Some thoughts...

It’s hard to believe that just 6 weeks ago, I was so looking forward to coming to a new country, some place that seemed as far away as my mind could imagine. I always get these big ideas in my head about places I want to visit. The last “thing” was moving to Hawaii after I graduated from high school. Why, you may ask. I just thought of it on the fly. Now when people ask me “Why South Africa?” and I always tell them, “Because it’s the first place that came to my mind.” In all honesty, there are so many places that I would love to visit, but something about a country that so recently came out of apartheid, with so much political turmoil and beauty, captivated me. I was so interested in the culture here and had preconceived notions…and of course my expectations were not at all what I experienced.

It was very disturbing to me that I found so many similarities between the United States and South Africa in regards to segregation. The poor township schools are all black students, whereas some government schools that charge fees as well as the private schools that cost a fortune are majority white. I have to remind myself that less then 20 years ago, in 1994, there were no schools for black children or colored children. South Africa is in a more challenging state then we were in the 60’s in regards to education. Where to now? There is so much tension between races; it is almost like a cloud you walk through when talking to people on the topic. You may wonder if I have gotten into intense discussions about race while I have been here. The answer is no. Everyone that knows me here understands I believe everyone is equal; skin color does not make one person more intelligent than another. But my job here is to LISTEN and take in everything I can. This is not to say I have not been horrified by some comments I’ve heard while I’ve been here. However, I have also been horrified by comments made by people in the very United States where we pride ourselves on equality. It makes me sick.

I ask myself how to fix this problem. Someone always has to be the under dog…people are always thinking one culture is better than another. And the only way to help solve this problem is through education and educating youth. The color of your skin does not matter. Different languages make the world a beautiful place to live. In the United States I see this with inner city schools. Why are some students given resources and a bright future simply because of what family they were born into? It’s not fair, and humans are stubborn and stuck in their ways, how can I change them? Well…everyone… I guarantee I will spend the rest of my life trying.