Am I Saving Elephants yet?

Saturday morning the alarm attached to my wrist interupted my sleep. Huh, i finally noticed my bed was purple. Thats goodluck in my world.

I lay there thinking... in the inbetween time... we all do it.. the time inbetween when you wake up and you actually get out of bed. There was a lot to think about. I am in FreAkIN AfRIcA!?!? popped in to my head a few times.

I stood up for the first time in what felt like a day, and had the swaying feeling in the pit of my stomach like i was standing on a boat but didnt have my sea legs. Later, the dude at the front desk, Peter, told me that it was because the altitude was a mile higher then what I was used to. At least I am a member of one form of the mile high club.

My cousin Jenna recommended a bakery down the street, Fortunos, so I decided to check it out. Apparently they are the best bakery in Joburg. They even had Samosas which reminded me of the Saturday Farmers market in downtown Burlington in the summer..
I tried to order a coffee. The lady asked me what size.. ok normal question.. she asked me what kind... i said hot.. she asked me what kind again... and i said the kind that wakes you up... and i somehow managed to get a coffee... there just may have been pee in it.

I met a girl/lady named Sarah from Melbourne Australie who was taking the same tour to Soweto. We were the only two people on the tour. She chewed my gum. She was stopping in Joburg on enroute to some other african country to teach english to little ones.

There are two huge towers in the middle of Soweto that are made of brick and painted with murals of trees and people playing music. There is a bridge between them where people bungee jump. The tour guide said no locals ever do it and that it is more for tourists. Thank god no one was there to double dog dare me.

Everyday in Soweto they have a farmers market where the women sell jewelry and fruit and the men work on cars. There was a small tent in the middle of it all with a handwritten sign that read "Barber". Inside, an old man held a pair of clippers and little boys lined up down the street.

In the poorest parts of Soweto houses were made with aluminum and patched with newspapers. The only toilets were portopotties in the center. The houses were smaller then my bedroom and housed sometimes more then six people. Women were doing laundry in plastic tubs as we drove by, and young boys were hanging socks to dry on the fences that separated the "houses". Considering the close quarters and the trash infested streets, the people seemed fairly happy. Children kicked a around a deflated soccerball in the streets, and woman sat in circles chatting.

We drove up a few blocks and everything suddenly changed. Men were walking down the streets on their cell phones as we passed BMW's and Mercedes. The roads were clean and the large modern looking houses were protected with gates and security systems. We drove by Nelson Mandela's house, where his xwife Winnie currently resides, and some other nobel peace prize winner (i forget). Then we went to the place where some dude Hector was shot in the face, sparking a huge revolt between the african students and the afrikaan dutch white teachers. Black people couldnt even own land until 1990 when the aparthied ended. Pretty intense. I passed on the Apartheid museum.

After that I needed a beer.

After that I didnt really know what to do with myself so I read outside in the gardens. I catch myself reaching into my pocket to check my phone even though i know its shut off. Other times, I can swear I feel something vibrate. I think its a sign that some one is thinking about me. Cooper?

Can it be tomorrow already? Joburg is cool and all but I can read books out of spite back in Burlington. I am here to hang out with Elephants! LETS DO THIS PEOPLE!!!!