Week 1 In Johannesburg

For the first two weeks of our course we will be studying the city of Johannesburg. While we are not staying directly in the city, we will be residing in a suburb close by. Previous to our departure we were able to meet our group members and discuss the places and topics that would be discussed during our time in South Africa. In the buildup to our trip I made it a priority not to make assumptions or preconceived notions about South Africa. Often, African countries are grouped together and assumed to have the same trials and tribulations, which is far from true. I kept an open mind and didn’t know what to expect due to this dialogue being my first time traveling abroad. However, once arriving, I was amazed by the large amount of friendliness that was directed towards us. In addition, I was proud to be in the presence of so many black people, because at home I rarely have the opportunity to be embedded in such a strong black community.
Upon our arrival we met the tour guide that would serve as our main source of information during our time in Johannesburg. Right away he was sharing cultural and societal information to give us background information for the many topics we would be addressing in the following weeks. Several things he told us were very interesting to me though. The first being that the country has 11 official languages, as well as other languages and dialects that were not included. This surprised me due to the large amount of english that was marked on signs and spoken by the people we had interacted with so far. He also discussed how amazing the city was, regardless of the negative connotations often connected to city life. His willingness to help us with concepts and questions, in a personal or group session, showed me the sense of community that many residents of Johannesburg, and South Africa have. The excitement of the first night alone has me looking forward to the rest of our time here and the relationships that we will gain from this experience.