Meika's CPT food adventures

The food I have eaten in Cape Town has been an experience in its own right, and as I cannot think of anything else to write about, this blog entry will be dedicated to food.  But the more I think about it, eating is an intrinsic part of my daily life here and the whole experience in South Africa.

This is the first time I have been cooking and grocery shopping entirely on my own.  I love cooking, so it has been a real treat to have a kitchen and make my meals every day.  One of the best parts of this has been forming a special cooking bond with my fellow Veggies of the house!  We often share our recipes and cook meals together.

I’ve learned about the markets here and how to navigate them.  For example, I’ve become aware of the varying price of mangos depending on where I shop (Checkers usually has mangos for R4.99, Woolworth’s for R7.99 and The Food Lover’s Market for a shocking R9.99).  I have also discovered new and delicious foods that I never knew about in America, such as Digestive cookies!  I’ve learned that food, especially produce, spoils more quickly, and I have adjusted my eating habits accordingly.  This is probably due to a combination of fewer preservatives in the food and our tepid fridge.

Then there is the experience of eating out.  It has been so much fun to discover delicious and interesting places to eat around Cape Town.  My favorites thus far have probably been the Eastern Food Bazaar, Addis in Cape Town, and the Neighbourgoods Market.  The Eastern Food Bazaar is an eatery downtown that is situated in a wide alley.  There are various counters that serve a variety of Asian foods, such as Chinese, Indian, and Turkish.    The prices are seriously cheap and the portions are huge.  It is almost always busy, and one of my favorite places to eat for lunch.  I think the falafel is my current favorite.

Addis in Cape in an Ethiopian restaurant on Long Street, and we visited there in the first week or two of our arrival.  I had never eaten Ethiopian food before and I was so impressed by how flavorful it was while also being entirely vegan and gluten-free.  We were served a platter with a variety of dishes that we scooped up with injera, an Ethiopian flatbread.  My favorite was probably misir wot, which was a spicy red lentil dish.


                 

The Neighbourgoods Market is a food market at a place called the Old Biscuit Mill.  It is only open on Saturday mornings.  It is a huge tent filled with stands featuring all kinds of food.  There is frozen yogurt, paella, freshly baked breads, omelets, pastries, cheeses, fresh produce, dumplings, pizzas, and on and on.  It’s jam-packed and people eat at communal tables and on benches and awkward bales of hay.  My friends and I went this weekend and I got a Belgium waffle with powdered sugar, dark chocolate drizzle, and a scoop of vanilla ice cream.  It was GREAT.

​So, that is a snippet of my food adventures in Cape Town.  Maybe I will stick to writing my blog entries about food because the words flowed quite naturally.  Bye for now!

Ryan on meeting family in Cape Town

This past weekend I got to meet some of my relatives here in Cape Town for the first time. They are my dad’s first cousins (my grandfather’s sister’s daughter) which I guess makes them my second cousins. Initially, I was confused about what to call them and I still ponder the idea because of the age difference, but I decided that “aunt” and “uncle” would be the best option out of respect even though they are first cousins. Even so, everybody in Cape Town call each other “brother/sister” and “aunt/uncle” anyways so I guess it would be appropriate regardless of relationship. 

Anyways, my aunt Gloria picked me up on Saturday night to have dinner at a restaurant in Mowbray. I was surprised to find out that she happened to make reservations at Chai Yo, a local Thai restaurant down the road from where we live and had been previously recommended to us by our orientation leaders. When we got there I was disappointed to find out that my uncle Gordon and his two daughters would not be joining us but still pleased to meet their son Jason and his girlfriend. Dinner was great as we all shared our chosen dishes in a community-styled fashion. I loved listening to all of my family’s stories about their lives in South Africa and really enjoyed sharing my own stories of my life in the states and my past month in Cape Town. 

My cousin Jason, turns out to be quite the musician who plays the bass guitar in his rock band “Taxi Violence”. I was extremely surprised and impressed when he mentioned that they will be performing this Sunday in one of the Summer Sunset Concerts held at Kirstenbosch Gardens where we all saw Dan Patlansky perform a few weeks ago! It’s exciting to have met some family so far here in Cape Town and I’m looking forward to meeting the rest this coming weekend at the concert.

