Weekend Wrap up: Science and Cocktails and Soweto Adventures

As I'm nearing the final count down this week has been a week of more "lasts" and a mad dash to pack. There's been quite a lot of tears and almost tears as I swing between missing my husband and wanting to teleport home and wanting to stay in my new home.

I had two great adventures this week as I begin to tie it all up here.

Cosmos Cocktail

My last Science and Cocktails at the Orbit.   I absolutely LOVE this monthly event and wish I could figure out a way to bring it to Chicago.  Do I have any readers with University affiliations that could help me make this happen (direct message me!).    The event is hosted at a jazz club once a month with a different science topic.   A professor or two gives a lecture, while the crowd sips bubbly science themed cocktails.  The lecture is followed by jazz.    This weeks lecture  was on the Cosmos and Project Spider and was given by  Dr. Cynthia Chiang. The project had UIUC affiliation. Go Illini!! It was both interesting and entertaining and at a level I could follow.  I'm also excited that I've now turned friends onto the event.  

After a little jazz it was off to Mash for a farewell party with the finance and marketing teams.  Time ran away from me again and before we knew it, it was three AM.  Oops.

I look like such a creeper.

So I was a little tired when my friend picked me up at 9am to celebrate Freedom Day by touring Soweto.  Freedom Day celebrates the first day all Africans were allowed to vote in the elections.

We first drove through the township avoiding the cows, chickens and goats in the road.  My friend is awesome, she kept pulling over so I could be a tourist and take pictures.

hey random goat

We headed to the Hector Pieterson museum first to visit a vendor that my friend regularly buys from that  sells beautiful traditional jewelry. I bought way too much but she had some beautiful and unique pieces.  

Next it was to the museum itself where we took a guided tour of the outside and learned the history and significance before doing a self guided tour of the inside.  The museum commemorates the Soweto Uprising where students marched in protest of unfair school laws. As they approached the site in which the museum now stands police opened fire on the children, killing at least 146, but some sources cite up to 700, including Hector.  His picture of being carried out with his sister at his side made international news and marked a turning point in the apartheid struggle.  It was an emotional experience and I cried.  

Next it was off to Soweto theater to see Africa Umoja- the Spirit of Togetherness.  It was amazing!   It told the history of South Africans in dance and song... starting with traditional tribal dance and coming to present.   The crowd interacted cheering and shouting and clapping.  You could just feel the energy and excitement vibrate through the room.  I'm so lucky that there was a performance in Joburg before I left. I'll be checking their website often, in anticipation of their USA tour dates.   Although I'm sure it will cause me to miss Africa and I'll cry the whole time and I'm sure it will be a completely different experience than seeing it in Soweto on Freedom Day.

good advice

Our next stop was Vilakazi street in search of a shebeen.   We asked around at the vendor stands and found the Shack. While the Shack is traditional Shebeen, they must get a lot of tourists (although I was the only one at the time)... it even has its own Facebook page. We asked for  umqombothi, or traditional beer and received a whole demonstration and history lesson.  The beer is made from sorghum and maize and is low alcohol and though to have all kinds of healing properties including fertility (South African Viagra). It is served in a large clay pot which is passed around and shared. My friend said she drank a lot of this in her varsity days.  Everyone kept asking me what I thought (I don't think many people actually drink it anymore).  I actually quite liked it... I like sour, unfiltered styles of beer.   We took our pot into the main room to chat with the locals. They told us stories of the neighborhood and growing up in Soweto and my friend shared her stories of village life.  We finished up the night with dinner at Skaumzi.  We both got the buffet this time.  It was okay, but not really worth the high price tag, especially for me, being a vegetarian.  The service was much better than the last time though... probably because one of our new shebeen friends is friends with the owner.  The night ended with a quick stop a Shova, the art gallery across the street.  The manager's selling point was "I just sold one of these to Tiesto...you can have the same art as Tiesto!!"  Um.  No thanks.

I finished up the week by hopping on a plane to Zambia!

Look for my travel blog on Zambia, Botswana and Zimbawe coming soon! 

Bob update-

So I had a scare on Thursday where Bob was happily munching away one minute and then gone the next.  I searched the flowers and surrounding areas but no Bob.  I figured he ran away.   In the morning there he was perched right on top on a flower!  Silly Bob!