In Soweto

Maya Alexandri is currently traveling as part of actress / director / blogger Xu Jinglei’s entourage in South Africa, and will file reports about the trip for the next week.

Today Xu Jinglei's team began the day with a tour of Soweto. An acronym for "South Western Townships," Soweto was historically a segregated black area that lacked electricity and running water. Thanks to investment and development in South Africa's post-apartheid years, however, the area now boasts expensive houses, malls and a thriving tourist industry.

Famed tourist locations in Soweto include the houses of Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela. In addition to such sites, Xu Jinglei also visited an "informal settlement," where unemployment was as high as 60%, and the living quarters were constructed of corrugated tin and various scrap.

In the yard of a nursery school in this informal settlement, youngsters gathered excitedly by the fence as we passed. To our delight, they began chanting in unison. The children were speaking Zulu, so we couldn't understand the substance of their chant. Our guide from the Department of Foreign Affairs explained that they were chanting, "White people! White people! White people!"

"They think we're white?" Xu asked. The misperception didn't last long because the children's chant soon transitioned into a new verse: "You're from China! You're from China! You're from China!"

Giggling, we moved on. Passing the children on the way back, they were still gathered by the fence, now singing "Happy Birthday." As soon as they saw us, a lone voice piped, "Hip-hip!" which was followed instantly by a joyous "Hooray!" from the assembled children. Their salutation continued, following us as we left the settlement grounds.