A great last day in Joburg

Tuesday Dec 15 is our last day in South Africa which we spend in Jozi. In the morning we take a minibus from Melville to the center. This is my first ride on an African cab as we used a rental car during most of our stay. The bus is in poor condition, it squeeches, actually it seems to fall apart every minute. The driver does not tell us where to get off, thus we go to a different spot than intended. We arrive in Newtown, a central district of Joburg which we like a lot. Newtown is about to develop into Jozi’s cultural center. There is the Market Theater, there are artisans stands and several places to go out. It is also close to Oriental Plaza, home to Joburg’s Indian community.

By accident we meet a new friend of ours, a graffiti artist, who takes us (in an allegedly stolen car) to Goodman Gallery in a different suburb. We visit the exhibition of a young South African artist and then wait to be picked up by another friend, a multimedia and film producer. That friend takes us out to lunch in a fancy neighbourhood.

After lunch he invites us home. We have a few beers and a swim in his pool. He changes cars and takes us in a big BMW to a little shopping center in Melville where we have an appointment with yet another friend. In the car he plays dark African House Music at full volume which makes us feel great and a little decadent after all what we have seen in this country.

A little later we walk back to our house in Melville. For the last time we pass single familiy houses with „armed response“ signs and electrical fences. That’s in stark contrast to the actually nice athmosphere in Melville and the warm air that we breathe.