This past weekend, the program I am here with (ACM) loaded up the bus and took all 22 of us to Johannesburg for the weekend.  We made it to Soweto Friday evening and stayed in  a very nice backpackers place there.  Saturday we went on a four hour bike trip through Soweto.  The concept of a bike tour through a place like Soweto was initially off putting, but it turned out very well.  The guides were knowledgeable and the tour was well done.  We were able to cover a lot of ground in Soweto and saw areas ranging from the most destitute to middle class.  We also saw the site of the 1976 Soweto uprising, and Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu’s houses, as well as sampling local Soweto beer and grilled cow face, which is apparently a thing.  Most of the day after the tour was spent sitting around comparing sunburns. 

Sunday we went to the Apartheid Museum, conveniently located in the same compound as a casino and amusement park.  I’m sure Mandela is thrilled about that.  The museum was well done and interesting and clearly designed so that you really had to confront how the system of racial segregation impacted daily life.  However, the museum was also clearly a product of the ANC, who were praised above all and rarely criticized.  The section on Mandela was remarkably rosy and barely glazed over any flaws he might have made in his 50 years in the public eye.  It was very strange being in a country that so clearly worships one individual above all others.  I’m very glad he was dismissed from the hospital while we were there.  Had he died, I’m really not sure what would have happened. 

On the trip back we drove along the outer edge of a game park and got to see our first elephant.  Exciting.