Theresa: don't forget to marvel

“It’s hardest to love the ordinary things, but you get lots of opportunities to practice- Brian Andreas

Nellie & Theresa

 The thing I adore about Cape Town is the life it has re-invigorated within me. I’m constantly marveling at the omnipresent mountain, feeling the rush of adrenaline as I ride alone on a minibus taxi, have my mouth watering as I stuff myself with Indian food at the bazaar and have the freedom to aimlessly wander as I drift into the city after work.   As I prance around this beautiful city I wonder about the things at home I am missing.  Dreary, gray days on UConn’s windy campus, the lackluster conversation of a lecture room of 300 students, the run of the mill dining hall food… 

           

  Which makes me think to myself, is it really that Cape Town is so different or is it that somewhere along the way I have stopped recognizing the beauty and soul my life back at home.  I realized how easy this was/ is to do when on the minibus taxi this morning (a source of excitement for me everyday) it felt so normal.  I was reminded of this later again when I asked a Capetonian, what they thought about Cape Town and they drearily replied, “Ehh, it’s okay.” EHH, IT’S OKAY?!?! I thought to myself, as I wrote them off for being ridiculous and weird. Who doesn’t just loooooove Cape Town?  But then I realized that this sweaty hot day must have been like many of the others for them. They know all the cool spots, I’m so desperately trying to find, have tasted the food I’m salivating over and met all the lovely people I’m trying to encounter. Just like I’d lost the ability to appreciate the rolling roar at a UConn basketball game, the wisdom of the lecturers and compassion of the professors at UConn, the community of the Women’s Center and the delicious taco salads in the Union, they too had let their lives feel ordinary.

One of the most wonderful gifts Cape Town has given me is to realize how wonderful life is if you are constantly trying to look for the life within it.  So appreciate and laugh, adventure and wonder and above all don’t forget to marvel…

(However, with all the said; living near a city may be the most wonderful thing in the world… and I never want to leave.)

Rebecca: Growing is hard but worth the emotional strain

I can’t believe that I have only been in Cape Town for a little over a month.  On one hand it feels as if I have been here forever, and on the other it feels like I was stepping exhausted off a plane just yesterday.  In one of our first classes one of our RA’s said, “Growing is hard.” When he talked about growing, he meant as a person (not height wise: I gave up on that one many years ago).  When I originally decided to come to Cape Town I knew that one of the reasons I chose this program was that I thought I would become a better and well-rounded person; I never thought that this would be the result of a lot of hard work.  It includes crying, raging, and just in general dealing with not only the problems of South Africa but also the problems present in the United States.  Every day here I learn and experience something new, and it is definitely worth the emotional strain. 

 On a more positive note, one of the aspects of this program that I love the most is my internship at Christel House, South Africa.  It is a school from Grade R (kindergarten) to Matric (Grade 12).  At first I was not quite sure if I would fit-in and be able to enjoy my internship.  Last week my fears were assuaged, and I began to have the most amazing time at this school.  It is not just the fact that I am an intern in a classroom, it is being able to talk to the learners (another word for students in South Africa) about their lives, and having conversations with them about the differences between my home and theirs.  They all are so different from one another, and in so many ways remind me of my peers when I was in high school.  It is so refreshing to know that no matter where you are, and how different people’s lives are, kids will be kids.  On Valentine’s Day, the high schoolers had a talent show, and wow, what talent these students have.  The singers were amazing, musicians, poets, and everyone else just had massive amounts of talent.  Their peers were cheering them on, and having a picnic on the quad.  I felt so happy being a part of everything that was going on, and it filled me with joy seeing how happy the students were.  Some of them lead really tough lives at home, and yet at school they get the opportunity to learn and be in a healthy, and hopefully supportive environment. 

For my internship I observe a classroom, and participate by adding in my perspective and knowledge to the lessons being taught.  Some people would complain if they were in my situation, because at the moment I am not doing too much teaching.  I on the other hand, appreciate the opportunity to learn from the teacher I observe, because he is so passionate about the students and what he is teaching.  He also presents topics in a way that I have never considered, so each day I learn something new.   I am also becoming close to the students I interact with, and I feel so bad when I explain that I only go to Christel House Monday through Wednesday.   I often find myself wishing that I could spend every day of the week with them, because the students and teachers are just so amazing.  Don’t get me wrong, there are moments when I feel uncomfortable or out of place, but every day there are less and less of these moments.  Oh and as an update for all who know me, I am no longer painfully homesick!

