No Oprah

The day started out with a bit of a disappointment. We found out that we would not be visiting the Oprah School here in Johannesburg. I don’t really know why I cared so much, but it is Oprah!!! The day was actually pretty boring as far as photography goes. Liza has revealed that Johannesburg is a pretty violent place. People could just come up and shoot you if they wanted! I took it all with a bit of skepticism. Everything I have heard about this place has been positive. So we drive around the city and visit a couple of schools. I think that it will be a successful visit for Jon and the university of Cincinnati. Liza is very excited to have us here and it shows.

As we drive to different parts of town, I notice more barbwire and electrical fencing. Perhaps there is some truth to what Liza has been telling us. She is very cautious when we pull up to stop lights and at one point fears that we have been followed back to the hotel. So anyone who knows me knows that I tend to freak out at small things. While I don’t know if this is necessarily a “small thing”, I definetly start to become insecure about my safety in town. What throws me off is the fact that the majority of the city is completely modern. There are malls that rival anything in the States. Factories and business seem to be flourishing. Jon and I discuss the fact that we have been to places were there is a lot of violence, but they seem to still be struggling to rise above third world status. Over the next few days I will learn a lot more about this enigma in South Africa.

Despite my lack of confidence in going and taking pictures around the neighborhood, the night ends with warm conversation with Liza and her son George. George is looking to come to the U.S. to study. Of course all this talk about UC has gotten young George very excited about his prospects. Whether it was the alcohol talking or not, I started getting very excited about Cincinnati and how great it is. For those of you that know me, you can imagine how funny this whole conversation might be. Ole “two can Sam” Klenowski! Despite my loud ramblings, I think that will still apply. I do hope that we have the thriving Latin dancing community that I had promised him?