Archives and Holocaust Museum

     This morning in South Africa we had a good class about the beginning history of South Africa. We talked about the Dutch coming to form a settlement here, the slave trade and the types of slaves, and the different types of segregation laws that took place.
      It was really interesting because Dr. Curry started the lecture by saying that the 1940's Alexandria, South Africa bus boycotts were happening at the same time as the boycotts in Montgomery, Alabama. She explained how this was the thing that got her interested in South Africa, primarily because when her professor first told her this, he continued with the statement, "Someone in this classroom will want to know if the two boycotts had any influence on each other. He was right. She wanted to know, but he didn't have an answer for her. So she set out to find it on her own.
    South Africa had Apartheid from 1948-1990, which was similar to our segregation, but worse to an extent. Apartheid literally means apart-ness from the Afrikaans and Dutch derivatives. Class was really interesting and I enjoyed finally getting some back knowledge of South Africa. I came into this trip with 4 history majors and a history professor. I am not really sure what I was thinking at the time because I am not a history major. While I do really enjoy history, I am a psychology major, with very little world history knowledge, but it will be fine.
     After class we grabbed some lunch and headed to the Archives. It was so cool because there are so many old records that were there. We got a tour of the records. The guy showed us the old mugshots from South African jails and prisons. They took their mugshots with their hands on their chest so the officials could see if they had a finger missing. It wasn't uncommon for someone to lose a finger while serving time, so the mugshots were their way of showing that it did or did not happen during their sentence.
      Outside of the archives, we decided that it would only be fair if we had taken our own mugshots. We even came up with our own convict names as listed on the pictures. Here they are:

    After the archives we took a stroll through the Company Gardens towards the Holocaust Museum. When I think about history, I never think of South Africa being included in some of it. South Africa was a huge place where Jewish people came to hid from the war. They escaped the war and the concentration camps for South Africa.
     The Holocaust museum was pretty cool because it had a lot of history that is often forgotten. United States history tends to try to make it seem like it wasn't as bad as it really was. There are a lot of things in US history that get pushed under the rug, but South Africa was very open about their history and politics.
    Kelsie had a great knowledge of the Holocaust, so she ended up giving a private tour for Amy and I. She told us a ton of things that weren't on the boards and displays. We spent a good amount of time in there.

   We then headed back to the hostel after getting some supper. We sat around and played some pitch upstairs on the porch. We taught a couple of them how to play and had some great laughs.
    At this point, I am still having some trouble getting used to the rand. For every 1 US dollar it is a little over 10 Rand. I am constantly trying to convert it and figure out how much I am actually spending. Hopefully by the end of the trip, it will get better.


What a great day full of laughter and fun. I can't wait to see what tomorrow brings.

Words of the Day:

Mirvat: Hidden

Amy: Learn

Dr. Curry: intellectual

Deb: experimentation

Kelsie: interesting

Me: Breathtaking