We started out bike tour at a youth hostel and went through a few different neighborhoods. On a bike the area was a lot hillier than it seemed like from the bus. We passed Nelson Mandela's and Desmond Tutu's houses as well as the square where the 1976 youth uprising happened. The uprising was students protesting against a change in the language of instruction in schools. The government had decided that everyone should be taught in Afrikans which not everyone spoke.
Dawn was so brave! She tried cow head and a traditional beer served out of a calabash. The beer comes in a paper carton, like a cardboard milk carton, that says don't drink and walk in the road you could be killed - it's own version of don't drink and drive. Lots of kids waved at us as we passed. Some gave us the thumbs up so when we gave the thumbs up back they touched their thumbs against ours. A Soweto greeting. The poverty is very sad. Within Soweto there is an upper, middle, and lower class but even the upper class isn't close to our standard of living. We passed the public bathrooms and a water pump. Most places don't have running water sanitation or electricity. If your house is cement instead of steel or tin walls you are doing well.
We had good tour guides who shared African songs and dances with us as well as the role music played in the history of Soweto. The guides also demonstrated the clicking language. The people that we passed were all very welcoming and friendly, waving and saying how are you as we biked past. Interacting with the people was our favorite part of the day. What a different experience from the stock exchange from the day before!
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