Sam's fun Valentine's Day

Sam with kids from Christel House

Valentine’s Day was a very exciting day at Christel House. The kids didn’t have to wear their uniforms and instead got to wear red and pink and white. It was so weird not seeing them in their usual uniforms but it was also really fun because they seemed so much more relaxed. In the morning, a few select students from first, second and third grade got to go on a little trip to Brooklyn Chest Hospital. Brandi and I were allowed to tag along and it was amazing. We went to the school that they have at the hospital for the kids who are very ill and have to stay at the hospital for six months or more. Many of the kids have TB or HIV. They don’t usually get visitors either including family because of the distance. They typically come from poor families and the trip to the hospital could cost up to 50 rand so their families would have to decide if it is worth it to use that money to visit one child or use it to buy food for the rest of the family. Its very sad to hear, but I’m glad we could help make them happy at least for a little while. All the children at the hospital were so happy and loving. Our students brought books and little valentine’s days presents with cards that they made and spent the morning interacting with the children from the hospital and reading them their stories. They also got a chance to play games outside and run around for a while. The children from Brooklyn Chest sang a few songs for us and wonderful voices and I could tell that they truly enjoyed our visit. One of the boys there even gave a short thank you speech to us which made me feel even better about being there. Even though we were only there for a short amount of time, I know all the children involved really enjoyed it. 

When we returned to school the kids had lunch and then it was time for some games and fun. Grades R-3 got together outside and each grade had its own little competition for prizes, and then read out some of their valentine’s to each other. Their notes were adorable and most of them to their friends thanking them for being good friends and saying how much they loved them. There was also a modeling competition which may have been one of the funniest and cutest things I have ever watched. Two boys and two girls from each class got the chance to walk the runway and then the crowd got to pick their favorite to be crowned mr. and ms. Valentine. There was also a talent show afterwards in which some of the girls from my class did a dance and were amazing. There is a lot of talent in that school. It was a really fun day for everyone full of love and friendship. 

Maria Teaching at Thandokhulu High School

I believe there are so many pieces of information from my education that I can share with Thandokhulu and its students and teachers.  English is the language of instruction even though most students' first spoken language is Xhosa.  Their English writing is not as good as their speaking, but I am finding that this is mostly because they have never been taught how to structure essays.  A guest teacher from UCT barely mentioned the idea of an essay outline, rather than the "mind maps" or thought webs that all of the students are so accustomed to.  Upon realizing that students had never heard of this pre-writing tool that I had found so useful and effective when I was a student myself, I drew up a worksheet/information guide about how to write a persuasive expository essay.  These ideas were new for the teachers too, so I'm hoping that I can explain that they can use pre-writing techniques like this not only for homework, but also for their standardized tests, specifically the all-important Matric exam.

Passing the challenging series of examinations called the Matric is required in order to apply to college in South Africa.  The exam is only offered in English and Afrikaans, but there are 11 official languages spoken in South Africa, and many more unofficial languages.  Students who are not native Afrikaans or English speakers are at a dramatic disadvantage when taking the Matric, which is still reminiscent of the Bantu Education Act of 1953 under apartheid.  Even though apartheid has ended, white schools are still funded with an average of seven times more money than predominantly black schools in South Africa, which translates into white students passing the Matric at a rate of 95% and black students passing at a rate of 61%.  The pressure that these kids put on themselves to do well on the exam is enormous.  Some South African students serve the function of parents for their younger siblings because they were orphans, and still study every single free moment they have.  The students who pass get their names printed in the local newspaper for all to see, and there is so much pressure from everyone for them to do well that it takes up all of their free mental and emotional energy.  Some students who pass are obviously incredibly happy, but this happiness can be short lived.  In the documentary "Testing Hope" about the Matric exam, the two very best students in a predominantly black school went to University of Cape Town to see what they had to do in order to apply for higher education at university.  They found out that some of the courses that were required to even apply to the college were at a higher grade level than was even offered in the school they could attend and afford.  Despite all of their hard work, dedication, and infinitely impressive talents and intelligence, they still could not pursue higher learning to get a socially mobilizing career because their only options for schooling were underfunded and under-resourced.  One of the young men that the documentary followed was shot and killed because of random gang violence a very short period of time after he passed the Matric exam.  One female student remarked, “I feel like there is not any hope for us disadvanted kids from schools like this.”  South Africa has come so far and strives to achieve their motto of “Unity in Diversity,” but still has so much further to go.  I hope that I can make a tiny ripple of a difference in this vicious cycle.

