Adventures from Africa

Hi All!

I apologize for not posting as much as I had hoped, but my time here in Cape Town is limited and busy, so Internet has not been a priority in the crazy itinerary we have been following. When I last updated, I briefly explained my weekend adventures as we traveled around Cape Town, but want to take the opportunity in this post to briefly explain South Africa's historical past and the major struggles, specifically in education, they face today. By doing this, I hope you will be able to see why we're here, and who and how we're helping...

From 1948-1994, South Africa's government ran on a system known as Apartheid, which means translates to mean ‘segregation’. During this period, people were divided and classified solely on their physical appearances. The social structure was divided into 4 unequal groups- whites, Indians, coloureds and blacks- where each race had separate neighborhoods, jobs and roles within the society. The whites in control of South Africa at the time of Apartheid were the descendants of the British and Dutch colonizers. Because their relatives had colonized and seemingly 'built up' the country, they gained authority by using force and violence to be on the top of society. This group of white people, known as Afrikaaners are still benefitting from the successes of Apartheid.

The Indian and coloured peoples were the next groups in the social hierarchy, but unfortunately had less privileges than the Afrikaans and were only allowed to frequent certain places and hold certain jobs. The blacks in South Africa were given the worst treatment and had the least opportunities in the Apartheid society. Afrikaaners physically and forcefully removed blacks from their homes, specifically in District 6- a large residential area in Cape Town- and moved them to small, unbearable shanties on the outskirts of town where they still live today. Interestingly, (and contradicting to most American cities,) downtown Cape Town is home to the wealthiest people in the area, (mostly Afrikaaners) and the farther you travel outside of the city, the poorer the people and townships become. Because the Apartheid worked so well to put down blacks, Afrikaans gained huge power and prestige- something they still have today.

The classes we are taking while in South Africa have specifically examined the lopsided education system in the country and the problems they are experiencing. Because blacks were held so low during the Apartheid, they were unable to get education at a secondary level. The select few that had the opportunity to study at this level were given only two options: to become a teacher or a preacher. Thus, many blacks were forced into the career of teaching out of necessity rather than possessing a strong passion for the profession. Furthermore, the teacher education programs for blacks were less structured than the prestigious white teacher universities, so many blacks studying to become teachers were often under qualified and forced to take job positions in the poorer areas they were raised in. On the contrast, the graduating white teachers took jobs that were well-paid, located in better neighborhoods and provided more resources. Consequently, the cycle of poor students with less qualified teachers and advantaged students with qualified teachers was perpetuated and resulted in massive gaps between white and black schools in South Africa. (If you would like to learn more about the interesting past of South Africa, the book “Knowledge in the Blood” by Jonathan Jansen provides incredible insight on the unequal educational systems and the tense race relations that still exist today.)

Although this is an extremely concise description of a nation’s complex history, I hope it taught you a little something you might not have known before. (I can’t help it when the teacher side of me comes out!)

Now comes the fun part! Below are several highlights and facts about South Africa and our experiences thus far. I’ll do my best to include as much as I can…

---This past week we’ve been studying at the University of Cape Town listening to various lecturers, teachers and opinions of the country’s educational system. The university, founded in 1829, is home to 30,000 students and is situated beautifully in the middle of Table Mountain overlooking the city of Cape Town. The campus has a very European feel to it as vines cover each building, the roads are made with bricks and water fountains are scattered throughout. We really enjoyed our time at the university, and although a little overwhelmed by all of the information, felt very lucky to study at such an amazing location.

---Currently, English and Afrikaans are the two most prestigious and widely used languages in South Africa, so most people speak both of these along with Zulu or Xhchosa (spelling? pronounced ko-sa).

---All 17 of the girls are still getting along wonderfully. The huge amounts of time we’ve spent together have allowed us to get extremely close and share lots of laughs. We’re getting nervous about leaving one another as we depart next week for separate host families, but each weekend we will meet back up as a group to do more traveling and exploring around the country. (In fact, one of the girls got a call last night while we were sitting down for dinner and found out she got a first grade teaching job in west Michigan! We are so excited for her!)

---Speaking of dinner, the food here has been INCREDIBLE. I honestly had no idea what to expect in terms of the kinds of food, the amount of food and the quality of the food, but have simply been blown away. Corvell, our group leader and South African native, arranged and paid his mother and sister to cater our food for the first 11 days of the trip and it has been one of the highlights of the trip. Everyday for lunch and dinner we’ve received huge, homemade and authentic African meals that have left us so full. I’ve tried curry, bryani, chicken pies, frikkadal and mash, African lasagna, beef stew and lots, lots more of delicious, completely homemade appetizer, sides and desserts. We have really been spoiled in terms of trying authentic cuisine so to we are very thankful for Corvell’s family.

---Speaking of Corvell…. he has been an amazing leader of our group. He is so kind and patient with us (he is, after all, the only male in a group of 17 girls) and makes us laugh all day long with his enthusiastic and joking personality. We feel very comfortable with him and he has really taken a lot of time to carefully plan out the itinerary so we can see as many things as possible. Thank you Corvell!

---Tomorrow is Nelson Mandela’s birthday! The country celebrates this occasion like a holiday so I’m anxious to see and experience the day.

---Now for my favorite part so far: climbing down Table Mountain. Yesterday, we finally were able to ride up to the top of the mountain since the weather was so clear. We took cable cars to the top of the mountain and looked out at the entire city of Cape Town. The pictures we took were absolutely incredible as the views were some of the most amazing I’ve ever seen. After an hour on top of the mountain, the group split into two and we began walking down the mountain on a small, secluded trail. It was extremely rocky terrain and it was the most difficult hiking I’ve ever done- in fact, the walk down was a 4 out of 5 in difficulty! Needless to say, we are extremely sore today. I can’t wait to show off the pictures. In the two hours it took to walk down the mountain, I took over 250 pictures!

Unfortunately I have to get going, but will try to update whenever I can! We leave for a weekend excursion in the Western Cape Province and will be back Sunday night. We meet our host family on Monday and will live with them for the remainder of the trip! I can’t wait to start what we came here to do! (And again, please excuse any bad grammar or writing errors – I had to write quickly!) Thank you for all of your comments, it’s really wonderful to know people are thinking about me from back home. Love and miss you all! Goodnight!