After a four day break in Sabie we headed to Johannesburg for history and culture lectures.We visited Constitutional Hill, the Orient Museum, and the apartheid museum.Constitution Hill was a jail used during the apartheid up until the 80s.The racism is apparent even in the prison.The black men's conditions were the worst.We heard horror stories of how the white wardens treated the black inmates, and even how terrible the black wardens were treated.It was also a time where people were jailed for committing no crime.For example one story I read a black woman had left to buy fish at a nicer market.She didn't have a pass for that area so she was arrested.She said that every time they left the house she would say if i'm not back check for me in section 4.This gave us a bit more detail on life during the apartheid.The apartheid museum was a rude awakening especially for the Americans who had not heard much about it.Before entering a museum you were handed a card that said either black or white and you had to go in a door labelled with the same race on the card you were given.Just being separated from our friends for a minute made us all realize the severity of the situation and helped put me in the mindset to really think about life during the apartheid.We spent about 3 hours in the museum reading personal accounts and newspaper articles on the harsh reality of life during the apartheid.After the museum we went to a nice restaurant called Moyo for dinner and then went to a play.The play was interesting and had a few different mediums including actors, a cartoon, and puppets.It was quite depressing but entertaining.We were able to walk around University of Witwatersrand and find internet for a bit to communicate with the outside world. At Wits we had focus groups to discuss the museums.It was really interesting hearing my South African friends talk about their experiences with the apartheid or how they felt after being at the museum.None of them had much personal information because their parents would not talk about it.I learned a lot from seeing the museum and reflecting on it.The focus groups concluded our history and culture lessons in Joburg and we then got to enjoy the city.The last night in Joburg we went to a mall where we went shopping, had dinner at a great Italian restaurant and had a few drinks at the bar.After the mall we played pool at the backpackers.The next morning we headed to Capetown for a quick two day visit.The first day we went to a cafe in the mall and headed to Front Street.It was Saturday though and they had closed by the time we got there.That night we went out for sushi and drinks with Rheinhardt and his friends.We bar hopped and got a taste of life for UCT students.The following day we went to Robben Island where Mandela was in prison along with other black male political prisoners.We were given a tour by an ex prisoner who told us of the terrible conditions and treatment him and many other prisoners experienced for so many years.In the end he explained that he and the other prisoners had vowed to leave the past years behind.Thus he stays on the island and has befriended the prison guards for the way they treated him.He explained that in order to put the past behind him he must set an example and completely forgive everyone involved at Robben Island.After Robben Island we went to Kirstenbosche botanical garden where we heard Karen Zoid, a popular aafrikans singer play live music.We all brought wine and snacks and sat on the lawn overlooking beautiful mountains while listening to South African pop rock.. what an experience.After this we went to dinner and headed out to the bar where our friends were waiting.We hung out and danced all night.The next morning we woke up and headed to De Hoop... (see next entry)