Nelson Mandela and South Africa

Afrikaner nationalism is a political idea that started in the late nineteenth century among Afrikaners. Afrikaners are a South African ethnic group that are descendants of the Dutch settlers that first tried to colonize South Africa. Their main language is Afrikaans. There was a ton of tension between the Afrikaners, especially during the Boer wars. The South African Border War took place from 1966 to 1989. The South African Army invaded Angola in the 1970's . 

Nelson Mandela attended primary school in Qunu, where his teacher, Miss Mdingane, gave him the name Nelson, because of  the custom of giving all schoolchildren “Christian” names. He completed his Junior Certificate at Clarkebury Boarding Institute and went on to Healdtown, a Wesleyan secondary school. Mandela began his studies for a Bachelor of Arts degree at the University College of Fort Hare but did not complete the degree there as he was expelled for joining in a student protest. On his return to the Great Place at Mqhekezweni the King was furious and said if he didn’t return to Fort Hare he would arrange wives for him and his cousin Justice. They ran away to Johannesburg instead, arriving there in 1941. There he worked as a mine security officer and after meeting Walter Sisulu, an estate agent, he was introduced to Lazer Sidelsky. He then did his articles through a firm of attorneys – Witkin, Eidelman and Sidelsky. He completed his BA through the University of South Africa and went back to Fort Hare for his graduation in 1943.

Nelson Mandela

South Africa Cape Town

I'm pretty sure these pictures explain everything you need to know about Rugby. 

A Bosnian's everyday life in the 80's

Here's a map so you know what I'm talking about.

Here is a quick overview of their history. The Bosnian's are incredibly tied to ethnic and religious identity. Most Bosnian's are Muslim and their culture greatly resembles that of Turkey. Bosnia has a long history of peace among their main three ethnic groups until Milosevic rose to power in 1989. He was an extremist politician who stirred the people up for trouble and filled them with distrust. In 1992 when Bosnia declared Independence the government began campaigns of ethnic cleansing leaving millions dead, wounded, and homeless. 

 Bosnian food has been influenced by both Turkish and Eastern European traditions. Grilled meat is very popular along with cabbage-based dishes. "Bosanski Ionacis" a cabbage and meat stew. "Cevapciciare" are lamb sausages that often are eaten with a flat bread called "calledsomun." Desserts in all different flavors can be found all over. "burekandpida" which is a meat pie layered with cheese, "zeljanica" a spinach pie, and "sirnica" a cheese pie, are served as main dishes. "Baklava" is a Turkish pastry made of "phyllo" dough layered with nuts and honey, it is a popular dessert, just like the apple cake called "tufahije." "Kefir" is a thin yogurt drink which is very popular. Another popular drink is the Turkish coffee and a kind of tea called "salep." Homemade brandy called "calledrakija" is a popular alcoholic drink. People now do not use Alcohol much because of the Muslim influence, it even goes as far as being banned in some parts of the country!

he current generation of children has witnessed unspeakable atrocities. Children were a prime target of snipers, especially in Sarajevo. Survivors suffer flashbacks, nightmares, andsevere depression; in one survey, 90 percent of children surveyed in Sarajevo declared that they did not want to live. The country will be dealing with the effect of the war on these children for years.

Education is free and mandatory for children between the ages of seven and fourteen. There are Muslim schools where students study the Koran and Islamic law in addition to secular subjects and where boys and girls are taught in separate classrooms.

The educational system has been hard hit by the war. Schools were common targets of Serb mortar attacks, and many were forced to close. Some makeshift schools were organized in homes, but many children were left with no access to education. Since 1995, many schools have reopened.

The current generation of kids in Bosnia have been through horrible things. In Sarajevo, Bosnia, kids were the main targets of snipers. That generation suffers from flashbacks, nightmares, depression, and 90% of children in Sarajevo declared that they did not want to live. The country will be dealing with the effect of the war on these children for years.

Education is free and mandatory for children between the ages of seven and fourteen. There are Muslim schools where students study the Koran and Islamic law in addition to secular subjects and where boys and girls are taught in separate classrooms.

The educational system has been hard hit by the war. Schools were common targets of Serb mortar attacks, and many were forced to close. Some makeshift schools were organized in homes, but many children were left with no access to education. Since 1995, many schools have reopened.

A kid plays while wearing a United Nations helmet.

A scenic view in Bosnia.  

East berlin

The people in the Soviet always had a want for normal things that people today have easy access to. Things like denim jeans, and oranges. Another thing they didn't have that they have today are DJ's. Sounds funny, I know, but people would wait in lines for hours trying to get a ticket to go to a "concert."

Jeans in Russia were the unofficial symbol of a democracy in fashion. Anyone who had a pair was coveted be anyone who didn't have a pair. To get a pair you would have had to go to extreme length to get a pair. The people in Russia got their first pair of jeans in the 1950's when Moscow hosted the World Festival of Youth and Students. From then on jeans represented everything the Russia needed. At first jeans were banned from Russia, which meant that you could get fired from your job, or worse you could be expelled. Jeans were first really worn by sailors or diplomat's kids. They brought them in from other places. People would often go to jail because they would try to smuggle jeans in from across the border.

In a radio interview talking about the relationship between West and East Germany it brought up the trust between them. The common everyday people had to trust each other. In East Germany the people didn't have the rights to allow them to host a radio show telling whatever they wanted, so they needed help from the west side. After recording what was happening on their side, the people on the east side would smuggle the tapes to the other side, which the people would then radio broadcast. There had to be trust between the two of them that the west wouldn't edit everything out, and the east were actually doing what they said they were doing.

What a strange way to live your life, not even being able to do normal everyday stuff freely. It would be interesting to know what the Russians thought of East Berlin. They would seem to relate to each other.

Berlin Wall



Jeans were to die for! (Sometimes literally)


Oranges were an exotic not seen very much fruit in Russia in the 80's.



A dairy store.



A bus station.

Back to the Future!

In the movie Back to the Future, Marty McFly goes from 1985 to 1955 where the town is looking quite different. From 55' to 85' I feel like they lost innocence but gained more rights. An example of this is the movie theater in 55' gets turned into a pornography show. The film seemed to be right about racism in the fifties. In the fifties, black people pretty much had the worst or lowest jobs.
The mayor of Hill Valley was working in the ice cream parlor when he was a teen in 1955. When he thought running for mayor sounded good, the response was, "A man of your color! No way!" In the 80's, his color did not stop him from being mayor. Other differences were that the kids were more aware of the dangers of smoking and drinking in the 80's compared to the 50's. The teens in the eighties seemed more mature.

In 1985 they talked about the future. Now we don't seem to care about the future beyond two years. The only thing we look forward to in the future is movies coming out soon. (AKA Star wars, Sherlock season 4, and others.)  It is like we gave up the hope of flying cars and such because either the fuel is too expensive or other problems. Marty gave me in 2016 the "new" idea of the open, unzipped vest, as he wore it in 1985.

Marty McFly is a hopeful musician who is dating a girl name Jennifer Parker. He lives in Hill Valley, California with his dad George McFly, who gets bullied by a man named Biff, his mom Lorraine, who is overweight, depressed, and an alcoholic, his brother Dave, who works at the local Burger King, and his sister Linda, who is complaining about not having a life or meeting any boys. When Linda complains and brings up boys, Lorraine reminisces about how she met George, he was "bird watching" in a tree and fell, right in front of her father's moving car.


A "flying" car!




Movies to look forward to.




The clock in Doc's time machine to tell you the destination time, present time, and coming from.



The time machine works to the amazement of Doc and Marty.




The poster for Back to the Future.