Another Africa

I threw the budget to the wind this weekend and flew to J'bourg to see Lucky. I'd been told that South Africa would feel different to other parts of the continent, but wasn't prepared for quite how different. J'bourg is reminiscent of Dubai or LA - all highways and shopping malls. After 10 months of trying to figure out how to exist in a very different culture on a limited income it was a real treat to be somewhere that felt so familiar and to be taken to shops, restaurants and the new Harry Potter movie.

Not normally a mall rat, I've been trying to work out exactly why I liked the city so much more than other non-pedestrian friendly, Disneyland-esque towns I've visited. Apart from the novelty value, I think there's a certain mood of hope in South Africa because it's flourishing economically in a region that sometimes feels light-years behind the rest of the world. I know that I only visited the affluent parts of a country that has an extreme wealth gap, but the tone of the city seemed so optimistic. We visited the brilliantly curated apartheid museum, and it's astonishing to think how recently the country was divided when (the middle classes at least) now seem to co-exist with less obvious tension than some other places I've been to.

All in all an excellent weekend, and now only a week to go til the Christmas break. Work-wise last week redeemed itself slightly when my boss arrived back from a workshop on volunteer management, thrilled that he was able to say we have many of the appropriate procedures in place because I've been working on them. Not altogether flattering that he seemed slightly surprised to realise that I did know what I was talking about after all, but always nice to be appreciated!