Dumelang! This is a Sotho greeting that I learned at the homestay I just got back from! I was also given the name Neo while I was there meaning "the gift". I spent only three days with my host family, but it was a fantastic experience and nice to be in the comfort of a family even if it isn't mine. When we got to our home in Ormonde our host-mother, Nthabiseng, along with some neighbors were outside and greeted us. It didn't take us long to get in the hous...

Another museum today… However, this one kept strong hold of my attention. The images I saw were astounding and heart-wrenching and inspiring at the same time. Combined at the Apartheid Museum was a tribute to Nelson Mandela and a walk through the history of South Africa, its journey toward democracy and its aspirations as a country. There were art exhibits, video clips of Nelson Mandela's fight against aids, South Africa winning the world cup, and the da...

Today was more exciting than yesterday, but I think all of the tourism is taking a toll on the group. For me at least, I am ready to settle in and begin some sort of routine. I chose this trip because of the cultural emersion that is focused on. I appreciate the opportunity to visit these museums and think learning about this history is extremely valuable, essential, but I am looking forward to the other parts of the trip. We visited our U.S. embassy to spe...

Today we visited the two dominant political parties. Really, there is only one—The African National Congress—which grew out of the liberation struggle and who Nelson Mandela represented. The only significant opposition is the Democratic alliance. Though the ANC has been in power for 18 years it isn't clear if this is because people actually agree with their policies and have seen affect from their implementation or if they are simply scared that the Demo...

We continued our tour through a part of Soweto today, called Kliptown. This was the first part of the trip I've felt uncomfortable, like an intruder. People were welcoming and politely smiled, but as we entered their township, we heard a man yell stop exposing us and I personally felt like this was justified. As we walked through the village, I felt like we treated the people there as if they were in a museum. I was invading their privacy and home, without ...