Johannesburg, Joburg or Josi, and Sacred Heart Marist Brothers College

This morning we touched down in Johannesburg aka Jo-burg aka Josi, the final leg of our journey. Our morning began with a lovely 3:00am wake-up call. This was followed by extensive and expensive luggage reorganizing. Needless to say some of you will be receiving wine as souvenirs. The rest of you…well sorry maybe next time.

After piling into a van we were greeted with our first images of Johannesburg, a lawn covered with signs shaped like giant yellow hands, welcoming us from the airport. We really felt like South Africa was opening their arms to us and the world. When we arrived at the retreat house we were welcomed with what we’ve come to know as the typical South African hospitality with plenty of rooibus tea and a delicious breakfast. Then it was on to an official tour of the city courtesy of Darin Nydoo, our tour guide. We climbed 50 floors to take in an aerial view of the city with the help of an elevator of course. Our initial impressions of the city center were that in many ways it was similar to Durban. It is definitely a city with dilapidated buildings along with high rises and street vendors as well as storefront markets.

To get a better taste of what Jo-burg has to offer we ventured out of the city-center into the surrounding suburbs. Here we found signs advertising ADT and electric fences to be extremely prevalent. What struck us was the fact that people in the suburbs have to be just as cautious as people living in the city. Here living outside the city does not offer much protection against crime. Beautiful houses were surrounded by at least 8 ft walls topped in many cases by electric barbed wire. This level of security in some respects seems like it would entice people even more to see what lies behind these walls. For all its flaws though Jo-burg has tangible electricity in the air. It was common for us to hear the familiar echo’s of voovoozella’s coming from all directions.

At the tours end we were able to hear a completely new perspective of Apartheid. Darin, our tour guide, spoke to us from the perspective of a father raising his children in a post-Apartheid era. Here he candidly gave his views about teaching his children about Apartheid and the fact that it is not addressed in the school system. We were once again confronted with the issue of what it means to remember your past, how to reconcile it and the role it plays in the lives of future generations.

We concluded the evening with a welcoming dinner and reception by the Marist brothers school Sacred Heart College. We once again were able to experience the sense of family and community that the Marist brothers all over the world have worked to create. These people welcomed us into their home with a delicious meal while providing us with great conversation only furthering our knowledge and understanding of the many obstacles this nation has strove overcome.

We walked away from today with a better understanding of the divisions that existed so prominently within this society and how through in some ways soccer along with faith in each other has led to uniting a people. Perhaps one day the rest of the world will follow suit. “When I get older I will be stronger they’ll call me freedom just like the waving flag..” Go World Cup 2010!!