Postcards from South Africa: 02.19.11

Braaaai!!!

We celebrated the end of the week with our two Dutch flatmates, Maarten and Wietse (I've been trying to get that 2nd name right for two weeks now...), by braaing in the backyard. Our hosts have two braai pits, and Drew enjoyed doing things the South African way--warming the coals in a tin can and then spreading them out into the stone enclosure. We've been eating a lot of mutton, which is very popular here, and we absolutely love it. This here might be the longest (mutton) sausage we've ever worked with. It pretty much took up the entire grill.


Have we mentioned how much we love our Dutch flatmates? Laughter is never far away.


Happy Friday!

Postcards from South Africa: 02.18.11

After all I've learned about the role of communist ideals in shaping the anti-apartheid movement back in the 1970-80s, the spray paint I noticed on this house seemed photo worthy.

Postcards from South Africa: 02.17.11

The dirty remains of mining in South Africa. Gold, platinum, diamonds -- you name it, it's been tapped here in SA. This leave drinking water polluted, soil stripped, the earth eroded and piles of dirt visually polluting the African landscape. This mining mount is located just outside of Joburg, but they're everywhere. The government has been slowly trying to re-disseminate the earth and flatten these piles, but there's no doubt that it'll take ages.

Postcards from South Africa: 02.16.11

Can you believe how almost caught up I am, here? Fortunately, Drew's been fast asleep for the past hour and I'm making good progress.

A friend reminded me that we hadn't yet posted a photo of the house we're staying at (which happens to be at the intersection of "E. 6th and Why St"). The buzzer to the house reads "Why not?" Cute, no?


Our flat is the small building on the right--I believe you can just see the roof, here. There's where we are most days, typing and reading away! Unless we're up sipping espresso at our nearby cafe...

Postcards from South Africa: 02.15.11

Picnic at the Union.

Postcards from South Africa: 02.14.11

Goodbye, Dierk! Our German flatmate went back to Germany, and a few days later we welcomed two new flatmates from the Netherlands. Here, a photo of a braai we enjoyed with the Steyns as a goodbye to Dierk.

Postcards from South Africa: 02.13.11

A palm tree? Exciting, you say. But no. It's a cell phone tower.

Postcards from South Africa: 02.12.11

The last post of our "Johannesburg week" fittingly ends with the site that housed the celebration of the demise of Apartheid -- as signaled by Nelson Mandela's release from prison: the Orlando Stadium. The Apartheid Museum described this as the site where the black african community crowned Mandela as their king. A few years later, he was crowned as the national king -- the first black president of an African nation that is almost 80% comprised of black South Africans.

Postcards from South Africa: 02.11.11

And speaking of Orlando West High School... here you go!

Postcards from South Africa: 02.10.11

This episode of Postcards from the Straits is dedicated to Nelson Mandela!


As we've mentioned, Mandela and Desmond Tutu lived on the same street in the township of Soweto, just outside of Johannesburg and only a few houses away from the West Orlando High School, where many say that the anti-Apartheid movement was born. Although Tutu's house is still his residence, Mandela's was given to the public to serve as a museum by his ex-wife, Winnie Mandela (Mandela married the former first lady of Mozambique just prior to his inauguration, Graca Machel--the only woman to serve as the first lady of two different countries).

Drew and I went on a tour of the house--all three tiny rooms of it! It was powerful for us to be part of a group of people who truly love this man and appreciate all he's done for this country. Members of our small group came from Nigeria, Lesotho, South Africa and England. When we said we were from Chicago, everyone seemed to think that meant Canada... so we were the token "Canadians." This made it very interesting when the topic of the States came up--and George Bush refusing to apologize to Mandela, after his inauguration to the Presidency and the ban on Apartheid, for the U.S. C.I.A.'s revealing his hiding location to the Apartheid government, which then imprisoned him on Robin Island. As it turns out, the governor of Michigan at that time initiated a movement for all of the governors from each of the 50 states to sign an official apology, in spite of President Bush's refusal.

