Last night Carisa and I went out to dinner with Reagan, one of our CLC's, to discuss some of the information that would have been nice to know before coming to South Africa. He's going to put the input we gave him in the information packets for next semester's SA students. We might speak to the incoming groups too, and talk about some tips we would have liked to have known. We also had great conversations about apartheid and Reagan's past. He is a colored 26-year-old man whose first language is Afrikaans. (Sidenote: In SA, racial terms such as "colored" are used freely and are not considered offensive.) Growing up, Reagan started learning English but he was scared to speak it in his area because others would mock him. Speaking English put you at a higher level than those who didn't speak it, so when he spoke broken English, people in his community would discourage him and make fun of his efforts. He said how he can remember the day when all of a sudden everything for him changed from Afrikaans to English. His writing in his journal changed, his thoughts, his speaking, even his dreams changed all in one day. It's so interesting how the importance of speaking English has never even crossed my mind. What a blessing I take advantage of everyday!
He talked about growing up in an area of only colored people. He was considered better than blacks, but worse than whites. Once Mandela became president the apartheid supposedly ended. He said nonetheless, there is still the structure of apartheid everywhere. People were racially divided (physically and psychologically) and those divisions have remained. I have noticed when walking around town or in the malls how uncommon it is to see blacks and whites together in groups. It is still more common for the blacks to be the workers and the whites to be the customers. We have witnessed this even at our service sites. The volunteers are shocked when they find out we know how to cook and clean and that we don't have our own maids! It's so strange to think about how we are all living in the same era, sometimes I feel like I have traveled back in time. Yet, I must remember that race issues still occur everywhere. It has been incredibly eye-opening to experience this first hand.
During one of my Zulu classes this week our professor Wynn told us stories of life in PMB. I asked about how efficient 10111 (their version of our 911) is. She said in her area, just minutes away from African Enterprise, there is one police station that has only 2 cars to be dispatched. She said if there was an intruder in your home and you called 10111, you must speak in isiZulu because if they recognized you as a white, English-speaking person, they wouldn't help you. Yet, even if you spoke isiZulu, they would ask for all your personal information first before even attempting to send one of the cars to help you. By that point, the intruder would already be in your house!
She told us how she had to buy a gun to protect her children when they were young. Wynn has had experiences when men were coming onto her property and she had to threaten them. Wynn is absolutely hilarious and mentioned how she told her husband, "Don't you dare come home late and after dark because I'll shoot you!" She has been so trained to protect herself and her family that if she saw any unfamiliar shadow coming in the doorway, she would do whatever it took to be protected. It is just a different world here. She shares these stories as a regular dinner-table-discussion topic. Wynn also mentioned how some of her students, our pen pals, live in areas she doesn't even want to drive her car into because of the gang danger. Sometimes she drops the students off near their houses and she hurries them to get out of the car so she can turn around and drive away. For her to be scared in her locked car yet the young kids must then walk alone in the dark to their houses...I can't imagine. The toughness of kids my age and younger here is unattainable. The fact that they are forced to live such a lifestyle of self-defense is devastating. It definitely puts my daily struggles and worries into perspective.
Today I took a break from all the heaviness of service sites and went to Durban for the day! We went back to the market for souvenirs and then off to the beach. It was so relaxing. I fell asleep on the beach and actually started dreaming I was sleeping so soundly! It was wonderful. We drove back in another intense rain and lightening storm. Baba Philip is hands down, the best driver! Even when it seems like there is a wall of rain in front of the bus, he can see where to go. I love the feeling of being warm and dry inside when there is a huge storm outside. It reminds me of home a little. Right now I am watching Hairspray with the girls while sitting cozily in my sweatpants and sweatshirt. Tomorrow we are off to watch a musical about the history of South African music. I am constantly amazed at all the activities our tuition covers! This is just some of what I have been learning lately. Everyday brings me new mind-boggling things to think about that always end up hurting my head...and usually my heart.
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