Vacancy

I am listening to Neil Young while riding across the Eastern province. In the same way that hotdogs and hamburgers taste better when cooked over a camp fire, Neil young sounds better as a soundtrack to this beautiful drive. His voice sounds sadder and of course, this I like.

Tiffany has arrived but her bags have not yet. They shou8ld get in tomorrow. Fortunately, the hostel that we were recommended to has not only been helpful, but an experience all its own. The owners are Bruce and Gerdie, two beautiful people that are eager to both accommodate us and shoot the breeze over a bottle of wine. Or in their cases, 3 bottles of wine. And as is always the case, wine opens the heart and the mouth.

After several enjoyable hours of what would seem to like small talk amongst old friends, the wine drove the conversation to more personal matters. Africa, apartheid, race, poverty, pessimism, and the more ambiguous points of life. Bruce has lived in South Africa his entire life and worked as a transportation engineer for 38 years. He has seen a lot of things happen in his country throughout the years. Undeniably, he is pessimistic about the future.

For most, the conversation would become uncomfortable. Bruce has some interesting perspectives, some which I strongly disagree with. The wine provides a great deal of political incorrectness.

But I like Bruce. And I respect him. And I can tell that he feels the same way about me. And I believe that he has a good heart. But anyone that has grown up in South Africa, in Johannesburg (Jozzie) for the last 50 years will have a different perspective than my own. Tonight, for the first time, I get to listen to this perspective.

And after a trip to the moving museum of Apartheid, and a terrifying drive through central Jozzie...

Gerdie wanted to show us the "real" Jozzie and so after picking us up from the museum she drove us through central Jozzie. Explaining that through the apartheid years, downtown (or central) Jo'berg was a beautiful metropolis. Business was booming, and the city was decorated with wonderful architecture. From the highway, this is still the impression you get. Come closer and notice that the buildings and skyscrapers are all abandoned.

Jo'berg is bigger than downtown Los Angeles. Imagine that every building is vacant. Most with broken windows and boards to patch vandalisms. The only space that is used is the ground floor of each building.

After apartheid the city was invaded by thieves, drug dealers and violence. The city became too dangerous and the businesses vacated the buildings. Today the city is lawless. The police don't venture into the center. It is too dangerous for them. Gerdie locks the doors as we begin to drive through. We are the only white people in sight. The street is flooded with people. One guy looks like he is seriously ill. He eyes are car suspiciously. The street backs up. Something is going on. What are we waiting for for so long? Finally we see. In front of us, some thugs demand payment from a car with out of town license plates. Refusal to pay will result in smashing the windows. We spend nearly 20 terrifying minutes downtown.

... I can start to understand the thoughts and feelings that Bruce has. He is not a racist or a jerk. But he knows that there are terrible truths about the state of South Africa. Apartheid, and every form of segregation, is shameful. But the end of apartheid has only brought on a new set of challenges.

From the beginning of this trip I have noticed something troublesome about this country. From a distance, this country is like Jo'berg central. It would seem that a mix of cultures and a good infrastructure would make for a wonderfully diverse place. But come closer and I see that there is a lot of things that divide the people here. Racism, prejudice and suffering plagues this country. I would love to believe that the end of apartheid is some huge milestone for this country. And it is. But there are growing prejudices and concerns over the direction that this country is going.

My head is very full. I will need a very long time to sort out my thoughts. It is made even more difficult by the violent images that we are confronted with on the drive to Nelspruit. A minibus taxi smashed to pieces. A dead body lying on the ground. Our shuttle (first class) follows the ambulance for 15 minutes. The injured must surely be suffering unimaginably. So many people in this country that suffer, denied the most basic human rights.

Don't expect an update from me for a while. I will be "in the bush" for a week. But great photos are soon to follow. We are headed into Kruger park with a German couple that we met in Lesotho.

Footnotes: We saw a herd of Zebras on the way up. Nathan and I saw a bunch of monkeys. They were awesome.