One week in, I'm hooked

I don't think I want to come home. Just kidding, but really this is a trip of a lifetime. I have been here for a week and a day and my experience; so far has been indescribable, since I last left a post I have done so much that I know will affect me forever. First of all I went to the apartheid museum, and I will never be the same again. The place is the deepest, most emotional museum I have ever attended. For those of you who do not know, Apartheid is the time when south africans were still being oppressed by the white africaaners (that is what white people are called here) who are Dutch and English decent. The south African africaaner government was terrible, if you have ever seen district 9, it was like that, except worse because these were people. They made laws banishing the black south africans to townships, which still to this day are the poorest, most dangerous areas. The saddest part is that apartheid ended only sixteen years ago, that means I was alive while an atrocity like this was occurring. I nearly was in tears walking around this museum surrounded by school kids learning about their history that they were lucky to have missed. The next day we went to soweto. Soweto is the largest township in all of johannesburg, housing near 3 million people alone and it has one of the most historically important streets in the world for it is the only street to have 2 Nobel peace prize winners. Both Nelson Mandela and bishop Desmond Tutu grew up and lived in soweto on the same street, I was lucky enough to be able to visit their houses and then the hector pieterson museum which my foster father built and I will speak more about him later. Hector pieterson was a thirteen year old boy who was shot in the street in Soweto by the police during apartheid, the cops had no reason, hector was simply crossing the road with his brother and sister. His death was captured in a photo which has become very famous, and it threw gasoline on a burning anti- apartheid movement. On Sunday we went to the lion and rhino park, it is exactly what it sounds like. We went to a place where you drive in a windowless truck and look for lions, rhinos, cheetas, wild dogs (not strays, wild), and other animals. It was neat because we arrived just in time to watch them all being fed. Mom, they are not in cages haha. Then I got to play with baby lions and it was so much fun, for three dollars we got to go into the cages and play with cute, fluffy, playful lion cubs.
I found out what I will be doing while I am here this week. For all who do not know, I am on an internship working the 2010 FIFA world cup. I will be working on p.r and hospitality. This is awesome news because I will be writing press releases following each game, this means that for work I have to watch all the games and then write a 200 word blurb about it. Along with this I am doing hospitality,this is also sweet because I will be living in a hotel basically catering to high end clientele, with this I have to escort them to all of the games getting a free ticket in the process.
Ok so back to my foster father, he is incredible. He has done so much for himself and the country of south Africa. He began by selling sandwiches out of the back of a car, and has built himself and his business, he now owns one of the largest sports advertising agency in south Africa. He has a ton of money, and gives a ton of money. He started the DAD fund many years back which is the organization I am working for. It helps orphans by paying for them to go to school all the way through college. In 1998 he was asked by Nelson Mandela himself to renovate his home in soweto and make it into a tourist spot, all proceeds going to the people of the township of course. He then was asked to build the hector pieterson museum, which is basically a museum dedicated to Mandela. Mandela asked him to build this as well.

Ok so I am tired and going to sleep, mom I will send you the address for here to send a camera. I love you all and hope you will have a good week, I know I will.


Word of the week- booboozela ( the horn they blow at soccer games in s.a)