Arrived safely on my 14hr direct flight from
JFK. After one day of recovery sleep, I set out to explore the city with a
friend who has lived here for five years.
Johannesburg is the international business
epicenter of South Africa, perhaps all of Africa. And yet, greenery is so
abundant here that concrete warehouses make the exception, not the norm. The
heart of the city is not removed from the heart of the country.
We grabbed lunch at Arts on Main, an outdoor
vendor market in a gentrifying district much like what you might find in
Brooklyn.
Joburg is an incredibly diverse metropolis
but remains an incredibly segregated society. Even at this socialite gathering,
there is a palpable racial tension. In a post-apartheid era, blacks and whites
now live side by side, shop at the same markets, eat at the same restaurants –
yet everybody obeys the lines in the sand. In a way, I am reminded of Chicago:
collegiality without community.
At one point I recall turning around from my
rooftop haven and seeing below me unfurl a cascade of shanty housing stretching
to the horizon. This was also the real Johannesburg, come to life from cinema
the post-apocalyptic Dredd city, the District 9 slums of Soweto. I am sorry to say
the movies did not have to stretch the imagination much.