One student made an appointment with me to discuss one of her essays before she handed it into the teacher I am observing.  I was excited to try to give her a very comprehensive understanding of what she could do to improve not only this specific essay, but also her writing in general.  We went over the whole thing and talked about why specific changes and additions would make the essay better, as well as how those changes can apply to all of her writing (including the Matric exam).  I felt guilty, ignorant, and ashamed of myself that I didn't expect her to be so smart just because I was basing my expectations off of her writing along (see Mackenzie's post about expectations!).  It made me nervous, motivated, and outraged that such a brilliant girl was more than capable of being a wonderful writer, but no one had ever taught her exactly how to do it.  Almost all of the information I was teaching her was brand-new to her, but she absorbed it all more like a "shamwow" than a sponge (see infomercial for better understanding.... very absorbent)!  I am so excited to get to know students like this one and share anything I know with them.  The students here are teaching me just as much as I'm teaching them; they explain what the Xhosa words in the stories mean, and we all laugh when I try to pronounce them.  They are so smart, friendly, motivated, intellectually curious, and excited about learning, so they are always find new ways to challenge me.  They are helping me become a better teacher and person every day.

Kristin experiencing the wonder of dance

This past weekend went by so fast! Friday night a bunch of us went a dance fundraiser for an extremely talented, young dancer named Lindiwe McClinton Rose. We were introduced to her a couple weeks ago by her father, Vernon Rose, who is one of our teachers here in Cape Town. Vernon also plays a large role in coordinating the UConn in Cape Town program, placing us in internships that correspond to our studies and make up happy, along with being part of an overall support system for us students. 

Lindiwe is Vernon's daughter who is leaving for LA soon.  She will be attending a dance school there, so, the fundraiser she held was to raise money for her studies. The show was called "Outside the Box", in which the dancers had to incorporate at least one box into their pieces. It was pretty cool seeing the creativity of the dancers, but that wasn't the best part. When the dancers were onstage, I wouldn't even consider their dances as a "performance". A performance, the way I see it, would require acting or putting on a show. The dances may have been choreographed, but they definitely weren't "acted out". 

Outside the Box: Lindiwe McClinton Rose in center

The dancers were so alive and they put their everything into it. Not just physically. They put their whole soul and I've never seen or felt a dance really come alive before. I've watched dancers at recitals and on TV, even on the dance shows with the extremely talented dancers. But this show seemed to be different, the dancers were different. Dance is what makes them feel alive and you can see it and feel it. I almost feel guilty for feeling so alive while watching them; I'm just sitting there, seemingly doing nothing but watching. But I guess the audience is a part of it too. The audience's energy and sincere appreciation of this art I think makes it all the more beautiful and alive. I think it moved a lot of us watching it. So many emotions were conveyed throughout the show: happiness, sadness, anger, desperation, love, loneliness, togetherness, and so many more.  That is definitely up there on my list of favorite things in Cape Town so far.

Other than that, things are going well. I've become more comfortable living here and I'm starting to feel like I never want to leave! I wish I could just bring all the people I love from back home to Cape Town! But I know I will be returning home in a couple months so the best I can do is just make sure I don't take anything for granted and enjoy as much as I can.

Nicole "Crunching Hard on Cheerios"

As I have been in Cape Town for a month now, I feel like the amount of knowledge I am gaining is amazing. I have, however, realized the lack of knowledge I had before my adventure. I would like to share with everyone a blog I wrote a few days ago in the moment of my frustration. It shows exactly how I was feeling right at the moment and therefore think it is important to share my direct response.I entitled it, "Crunching Hard on Cheerios." 

I want to go for a long run outside right now to get rid of the anxiety I am feeling but it is not safe to be alone at night here. So instead, I am eating cheerio after cheerio taking out my frustration on the poor defenseless grains that I am biting. I watched a video in class today that is a part of a three part series called Race: The Power of an Illusion. This particular movie in the series is called The House We Live In. It explains why people live in the areas that we do in the U.S.  and why certain areas are worth more than others. I am not about to teach a history lesson, because that isn’t what my blogs are about. I believe though it is only necessary to give a little background before I begin to rant and rave. 

