South Africa Travel Journal: God's Window
Johannesburg – the City of Gold On a recent trip to South Africa, I joined a city tour of Johannesburg. We drove past the affluent neighborhood of Houghton to see the house where Nelson Mandela, the South African hero who fought against apartheid, died. We continued on to Soweto to visit Mandela’s old house/museum and the Regina Mundi Catholic Church, one of the main centers of anti-apartheid activism in the 70’s in Soweto. When we arrived in Soweto, we got off the bus only to take pictures of the “Welcome to Soweto” sign but we were not allowed to wander around. I was disappointed but not totally surprised for before going to South Africa, I asked an acquaintance who was then living in Johannesburg if it was safe to visit South Africa. Her reply, “It is easy to get a falsified feeling of security in SA but it’s dangerous!!! I suppose it depends on your comfort level, but one definitely does get a stressful feeling day and night about their safety…better to h...