, which unfortunately doesn’t have a cool name like Padre. We have some big plans for Padre, which I’m not sure he knows of yet, like traveling to Cape Town, Kruger National Park, and some out of country trips. After some servicing, Padre will soon conquer the roads and our long excursions ahead! Cradle of Humankind Africa is known for having the origins of humans and we were able to visit one of the sights, known as the Cradle of Humankind. Jake, Cedric, Ezlyn, Carmelita, and I visited a museum in Maropeng, which is built into a large hill. The first part of the museum takes you on a boat ride, almost like something right out of Disneyland, showing you the different phases that the earth as gone through during its billions of years of existence. After that, you spend the rest of your time in the museum reading material, doing hands-on activities, and experiencing what our world has gone through in regards to evolution. It’s an experience that is fitting while in Africa, and one that I’m glad I got to experience.

Date of Posting: 28 July 2011
Posted By: S Futterman

Hanging Out, Soweto Style Soweto was not what I thought it would be, if one can even fathom what is inside one of the largest townships in the world. We started off the tour visiting the Apartheid Museum, walking through a collage of South Africa’s recent history in the making. Then straight from museum photos to real life, we visited Nelson Mandela’s first house in Soweto and stepped as close to his footsteps as we could get. Afterward, we were off to Wandi’s restaurant, where we were eating pap and mashed potatoes, and scribbling our names on the walls amongst the thousands of people from all over the world who had eaten there and also left their mark. But these were only the precursors to an evening full of partying, Soweto style. Our friend Zuke, took us first to chill at a place called Sakhumzi, which means “building a home” and then took us on to meet the locals. We ended up dancing amidst people, both old and young, houses, built of strong brinks and aluminium siding, and it was right in the heat of it that we got a little taste of Soweto. One Always Takes You to Town I usually get to know a city by aimlessly wandering the streets, riding the public transport and eating what the locals eat (vegetarian of course). But Johannesburg, known as Jozi by loving locals, is not your average city. Amongst the little I knew of the town, a trip to downtown and back is not just like jumping on your friendly neighbourhood bus. And so, after an afternoon walking around Melville, a hip and college –friendly area filled with cafes, comic book stores, and little bars, we were ready for a little more adventure, Jozi style. As we stood on the side of the road where little white buses filled to the brim whizzed past us, we timidly held out a number one hand signal , the sign to take us to the real down town. One of the little buses, also known as taxis, screeched to a halt and as I uttered “here we go,” we climbed into the front seat. I am not sure if the driver even told us we were going to town as he barely even looked at the two nervous American girls sitting right next to his stick shift, but soon enough we were bypassing streets of people walking with bags on their heads, graffiti-lined buildings and quite a commotion of people. As we slowed into town, we were quickly fascinated by all of the little items sold at the flea market: earrings and African drawings, long-stringed instruments and lots and lots of plastic sunglasses from the 80s. When it was finally time to go home, we had one last whirlwind adventure through Taxiland again, but eventually were shuttled off back into the direction of where we stay. From this wild adventure through Joburg I learned a few things: if you need a dose of hipness hit up Melville, always look like you know where you are going (even if you do not), and one will always take you to town.

Date of Posting: 28 July 2011
Posted By: Natasha Majewski

"I've traveled the world and I've been part of massive sports events before, although nothing can compare to my experience in SA. The World Cup is by far one of the craziest memories of my life. I was able to learn tremendously during my internship which allowed me to gain real PR experience, but most of all I learned something called humanity. Have you ever been surrounded by thousands of people from a different culture, language, status or skin color ALL cheering and supporting the same thing? Well I have; it's thrilling. Even if it was not easy everyday because we were in a different country with no idea of what to expect, I must say that I would do it over and over again if I could." 2010 World Cup Intern from France

Date of Posting: 28 July 2011
Posted By: Karen Tshimanga

Sun City: Within hours of stepping off the plane in Johannesburg, South Africa I was already in a car on the way to my first holiday, or vacation, as we call it in the States. After only an hour and a half of driving we arrived at a place called Sun City. I was told that it was a water park, but upon arrival I realized that it was much more than that. Walking out of the hot sun and into the first building the vibe became very reminiscent of Las Vegas with the clinging of slot machines all around. When you walked through the casino and stepped once again out into the sunshine it was like being taken into another world. Built by the same man who built the Atlantis in the Bahamas, Sun City is its own tropical paradise with a man made beach looking out onto a wave pool, and surrounded by water slides. It provided hours of fun and even though I was still feeling a little jet lagged, getting right into my South African experience helped me to quickly adjust to the time difference. Driving back from Sun City was also an adventure in itself. I had heard that South Africa has tons of lightning storms, but until you experience the quick change in weather and the frightening yet beautiful lightning there are no words to truly describe it. New Forrest Farm, Midlands “We are going to the farm.” When I heard this I was not quite sure what was in store for the weekend, but I knew it would involve cows. Driving into the night we left Johannesburg and headed to a place called the Midlands. The fun started about two and a half hours into the trip when we stopped at a rest stop and ran over to trampolines to have a little jump break. We all took turns jumping about and taking pictures. By the time we got close to the farm it was pitch black outside and seemed as if every single star was out. Driving down a bumpy dirty road, Amanda awoke from a nap and exclaimed that the grass was taller than she was, which made everyone who was awake laugh. We all settled in to our rooms and headed outside for a late night braai (barbeque). It was not until the next morning that we all realized just how beautiful our surroundings were; rivers, mountains and fields surrounded us and on the farm itself there were horses, cows, chickens, ducks and the rooster that woke us up daily. We were able to explore our surroundings through hiking, horse back riding, and 4 x 4 driving. The second night we ate a potjie, which is a dish cooked in a large pot over fire, and it was absolutely delicious. The highlight of the trip for me came on the second day when at seven in the morning five of us squeezed in to the 4 x 4 to go take pictures of a baby horse taking its first steps. Horse back riding and walking to a waterfall, as well as a relaxing picnic by the lake, were other activities that occupied our days. The farm turned out to be much more than just cows, even though there were still plenty of them.

Date of Posting: 07 July 2011
Posted By: Natalie Helms