Well, I survived my journey here to South Africa. It was actually quite nice to travel by myself and do things at my own pace. I absolutely love airports because everyone in them is either coming back from somewhere or about to go somewhere else. I cannot think of a place that has a greater diversity of people than an airport. I was really relaxed during the whole trip and had no worries so that was a big blessing.
I really didn't encounter much jetlag but I would credit that to the fact I got so little sleep on the plane rides and I arrived in the evening of Thursday so I was able to crash for the whole night.
These last few days have been packed with running errands and meeting people but we’ve also had time to take it easy. Tomorrow we have our official meeting for the sports clinic with Sharon and all the volunteers. The sports clinic will take place from Wednesday to Friday of this week in a community called Masiphumelele and then next week we will be doing the same thing in a community called Ocean View for three days as well.
It has been very interesting to see Cape Town as an outsider but also be with only South Africans and see things from their perspective. Perhaps the most influential aspect which shapes a South African’s perspective is how they understand their history. I spent lunch with Calvin and his grandparents and we got chatting about how South Africa got to its political and social situation of today. I learned that during the era of European Imperialism, South Africa was predominantly colonized by the British, but was also influenced by the Dutch and French. Like many other European colonized regions, the local populations were exploited for labor which included the assisting of exporting resources and developing local infrastructure. The Europeans set up the government which placed them in control and at the top of the social hierarchy even though they were the minority. The devastating Apartheid system was instituted by the white Afrikaner political party in the 1950s. This system legally separated the races and reinforced a supreme white ideology. Apartheid ended in 1992 and a democratic government formed, electing its first black president, Nelson Mandela in 1994. For the previously disadvantaged people, namely; black people and any other people of color i.e. the local Indian population and the colored community (a mix of black and white), there are still many problems with unemployment, inadequate housing and poor education.
While learning about the general history of South Africa, I couldn’t help but compare it to my own countries history of slavery and segregation. There are some similarities but the most shocking thing to me about South African history is that whites were the minority yet they were still in control. It is always so appalling to me that when “civilized” people come to a land of “uncivilized” people, the former instead of civilizing a people group only corrupt it with their injustice, cruelty and exploitation.
I have also been fascinated with languages and accents. I haven’t spoken to an American in several days and I have to really concentrate on keeping my own accent when speaking to people. It is weird to think that I won’t be hearing the familiar pronunciations very often over the next month. There are 11 official languages in SA but the ones that I will be exposed to the most are English (the South African kind), Afrikaans, Xhosa and Zulu. In the grocery store a couple days ago I heard someone speaking a language that had clicks in it! It was quite exciting. While getting to know a few of Calvin’s friends, we had quite a “chuckle” over the many blank stares that occurred during our conversation. Apparently hair bangs are called fringe and lekker (pronounced lakka) means cool/nice. My particularly favorite was my inability to understand what they meant by “what a [lof]”…and then it hit me and with glee I said “oh you mean LAAAAAAUUUUUGH!”
Cape Town is an absolutely beautiful place. I am currently staying in the suburbs and there are mountains surrounding the town. The architecture has a lot of European influence and everyone drives on the wrong side of the road :P. There are beautiful beaches here but since it is winter here I will not get to enjoy the nice water.
Random fact: they have winter school here...not summer school!
p.s. I have been awful about taking pictures but that will change soon
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