Whatever you thought
about South Africa, think again.
Elizabeth Vineyard, Tiasha Ullah, Hashem Shokravi
Elizabeth: I felt that I had a pretty good
idea of what South Africa would be like, after copious research in addition to
our semester spent learning about South Africa’s culture and history. However,
upon arriving and truly experiencing life on the ground in South Africa, I
found that I had many misconceptions. One of the things that really stood out
to me was the touching hospitality and true friendliness of South Africans,
from the incredible leaders of this program, to even strangers on the
street—everyone I’ve come into contact with has been extremely genuine and
welcoming to foreigners, and the stunning diversity of the population
contributes to their accepting tolerance of others.
Tiasha: South Africa, even only after being
here for only three days, is a lot more complex than I thought it would be.
Living in the states, everything seems so simple and everyone seems so
“American” and homogenous...or maybe Americans just don’t like talking about
their roots as much as people do here, where every person has a different story
to tell. You can tell that the people here have a lot of pride in their roots
and where they come from, which is awesome. I remember Errol talking about how
he was “pure colored,” which made no sense to me. But then he explained that he
is a mix of just about everything and can’t pinpoint what his exact heritage
is. And then there are people that have sought refuge in Cape Town, and their
stories are so interesting as well. Talking to the people here is an
interesting event all in itself.
Hashem: South Africa is a land of
contrasts. Rich, poor. White, Black. I always knew it was filled with diversity
but seeing hundreds of tin shacks and beautiful seaside restaurants existing in
the same city of Cape Town has still been jarring for me. I thought that most
people here were of African descent, and they are, but there are still so many
more ethnicities that I did not expect. Asians, Middle Easterners, Zimbabweans.
South Africa seems so similar to the U.S. in so many ways. Riding in the taxis
you hear American music. Walking in the mall you see American brands and even
unfamiliar stores look modern and Western. There seem to be many South Africas:
American South Africa, Muslim South Africa, Poor South Africa, Zulu South
Africa. I hope to continue exploring these South Africas in the next month.
