South Africa 2008 - Visiting the Mall in Soweto
Soweto means South Western Township. I drove the family to the Maponya Mall in Soweto today for an outing. From the city's website:
Soweto is the most populous black urban residential area in the country, with Census 2001 putting its population at 896 995. Thanks to its proximity to Johannesburg, the economic hub of the country, it is also the most metropolitan township in the country - setting trends in politics, fashion, music, dance and language
Soweto celebrated its hundredth birthday in October 2004. A chronology of key events, the June 1976 uprising, and the centenary celebrations.
The city has made the redevelopment of Soweto a major priority, including electrification, tarring of roads, and the building of public facilities and housing.
You may think of ghettos and shacks when you hear the word Soweto, and if you look for them you'll find them, but I've really noticed a difference in Soweto in recent years. I haven't got a tale of rich people visiting poor people as a form of tourism. The mall was as nice a mall as I've ever been to, including malls in Asia (which are REALLY nice). We didn't go to the cultural center (yet) or Mandela's house. We went to the mall. And it was lovely.
There's a rising black middle class, and they were all at the mall today. The whole place was decked out for the holidays, which I find slightly funny because it's quite hot and I just think snow when it's Christmas. Anyway, there was a huge tree in the center part of the mall.
We ate for a very reasonable price at Nando's, which is way better than KFC. We fed a group of 10 for less than US$30, as the US$ to the Rand is a favorable 1:10, as opposed to the 1:6 or 1:7 it's been on previous trips.
One of the things that strikes me about the mall in Soweto is how "put together" everyone is. Great outfits, cute hair, folks are fit and sharp. I felt underdressed, completely. If you go out, you'd better look nice.
I did also feel White, as I was alone in that sense, but didn't feel uncomfortable. It was actually very interesting (as it always is) as it's a reminder as to how my wife feels. As a white guy, it was like dropping into the movie "White Man's Burden," or a photo negative. I was effectively an albino. One actually forgets one's color in these situations, and after a few weeks if I pass a mirror it takes a second to remember my pastiness. Fortunately I am sporting a pretty darn good beard so I'm brown from the neck up. ;)
The Soweto mall has everything any other mall in the world, so it was great for Christmas shopping. My wife's younger brothers are moving out of the house so we are in the market for a fridge for their apartment.
Not a really exciting post, this, but rather a mundane story about holiday commerce. We drove to Soweto, we shopped, we returned. I drove on the left. This was my day, until tomorrow. If you visit Joburg, definitely check out Maponya Mall in Soweto.
About Scott
Scott Hanselman is a former professor, former Chief Architect in finance, now speaker, consultant, father, diabetic, and Microsoft employee. He is a failed stand-up comic, a cornrower, and a book author.
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"Not a really exciting post..."I find the South Africa 2008 series pretty interesting (and it gives me a few minutes of distraction from the tech world). Please keep posting.
Nandos adverts are a good laugh - the best ones were during the first SA elections with really clever SA politics "in jokes".
That along with the peri peri chips with more extra hot sauce for dipping - Fast food heaven.
And that is a damn good looking beard, if I do say so myself. Mine is almost there.
You can still tie in with your usual tech stuff, if you're in any way worried. For example, have you shown Babysmash! to any of the locals? I'd like to find out about impressions and especially suggestions for changes or new features.
- Oli
Let me just start by saying what a great talk it was you gave in SA.
Its relatively a new mall, opened this year and the developers did a great job of analysing what people within Soweto wanted so they could stop them going all the way back to Joburg North (Clear Water, Cresta, Sandton etc)
As a result its like the super mall in the neighbourhood.
As someone who stays in SA, I can tell you that no mall is like Maponya. I have driven many times from JHB North - there is just something viby and connecting about the place, and honestly the girls there are out of this world :)
Hope you enjoyed the rest of Soweto, I often say thats the real SA that tourists never get to see.
A bit disapointed that you had Nandos, I would have wanted you to try some of the local dishes. They have a place called Nambita in Soweto and they sell some good local dishes. Give the pap and magudu (cattle intestines) a try if you go there...
Enjoy SA!
By the way, you look upset in that picture.
I swear one guy actually walked into a lamp post he was so engrossed in the strange couple walking hand in hand..as for drivign whith her in the front seat? sems folks theought i was getting overly familiar with the maid..made me laugh..not her tho..strange?
Being in the minoriy puts a whole different view on 'race relations' when you get back home, a real eye opener.
Love Africa, hope to go back soon, so enjoy your trip and keep posting
J
Oh, and Flake really is great. I miss the South African chocolates when I visit the US.
I went to Korea for a couple of weeks last year. Seoul, the largest and most metropolitan city in Korea, must have a Korean population of 95%+, but the people there didn't seem to give me much more than a cursory look. Now, out in the countryside, where I was probably the only non-US solider white guy within 100 km, I got a lot of attention. At one point a little girl was skipping along, singing to herself, happy as a clam. She sees me and her eyes widen in fear and she runs back to her father. (My in-laws tell a similar story of my wife, when she first came to the US at 3 and was enrolled in pre-school she thought the white kids in the room were ghosts and was petrified until her mom explained that they were just kids like her, and off she went to play with them.)
I didn't much mind the extra attention, I'd just smile back at those who took notice of my different appearance, but it did make me appreciate the diversity here so much more.
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most of them were very surprised when I told them that I had never seen anything like that in the US