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!

Weekend Wrap Up: OMG only 2 weeks left

hike awesomeness

ACK!   This is my last full weekend in Joburg.   I'm alternating between being so sad that I'm crying in the back of my Uber and being almost  kind of ready to start the next exciting chapter of my life.   I've been living it up, trying to get in as much friend-time as possible and trying to do all my favorite things one last time until next time.

Dark team lunch pic.

My mentor and I.  Sniff.

This week we had a little combo work going away party/ groom's party at the restaurant in our office park which was fun and incredibly thoughtful.   My mentor gave me a sparkly journal with a back-story about my professional development that made me a little teary eyed.   She also gave me a cat bag... she knows me too well.  My co-workers also picked out a super cool red African influenced purse that perfectly matches my red power pumps.  Score.

Cat bag!!!!

 Then began a string of "lasts".

Pre-crowds at the night market

My last night market at the Full Moon Market with my friend and her man.  The full moon market is a smaller version of the Art on Main Market that is held on Sundays in Maboneng.   Maboneng is my absolute favorite area of the city.   It's an up and coming area that so many art galleries and public graffiti/murals and craft breweries and cafes, all while still keeping it's grit and urban-ness.  The garden and hall is open on night market days and is packed with unique food vendors.  I knew I was coming back on Sunday, so we just relaxed on the roof top patio with cocktails, people watching and listening to the latin music of the salsa night.

Jozie skyline from top of the hike

There's animals down there!

Saturday brought my last hike with my hiking group at Klipriviersberg Nature Reserve.    The beginning of the 9k (a little less that 6 miles) hike was a real challenge.   It was rocky and at a sharp incline.   We were also going at a pace that made me start to believe that I might be asthmatic.  Our hike leader this round was an incredibly fit, no-bull shit drill sergeant who had us going at a near jog and kept shouting "you are all lazy.  push harder.  this is not a picture taking hike".    It got easier once we got to the top and she seemed to back off a bit after our lunch break.   She even let us stop to watch the zebras and the wildebeest.   (Last random hike zebra.  sniff).  Our group was fantastic this hike (it's never not) and we had great conversations.   Even more sadness that there isn't more time to hang with my new friends.    

My last time having Hipster cocktails in jars Bryanston.

I did sneak in one new friend drink night, with a brand new expat from Belgium, who is also doing a 6 month stint.   The ladies I met suggested drinks at The Social on Main in Bryanston, which is a very hipster craft cocktail  bar near Sandton.   There's cocktails in jars.  The girls ended up bailing, but it was fun sharing all my stories and advice and in return learning a whole lot about Brussels and EU politics.   It's a rare occasion that I actually feel smarter when I leave a bar.

Market on Main

Today I was supposed to go eat waffles with co-workers at a market next to my favorite hiking spot, but its over an hour drive each way, so I wasn't particularly feeling it because my priority was to make it to my favorite spot one last time for one last Arts on Main. (until I come back, of course).  


 It was the right decision.  I had a fantastic afternoon... the weather was perfect- warm and sunny, the market was packed and vibrant.  I ate lunch (my last Durban bunny chow)  with an older women and her two grown children and they told me all about township wedding traditions  (they were hunting down some needed items for an upcoming wedding).

Bunny Chow

Street Art Vendors

I wandered around all the galleries and vendors sipping on craft brews from Smack Republic Brewery , this little microbrewery that's tucked in between the galleries.  After a very long texting session with Phil, we decided on 2 prints from Iwasshot in Joburg :).  Iwasshot is an organization that gives street kids disposable cameras to photograph street art in order to generate an income and get them off the street.  They also have a gallery, a work shop and a skills development lab.   Pretty rad.

New canvas art for the "Africa" shelf

A main part of the market is roof top salsa.   I met the gentleman, Sam, who founded Rooftop salsa 4 years ago.   He is a retired journalist from the US.  He came to South Africa 14 years ago on assignment and never left.    I feel you, Sam.  Having to leave Jozie is breaking my heart.  Jozie you have official beat Tokyo as my favorite city that is not Chicago.

Gallery Beer 

And because you were all wondering... Bob is doing wonderful.  We had a little scare this week, where he stopped eating and got very pale, but he's back to snacking on his flowers  and his color has come back.    He currently likes hanging upside down, pooping a lot, inching between flowers.  He dislikes flowers that are not Gerber Daisies and being interrupted from naps.     Speaking of Gerber Daisies I need to find more ASAP.   He's destroying the two I have left and the flower market didn't have any in stock this weekend.   The red flowers that sort of kind of look like daisies aren't cutting it.

Bob