In all of our history classes we were taught about the GI Bill and how it was beneficial after WWII. However, there were certain aspects that I was never taught. It provided an easier way for people to get housing by only requiring people to pay small down payments over a longer time span instead of requiring fifty percent of the cost of the house up front. What I never learned was that this was not something that reached everyone. Most black people were not allowed to buy houses in the same area as white people and were instead confined to small apartments that also meant they were considered as having less wealth. Integrated neighborhoods were considered lower in value. When it came down to it, the property value of the majority of white homes was much higher than the majority of black homes, and white people could get more money for a house just because of where it was located. And, when one lives in a more “valuable” community, they receive the benefits of the better education and safety and all that comes with it. What I am getting at is that I never learned this before. I was never taught about the distribution of housing and how it affected people’s lives. I learned almost the same history lesson every year, reinforcing how we are a country that wanted everyone to be equal and our achievements. But, what about the flaws? What about the people who are still dealing with the repercussions of this? Why did I have to fly all the way to South Africa and take a class on race to know problems like this exist? 

I’m not blaming my history teachers, they all taught me valuable information. However, our curriculums seem to focus on one perspective and I realize this is not enough for me anymore. Even facts in history can be such different things when looking at it from different angles. When I was in class today, I realize that I learned about our battle with racism in a few specific time periods like the Civil War and the Civil Rights Movement. However, it was only lightly touched upon that our own troops fighting in World War II were segregated while fighting people who were trying to separate people based on the way that they looked and where they came from. I want my general requirement classes in college to be about race and the issues so many people face rather than a class I am forced to take that does not apply to my life whatsoever. I am frustrated with myself for being ignorant but more frustrated with the fact that there is so much out there I have not learned that I feel like I should. The simple fact that I know people have such different privileges makes it that much easier to want to do something about it. I know I can’t change the world and I know I can’t fix everything. But an understanding of the world around us brings us that much closer to seeing its faults and wanting to change them.

        

    I do also want to make it clear how I always think about my life in my own country. Sometimes I feel as though I am forming my own bubble here in Cape Town, and saying all these things in a place that is so far removed from my old world that I act like things that used to matter to me do not anymore. I think that every human life is valuable and important. I recognize that although someone is living on the streets in Africa, someone is living on the streets in America. I also realize that someone may have a home and still be facing challenges that are extremely difficult for them. I never want to make someone feel as though their problems don’t matter because I have suddenly become aware of new problems that exist. My only hope is that my perspective as well as other people’s can be broadened in order to get a richer sense of the world around us and what can be done to make it better for all people.

Nellie muses "really nothing to complain about"

I’m not sure how many of you out there will read this (Other than Pat, Hi Pat!) but I figure that you’ve gotten a lot of the same format so I may as well spice it up for you. I present for you a Nellie Stagg original poem, brace yourself…

Our refrigerator doesn’t chill,

There’s a horrible smell by the grill,

The pool is lime-jello green,

That these are our chief complaints, is obscene.

I’ve been thinking a lot about how the things we have the privilege of fixating on, like how our yogurt goes bad after a day, how the oven freakishly never turns off, or what gnomes have been making the toilet paper vanish. It’s important to realize that if while here these petty annoyances are the most inconvenient things in our lives--then we really have nothing to complain about. Context is forced upon us as within biking distance lies authentic poverty.

My graph of the week is on another retrospectively frivolous inconvenience of ours, attempting to figure out how to manage the Braai and our inability to maintain a steady grill temperature.

Michael confronting his privilege up close and personal

Michael

It has been strange being confronted with my privilege here in Africa. In our class we talk about privileged in the area of socioeconomic status, race, country of origin, sex, gender, sexual orientation, religion. Talking about these things has not been difficult as I am pretty aware of what we cover in class and have thought of these things before. The difficult part has been seeing my privilege very blatantly put me above other people. For instance, at my internship I work at a newspaper and there are interns there as well. The other interns are blatantly more qualified than me, one has graduated from Northwestern's Journalism program, two have graduated form Rhodes University, and there is a group of 8 that qualified because they applied through a program that had over 1,000 applicants and they were chosen. I on the other hand am not even studying journalism right now, and have essentially no experience or qualifications. I have this opportunity based solely on the fact that I am an American (and of course the awesomeness of Vernon Rose). This is tough, how am I not suppose to not feel guilty about sailing over the heads of hundreds of more qualified individuals based solely on the country in which I was born?

Above all there is such immense poverty here, and a gap in wealth so defined by race that I cannot look around the fact that I “have” and others “have not” based solely because of my privilege. I don't think I really need to explain that, I assume you get what I am talking about.

But yeah, this is all just strange because in the states it is easier for me to look to those who are more privileged than me and call them spoiled rich assholes. Here, I cannot avoid the fact that I am the spoiled rich asshole with so much handed to me, and it is an uncomfortable position.  I guess I just don't really know what to do about it. Right now though, I have decided that the best I can do is take advantage of this privilege by making the most out of my opportunities, and not get cocky and think that somehow I have so much because I deserve it.

