Joburg

For our second day in Joburg we did another tour of Soweto, but we went into Kliptown, the notoriously poor area of the township.  For this tour, we got to get off the bus and were led around by one of the residents of Kliptown, which I found to be far better than just driving around in the bus looking through the windows.  We got a much more intimate experience since we were able to talk to people and walk into their homes.  The poverty was staggering.  Raw sewage ran through the streets, bathrooms were limited, every metal surface was thoroughly rusted and in bad condition.  Made me think about what kids do to entertain themselves, bc the shacks (mcoocoo in Zulu) were so closely together that there were no open areas for kids to play.  And I would guess that none of them got tetanus shots since those would be a luxury, so I can only imagine the kids running around and cutting themselves on rusted metal.  So we continued on our tour and talk to anyone that was walking around.  At one point, we stopped at this station called "The Kitchen" where people set up grills to cook meat and serve those that couldn't afford their own food.  On the menu: Cow intestines.  Yup, I actually tried it.  I think I was the only person who that it was delicious (at least the first piece- when I went back for seconds it didn't taste so great).  But it was a great experience, and I tried something new.  Also when I was at my Soweto homestay, I tried sheep meat and chicken hearts.  They gave me chicken feet but I couldn't get up the courage to eat it.  Baby steps.