Reporting from Johannesburg

Since it is winter here in South Africa, it is generally dark before I get back to the hotel from the office. Therefore, I’ve not been able to take pictures until today. But at Katie’s insistence, I went out and took some pictures today so she and Jess and the kids can see what they have in store for them starting next weekend.

What is Joburg like?

This is a very difficult question for me to answer for a couple of different reasons. The first reason is that I don’t think I have had the pleasure of seeing much of the ‘real’ Joburg. I spend 90% of my time at the hotel or the office. The hotel would lead me to believe that Joburg is populated primarily by Europeans and flight attendants. The office would lead me to believe that it is heavily populated by Indian expats. The second reason is that I suspect that Joburg is a very different place depending upon who you are, where you live, how much you earn, and also what color your skin is.

The Joburg I have been exposed to is most characteristically diverse. When I go shopping, I see many different kinds of people, intermittent, but not so intermingling: blacks, South Africans of Indian descent, Indian expats, Muslims of several nationalities, South Africans of British descent, Afrikaaner (South Africans of Dutch descent) and a smattering of other tourists. Most of them do not seem either friendly or hostiel. They either don’t look at all or simply look at me with a “you’re not from around here, are you?” look.

Downtown Sandton City is certainly one of the more racially diverse places I’ve been. However, Downtown Sandton City is probably the most wealthy borough in all of sub-Saharan Africa. I suspect that outside of Sandton, neighborhoods would become more racially isolated and unique in what people do and how they live. Not far away is Alexandria, a shantytown slum in every sense of the word: extremely poor, dangerous and nearly impossible to escape.

South Africa is 80% black. My census of my little life here would put that number much lower, which indicates that I am not experiencing the “average” South Africa. I am pleased to see them as men and women of status though also recognize that they nearly entirely make up the lower rungs of society as I take note of the maids, drivers, and daylaborers.

Overall, I would compare Joburg to a mishmash of a dirty side of London with a Latin American ghetto, comparing two places I’m familiar with. Sandton feels like London, though not the most pleasant side (complete with driving on the left side of the road), but quickly transitions into very poor areas where people are fortunate if they have running water or electricity. If they do, it is often not legally obtained. I heard this week that the primary telco here spends like $50M/year replacing stolen cable (people pull up the phone lines to sell the copper) and protecting the network.

Here’s a common thing to see, an eight foot wall with electric fence on top. The interesting thing is that this wall separates my hotel from the apartments next door, which are quite nice.



How do I live?

I live in a hotel, which is about the same no matter where you live. Here is a picture of the pool that sits between the building where my room is and the main building with reception and restaurants. It looks much more inviting in a photo than in person. It is winter here and far too chilly to want to go for a dip. I haven’t seen anyone in either of the pools by my room.



However, there is a handcart to pull, Katie. I don’t know why it’s here, but I thought I’d take a picture of it so you could see that we could ask to take it for a pull some Saturday.



This is a picture of the buildings directly across the street from my hotel. You might be able to see the JSE on the building. That stands for Johannesburg Stock Exchange. So apparently I’m living on Wall Street. I find this interesting since if I were to turn left and walk 100 m I could take a picture that would remind you of Saigon – women selling foodstuffs, daylaborers with pickaxes opening up the cobblestone to run fiberoptic cable and civil guards standing duty with a weapon close at hand.



This picture shows that there are indeed places to find clothing in case Katie and Jess accidentally leave something at home. The mall could easily be the Dallas Galleria.



This is a picture of the Sandton City Library, which is adjacent to the mall. Actually the mall is a set of malls – Sandton City, Nelson Mandela Square and Michelangelo Tower, all completely integrated so you never have to go outside. As you can see, the library is large and inviting. I believe it is almost entirely English as well.



This sculpture of Nelson Mandela towers over the plaza from the library and these restaurants line either side of the plaza between them. With some disorientation, this could easily be the Marienplatz in Munich or Kungstradgarden in Stockholm. Notice the water fountains in the middle for children to play in during the summer.



Here’s a smattering of places to eat, showing the diversity of foods here. Pizza for J. Gelato for KT. All should be well.










In the two weeks I have been here I have eaten the following:
• Breakfast in the hotel each day, a very European breakfast – breads, cheese, yogurt & granola, omelettes, crepes (with maple syrup though) and pastries (not all at once)
• Lunch at the café nearly every day – usually either a sandwich or salad; on the weekends I’ve generally eaten at Subway or skipped lunch
• For dinner I’ve tried most of the restaurants nearby
o Thai twice
o Sushi three times
o African
o Middle Eastern twice
o Burgers
o Pizza
o Chicken
o Etc. – the range of ethnic food is very broad

Did I mention Joburg feels European?



These pictures show you what winter is like in Joburg. At night it gets quite chilly, probably around 40. The trees have definitely lost their leaves. However, during the day I can’t wear more than a t-shirt or get too hot. It is still a tropical place, with palm trees and the like. These pictures of the trees were taken from the same place, simply from a different angle.



I have watched the youth a bit at the mall and found two things noteworthy. First, the white kids here seem to be on a Rod Stewart kick. They all seem to have the same floofy 80s do. I feel horrible for them. I’m sure they feel horribly for me, particularly if they’ve seen the picture of me on Katie’s blog. Second, I see large groups of black boys (and men) huddled together pressed up against the mall throughout the mall. These groups appear wherever there is a TV somewhere in a restaurant or store below. There was a soccer game of some significance last week and the mall sounded like a stadium every time there was a big play.



That's about it for today's cultural report. I'm on my way out to get a Rod Stewart do so I can fit in with the locals. I can't wait to see my family next weekend! Cheers!