After two long days of travel, we're here.

A group of 10 travelled together- as someone said we're already "best friends" thanks to lots of getting-to-know-you time during 10 hours layover in Frankfurt. We arrived in Joburg tired and hungry, and nonetheless ready for anything. Another group already at the hotel had organized a tour of Soweto township, so after a quick lunch, off we went. It was a pretty overwhelming day- hard to process. How do you think about all that sprawling squalor, undoubtedly a true picture of the daily lives of many of the ~30,000 inhabitants, shown to us by an articulate young guide, in a somewhat staged setting. But the standpipe for water for each section, and the smelly portable toilets were authentic. Being there was uncomfortable for more than one reason. The hopeful aspect for me was that our young guide represented a community group who use the money generated by what some are calling "poverty tourism" to get local kids to school and provide food as needed.



The Soweto visit included a tour of Nelson Mandela's home, now a well-organized museum, with another excellent guide. Photos, quotations, bullet holes in the ceiling.



Lots of random impressions- the hotel is buzzing with sophistocated, articulate, thoughtful women who have found a "calling" as social justice activists - what ever happened to Little Old Ladies- none of them here.... Just Wise Old(er) Women.