I haven't been writing very much about work because it is not very exciting. Using a computer, meetings, learning lab techniques. So, travel writing.
Over the weekend I went to visit Waverly in Melville, which is a neighborhood in JoBurg (hi Waverly!). Firstly, I called a cab to pick me up at the compound. Lots of people who live in JoBurg don’t know where Sandringham is. It’s also called “Jewish” because it’s an area where Jewish people live. Cabbies mostly know where Sandringham is, but then they don’t know where the NICD is. There aren’t really address numbers in the area I live, so you can’t locate 1 Modderfontein Rd by trial and error. You have to know where NICD is. So, of course, the cabbie can’t find me and I have to explain things I’m near, like Sandringham HS and the Elfin Lodge (old people home).
Finally, he finds me, and great, we are off to Melville, which is near Witz University (the main university in JoBurg). He must not be very good at being a cabbie because we get comically, comically lost. Literally, driving in circles and stopping over and over to ask people where Melville is. This seems crazy to me, it’s one of the neighborhoods in a city you are a cabbie in. And other people didn’t know either! We passed through the worst area I’ve seen in JoBurg yet, which was fun to see while uneasy in a cab. It may have been Hillbrough, one of the two places you are definitely not supposed to go, ever. Razor wire even more everywhere than normal, people passed out/sleeping in a park, and it just felt dangerous. A ride that should have taken 30 minutes took an hour and a half instead. The cabbie was nice and he really was lost and not doing the scam-the-foreigner routine. He didn’t charge me much more than it should have cost without the impromptu tour of JoBurg (200 rand, rand is 8 to 1 with dollars).
I arrived eventually and met up with Waverly and we went exploring in Melville. We heard so much about how dangerous JoBurg was before leaving that it felt weird for me just to be walking around on the street. Also, I had spent about three weeks in the compound without leaving except to go to the mall a few times, so being outside around people and stores was making me a bit giddy. We wandered around the residential area in Melville while getting slightly lost in search of a café with internet. There was a reverse vampire effect, where we had to be home before the sun went down because I had my laptop with me.
Finally, he finds me, and great, we are off to Melville, which is near Witz University (the main university in JoBurg). He must not be very good at being a cabbie because we get comically, comically lost. Literally, driving in circles and stopping over and over to ask people where Melville is. This seems crazy to me, it’s one of the neighborhoods in a city you are a cabbie in. And other people didn’t know either! We passed through the worst area I’ve seen in JoBurg yet, which was fun to see while uneasy in a cab. It may have been Hillbrough, one of the two places you are definitely not supposed to go, ever. Razor wire even more everywhere than normal, people passed out/sleeping in a park, and it just felt dangerous. A ride that should have taken 30 minutes took an hour and a half instead. The cabbie was nice and he really was lost and not doing the scam-the-foreigner routine. He didn’t charge me much more than it should have cost without the impromptu tour of JoBurg (200 rand, rand is 8 to 1 with dollars).
I arrived eventually and met up with Waverly and we went exploring in Melville. We heard so much about how dangerous JoBurg was before leaving that it felt weird for me just to be walking around on the street. Also, I had spent about three weeks in the compound without leaving except to go to the mall a few times, so being outside around people and stores was making me a bit giddy. We wandered around the residential area in Melville while getting slightly lost in search of a café with internet. There was a reverse vampire effect, where we had to be home before the sun went down because I had my laptop with me.
After dropping off valuables at home we went out to dinner. There are about 7 blocks between the main street Waverly lives near (Main Street) and the night-life street with bars and restaurants we were going to (7th). This is not something I would think twice about in the States, but Waverly and I have to get into an involved discussion about walking 10 minutes at night. How late we should stay out. And what to do if we see people walking towards us or hanging out on the street. And whether we should go on the slightly shorter street or the busier street that is a bit longer. And, etc. (Safety meeting that emphasized how scary foreign countries are, and JoBurg especially, mission accomplished). I got my wallet ready to hand over to a mugger by removing half of the money and my ID.
For dinner we went to a Chinese/sushi place. Things are cheaper in JoBurg so we had a fantastic meal with sushi, multiple courses of Chinese food, beer, desert and tea for about $10 each. We had Windhoek, which I like more than Castle, the main beer in SA. Windhoek is less bitter and a bit sweeter. They are both lagers. Draft beers are about $1.50.
For dinner we went to a Chinese/sushi place. Things are cheaper in JoBurg so we had a fantastic meal with sushi, multiple courses of Chinese food, beer, desert and tea for about $10 each. We had Windhoek, which I like more than Castle, the main beer in SA. Windhoek is less bitter and a bit sweeter. They are both lagers. Draft beers are about $1.50.
After dinner we took a pre-mugging photo so we could have before and after photos if we got mugged. Then we walked around 7th avenue and looked at the bars.
(pre mugging photo)
I liked how Rat’z looked so we went there. It had a great atmosphere; dark lighting, eclectic art on the wall, and good music (US 90’s music ).
It was a bar I would be happy to find in the US. Because I like to be as authentic as possible (and getting drunk in strange and dangerous countries is wise) I had the Melville Rat. Blue curacao, pinapple juice, Malibu, Archers.
Walking back to Waverly’s was a bit tense because it was later (11 pm) and if we were going to be mugged this is when it would happen. We crossed the street at one point because there were two guys ahead, but otherwise it was uneventful. We smelled pot a few times in Melville while walking on that street.
The next day we went to bookstores and ate Indian food for lunch. The Indian food was a disappointment after the Chinese the night before because it didn’t come with a bunch of courses and it wasn’t as delicious. Walking back after lunch I had a moment of disconnect with reality. This was a perfectly normal day to have (book shopping, Indian food) but I am in Africa, and in Johannesburg specifically, which is a completely bizarre place for me to be living. And it still feels completely routine after just a day in Melville. There are kids that hang around the mall begging, but otherwise I could forget I was in a foreign country.
Jeff
p.s. I know some of you don't know Waverly. She is BSHE and doing community research about religion and sex.
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