Meika goes beyond nervousness to new perspectives

Meika

Last week, the other interns from the Black Sash and I visited a Refugee Reception Center in Maitland.  While we were there, we passed out pamphlets to the refugees informing them of their rights and the complicated process of applying for refugee status here in South Africa.  Our director, Leone, also told us to simply speak with the people there.  We asked them where they are from, how long they had been in South Africa, if they thought they had experienced xenophobia while here, etc. 

I was nervous to go there.  The other interns I work with had been to the center a few times, but I didn’t know what to expect.  On top of that, I really didn’t think I would be helpful to anyone.  But after we actually got there, I became much more at ease.  It was easy to approach people and start a conversation, and I found that many just came up because they wanted the packet of information we were handing out.  I think the most incredible experience of that day was meeting a few guys from Somalia.  We learned that we were the same age and they told me about themselves.  We spoke about the difficulties that their country is facing, and why they decided to leave.  One of them said, quite simply, that he wanted the chance to find a job and live in a peaceful place.  He told me that nobody knew the hardships he had faced trying to leave Somalia.

This conversation was especially meaningful to me because in one of my classes last semester I spent a lot of time learning about Somalia and its human rights issues.  It was great to be able to take what I had learned and see it applied to the real world.  Their firsthand accounts and stories gave me a whole new perspective.  In retrospect, I was probably a little too giddy when I learned they were from Somalia.  It was just so exciting!  And truly, an experience I never thought I would have.  

Mackenzie on expectations

Mackenzi

During this trip I have had many experiences that have led me to think about the idea of expectations. Our lives, the present moments we live in, are often driven by thoughts of the future. We are motivated by the future, and sometimes this is a wonderful thing. It leads us to create goals and it allows us to be creative in our visions. However.. there are more instances than not in which expectations lead us down a path that isn’t so great. We develop pre-conceived notions of people and places and things and moments. When these people, places, things, and moments are different than what we expect – there are consequences.

It is so easy in our society and especially at my age to immediately judge people upon the first five minutes of meeting them. As much as I tried to come here and have little judgment towards my co-educators, I found my mind quickly labeling. I took snippets of what someone would say or do and then decide who they were off of that small impression. I noticed myself thinking negatively about certain individuals. I began to expect certain things from individuals that I did not necessarily like. What I did not realize was that in having these negative expectations.. I was missing out on those things about them that I could potentially like. I would seek out the things that I would expect them to do or say that would annoy me, and in that would totally miss out on any other aspect of them. After a conversation with Maria, I noticed this.. and decided to try and see a certain person in a different light. Since doing this, I have tried to be open about this individual and see all their aspects – good and bad. I was happily surprised when I began to see how funny they were and incredibly kind. I stopped expecting and looking for their imperfections, and many wonderful things shined through.

I see this same idea of expectation throughout this world. One day I was walking home alone from the main shopping area. Typically, I make a conscious choice to leave fear behind and just enjoy myself when I get to walk around this beautiful town. However, as I was walking on the sidewalk beside the commons I noticed from afar a black man walking towards me. At first, I was not phased at all and went on listening to my music. Slowly, I noticed him walking closer and closer towards me. He seemed to be walking directly at me. I noticed my heart speed up, and fear rise up inside of me. I noticed myself clutching my phone tightly in my hand. As he approached, I was unsure what to do. However, just as he got close to me, he immediately passed me, and I soon after noticed he was getting so close to me because in this small sidewalk – another runner was coming from the other direction. The man simply was trying to avoid bumping into this runner. How ridiculous this moment seemed. I feared someone mainly because of the color of their skin, and this is not something I can deny. I have prior EXPECTATIONS that my society has reinforced in me. I expected the worst in this stranger. I soon had the realization that my negative expectations were just as responsible for crimes being committed as are the criminals committing them. I am part of this cycle. I expect a certain type of person to have certain negative tendencies and in doing this I contribute to the expectations they have of themselves. I treated this man with fear and as though he was something to fear.. how could he not then think this of himself? How can the individuals living in these townships have any type of positive expectation and view of themselves when many people do not? When people are treating these individuals as something to fear, it is inevitable that they will begin to see themselves that way and then act accordingly. Our expectations are just as, if not more, responsible for the negative actions of individuals than the individual themselves. In addition to this – what are we missing out on when we have these expectations? What lovely thing did I miss when I feared this man on the sidewalk, for no reason at all? What relationships do we miss out on growing from when we expect negative things? When we create pictures of peoples or events- we miss out on all those things that don’t fit that picture. In cases such as racism and sexism we perpetuate certain negative behaviors and tendencies by creating images of people and then treating them accordingly. In large, it is not criminals and wrong-doers that often need to be looked at. It is the people surrounding them. It is our society and our community that needs an intervention. Our views need changing, not their behaviors.

