Group Blog Prompt 1: Whatever you thought about South Africa, think again

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.