Field Trip to Jo'burg

I just got back yesterday from a field trip to Johannesburg and Pretoria. Did you know Johannesburg has over 10 million people?? It's huge! Definitely the largest city I've even been in. Crazy.
There were 10 of us that went; all the students plus Musa and Darryl and me. We visited the Apartheid museum, University of Pretoria, an orphanage, some creches, an organization that does home-based care IN the city of Johannesburg. We saw a movie, played mini-golf, went to McDonald's, went to Liberty Church youth group, and stayed in a beautiful stone bed and breakfast. I drove the entire way. On the way we ran out of gas. The students pushed us to the gas station which was about a kilometer away. We had many road maps, but somehow still missed turns on the freeway and put on way more kilometers than was needed.

It was a really good trip and opened the students' eyes to life in Johannesburg. It's a completely different world. It's like going to New York or going to Toronto, but bigger. We visited some of the sketchy areas to show the students that life in Jo'burg isn't a life of perfection. The problems that exist in Masoyi exist in the big city too. Jo'burg is not a place to go for refuge or to escape all the issues plaguing their community. Visiting the orphange was really powerful. It was a beautiful place. The kids had many toys and beautiful rooms with painted murals. It was just a really nice facility. The students saw the orphans as being really lucky to live in such a place, yet when we left all the children kept telling us that they wanted to go with us. The children saw the students has having it all, even though the kids were much better off than the students. We discussed it afterwards and the students concluded that they wanted to come with us because we had love. And they could have all the food in the world, all the toys in the world, and the nicest painted walls in the world, but if they have no life, it is all meaningless. Very profound coming from the students who are themselves orphans.

Here are two journal entries of things I experienced personally:

4 Sept - University of Pretoria

As I sit here on campus watching the busy life of University students, I can't help but feel many things that I can't describe. I feel like I'm going through culture shock. But what's strange is that I am surrounded by a world I used to be deeply engrossed in, surrounded by people I used to be (and probably still am). I am so overwhelmed and so pulled into want. I want all of what these people have. I want to care about fashion. I want to boy-gaze. I want the competition, the excellence, the discovery. I want the self-involvement. But the inner battle of "me" is too much to take. I can't live like this anymore. I can't live in my own flesh. There is no way I could ever let myself be busied with trivial things anymore. But sometimes I really desire those things. And that's what makes this so hard.

Patricia says she doesn't want to study here. She doesn't like the lifestyle. She doesn't like the competition.

5 Sept - Shopping center

So today we strolled around a nice little area with shops and restaurants. And I saw the best thing ever: a skate park. To see a skate park was music to my eyes. At that moment all I craved was a ride on a board so I asked if there was a skate shop. There was! So I went. As soon as I got in the store, I heard a sweet sweet sound. It was the bliss of speakers void of R&B. It was the heavy and chaotic mix of double kick, squeals, and grueling vocals. What a relief to escape Mariah Carey, Leona Lewis, and Akon. There were two guys working. They were wearing tight pants, had multiple tattoos, and had dirty hair. I immediately proceeded to have an engaging conversation with them. We talked American bands, circle pits, and longboards. Even as I'm writing this I'm drowning in Backstreet Boys. Can't imagine life without your love because even forever don't seem like long enough EVERYTIME I BREATHE I TAKE YOU IN...

Sick

Oh man, how my ears long for the shred of metal. How my skin longs for sweat not of my own. How my arms, legs, and ribs long for bruises from the pit. How my chest longs to feel the heavy vibrations of the bass. How I long for the chaos, confusion, and extreme exhilaration found at a live concert.