People, places, things, moments won’t be what you expected. They will be so much more. So.. one of my newest goals in Cape Town (and life) is to breakdown my expectations and preconceived notions, and therefore be able to see everything and everyone for what they are.. beautiful. 

Kelsey's expanding appreciation of history . . . and art!

I’m really getting into the rhythm of things here in Cape Town. 

Kelsey

I think it’s safe to say I now feel like a true Capetonian. Everytime I think of the words Cape Town I always here the mini bus taxis yelling out the window with a whistle, “Cape Teown!” I am crossing the crazy main street of Rondebosch with ease. Playing Frogger in the middle of the road isn’t the easiest thing to get used to but living at the flat has made me become so comfortable with it – after all, I do cross it about six times a day. I’ll see people waiting on the side of the road for the crosswalk to allow them to cross the street and I can’t help but think “noob.”  

                 

Something worth noting is what I’ve realized this past week at my Thandokhulu internship. The learners (or students as Americans would say) in my eleventh grade classes were assigned a worksheet. While they were doing that, I decided to start reading through their history textbook. I came to the section describing Apartheid and noticed that there were at least four subsections pertaining to different perspectives – “White Afrikaans,” “Natives,” “Coloured,” etc. In each section it explained the general feelings of the particular class/race and gave voice to their side of the whole Apartheid system. In the school system I grew up in, not one of my history textbooks talked about any points of view of anyone. Instead, just the facts were given with an underlying “white perspective” bias. This just goes to show how much more race is recognized and talked about here. This variety of perspectives in my kids’ textbook amazed me.

                 

Lindiwe, Vernon’s daughter, had a fundraiser tonight which was a dance production, Outside the Box with some songs and a poem thrown in. It was INCREDIBLE! Seeing this show revived a submerged love for art. I think I forgot how much I truly love art because I’m rarely around it back home. Tonight made me realize just how unappreciated all forms of art are. The amount of talent Lindiwe and all of the other performers had was unbelievable; not to mention, I was laughing throughout the entire show at the MC’s. I could just feel the amount of love in that building and to be a part of that was beyond inspiring. I wish Lindwe all the best of luck as she heads to Las Angeles later this month.

My mom and her best friend are coming to visit me tomorrow and I am so freaking excited for them to come. I’ve got a whole week planned out for them. I can’t wait to give show them all the beauty Cape Town has to offer.

Kimmi on lessons regarding race in South Africa and the U.S.

At Christel House they are having a big sports day on February 23, 2012. Today we broke the kids into their four groups that were countries. The countries were where other Christel Houses were so it included USA, Venezuela, India and Mexico.

One of the little girls was then taken away to talk to the social worker. Her father passed away about four years ago. In South Africa, if you are together for a certain amount of years but not married then you are considered common law married so you share and get everything if they pass away. But her mother had no paperwork  to prove that, so she did not get the estate. Instead the property went to Masters, which is where it goes in cases like this. Masters decided to sell the house and so on Friday when this little girl came home from school she was forced to move out of her house. Masters did not even tell her mother anytime in advance just kicked her out right then and there. Currently the girl’s mother is going through chaos. They are staying with the girl’s older sister. It’s just a really sad story and she is going through so much already at such a young age. I couldn’t believe it.

           

In the classroom at circle time today we went over the date, weather, and yesterday and tomorrow. Miss Loren also taught them about big and small by giving examples. She used two of the students and showed that one boy was the biggest in the class and was taller than another. She also taught them about patterns. She drew an example of patterns on the board. One example was a big circle, little circle, big circle. Then she would ask them what would come next so they would get the concept. To make it even more difficult she put three different shapes pattern some of the kids got it others struggled.

           

While the kids were napping today I had a very interesting conversation with my teacher. First of all I love my teacher and we have a very good connection. She is amazing with the kids, passionate about her job and overall just a very funny and great person. She speaks fluent Afrikaans and is classified as coloured.