Postcards from South Africa: 02.09.11

After our time at the Apartheid Museum our brains were very full and we needed some time to decompress. Thank God for GPS as we were able to drive straight to "Wandies," a famous African restaurant in the heart of the historic township of Soweto. When we walked in we assumed we would order off a menu, but no, Wandies is all about go big or go home. The waiter kindly guided us around the corner and showed us the 'all you can eat' buffet full of South African specialties such as pap (special corn mash) and delicious meats including mutton and the famous sausage called Boerewors. The food was delicious. You will notice that the walls are covered in people's business cards from all over the world. Many famous people have dined here including the Clintons and Evander Holyfield.

Postcards from South Africa: 02.08.11

Just another quick peak at the Apartheid Museum. The entry is striking, with very tall cement pillars, one for each pillar of the constitution. We took a photo of each pillar, but with our slow internet connection it'd likely take me the rest of the week to get them all uploaded here. Regardless, you can read about the pillars, below.

Postcards from South Africa: 02.07.11

Happy, happy birthday to my dear husband, best friend and advocate: Drew Jacobson Strait! We enjoyed a relaxing day, begun with espresso and pastries at our favorite cafe (Drew says they have better espresso even that Peet's... can you believe it?) and ended the day with a Braai put on by our hosts.

Here is a shot of Drew with his advisor, Professor Geyrt Stein. They are posing with Drew's favorite birthday cake, the traditional "Debbie Strait Ice Cream Pie."

Enough candles, you think?

Postcards from South Africa: 02.05.11 & 02.06.11

More specifically, Postcards from Johannesburg. Drew and I rented our host's car for the weekend of his birthday to drive to Johannesburg and its nearby township, Soweto. We visited the Apartheid Museum, which took about 3-4 hours to tour, and we felt so honored to have the experience to absorb this country's history in that intimate and artistic environment. After that, we drove to the township (Soweto) where Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu lived (Tutu still calls that same house home when in Joburg). Believe it or not, they lived just a few houses apart--on the same street. I'm pretty sure that this is the only place in the world where two Nobel Peace Prize winners lived on the same street! We ate at a very famous black African restaurant in the township (a "shebeen") named Wandie's, and then ventured over to tour Mandela's former house and to walk by the high school where many say that the anti-Apartheid movement really began: Orlando West High School. It was here that students began protesting being educated in Afrikaans, as it was such a road block to their learning (learning to read in a foreign language you do not yet speak? no thank you!!). We ended the day by driving through Johannesburg, right into the downtown area.

Our experience was so very rich, I feel it would sound trite to try to explain much here. I've had a fascination with South Africa's history since 1999, when I wrote my first college paper on Apartheid and Mandela, but I never dreamed I would actually have the chance to see the sites I had studied first hand.

We are very, very, very very blessed to be doing this and this weekend we were moved to tears by what we learned about South Africa's history. What is most moving to us is how peaceful the transition was, and the how far the country has come in just a short time (Apartheid officially ended in 1994). There is much that we U.S. Americans can learn from South Africa.

Of course, we took a lot of photos this weekend and it is hard to choose just a few, so we are calling this "Apartheid Museum & Soweto Week" (plus perhaps a wee bit of Drew's birthday). Enjoy!

02.05.11 -- The entry to the Apartheid Museum. The tickets are randomly printed with white or blacks/coloreds, and you are required to enter through your respective category's door. I was black and Drew was white -- and as you might anticipate, we had very different experiences!


02.06.11 -- A rock carving by tribal Africans during the early days of colonialism. All of the art displayed depicted the early European settlers as gun-toting.

Postcards from South Africa: 02.03.11 & 02.04.11

The 3rd and 4th of February are dedicated to one of my favorite topics: animals!

If you look carefully, you'll see round little nests with holes underneath. These nests house the brightest of yellow birds. The male builds the nest, spending days to complete just one. When he has finished, the female comes to inspect. From what we've learned, the first and second nests are rarely up to snuff. In this case, the female demolishes the nest, flies away and the male must begin anew.


This kitty didn't blink an eye when we rattled the Coca Cola machine (Coke Light! Or Coke made with real sugar...! How can we resist?). I reaaaally wanted to pet her but Drew warned me that it might not be a good idea (though stray animals aren't common--South Africans love their pets).