She said that all of the teachers at Christel House are coloured and all of the assistants are black. I thought this was interesting and wonder if it was done on purpose or by accident. Then we started to talk about race and she said that she thinks that Cape Town has gotten a lot better over the years. But the assistant said that it has stayed the same (the assistant is black and is fluent in Xhosa).

Miss Loren was talking about one story. This little 5-year old girl in the class was one day talking to her friend during snack time. Then she started saying that she wasn’t a ______  (a derogatory term) and she kept on repeating it. This shocked me that a 5-year old would know such an awful term at this age and know the meaning of it and use it! I could not believe it.   It’s very sad. My teacher was going on saying that she was also very shocked. She said that she sees everyone as the same and does not treat one person differently from another based on race. She said that her parents had to deal with that in the past through Apartheid and wish that on no one else. She told me that South Africa is now trying to be united and not look so much at race because of what happened during the Apartheid. That’s why they have so many official languages and their flag also represents every race. My conversation unfortunately got cut short because the bus was there. It was very nice to talk to her and I can’t wait to talk to her even more and learn more.

           

We had class today from 6pm-9pm. We talked about all of our privileges and that list can just go on and on. Chantelle came into our class and presented us with a trip where we can go to the township called Ocean View for a weekend. It’s a homestay so you are paired up with one other person and stay in a home together and get to know the family, eat meals with them, and help out with household chores. While there you also get to work on one of the projects whether it is a children’s after school program or technology club. I just think this is a real life changing experience that I would not want to pass up. When she was talking about it I got more and more excited about it. I can’t wait to go there and really experience a different side of South Africa.

           

To finish up the night we watched episode III of the PBS series Race the Power of an Illusion: The House We Live In . It shocked me. First they started the film by talking about immigration. They said how some people saw immigrants as a racial invasion. They talked about how the what was referred to as the Melting Pot did not actually include Asians, African Americans and other “races,” it was mostly just whites and Europeans.  The film also went into a case that really shocked me, it was about a Japanese man. He did everything right in order to become an American citizen he raised his kids like Americans and believed strongly in the American government. But when he was trying to become an American citizen he argued two main points. The first was that race shouldn’t matter for citizenship and beliefs and wanting to be an American should matter. The Supreme Court told him that he wasn’t white enough to become an American. They used “scientific evidence” to “prove” he was not white enough. Three months later man from India tried to become an American citizen and used science to say that he was Caucasian. The Supreme Court then told him he could not become an American because they said that science does not matter and that being white is understood by the “common man.”   According to the common man he was not white.

This really got me mad because our very own country and Supreme Court weren’t letting these two hard working well deserving people become American citizens just because of their race. They first used science as an excuse then once a man backs up being Caucasian with science they reject him as well. I just can’t believe that I did not learn these facts in my U.S History class. Nicole was saying that many classes are required for everyone to take at UConn such as Psychology, US History, English but the one class that matters the most is this class on the social construction of Race.

Everyone at UConn should be required to take this class because everyone should be informed about these issues that we had in the US. Everyone should be aware and educated about race. Especially people who are going into Education and Business. We should be teaching everyone about the things I am learning about now. All of things I have learned in the past about my history have been about wars and basically made me think that after the Civil War was over race was fine and everything is good. We need to teach our children more about this and make them aware.

We learned about the Alien Act as well where Asians were not allowed to purchase or lease land because they were too different and couldn’t become like the rest of us. This just made me think about my grandfather and how he was in the farming business. I wonder when he came over to the U.S if any of this affected him and how he felt about it. I wish I would have been able to talk to him about it before he passed. But this class is making me very interested in the American Asian culture as well and during the summer I’m going to try to learn more about it.

When the soldiers came home from World War II the federal government provided federal housing communities so that they could afford to purchase a home and pay 10 or 20% down and then the bank would finance the rest. One of these communities was called Levittown. One of the black soldiers was interviewed in the film and talked about being interested in one of the houses in Levittown and wanting to buy one but the salesman told him he couldn’t sell the house to him because he was not sure whether the owners of the development wanted to sell to blacks or not.

I just could not believe how awful that must have felt. He fought for our country and could have sacrificed his life but his own country would not let him live in certain areas. I had no idea that racism was so strong back then. It just gets me so mad when I learn about things like this. It makes me wonder what was going through everyone’s head and how could people let racism in the US get this bad. It makes me wonder how much better it has really gotten. Most people have just put a blind eye to race in the US I know myself included. I know that when I get home it will be a culture shock for me. I am interested to see what changes I see and what I can do to try to fix the way we think.