Molo

Hello. That is what the above statement translates to. The language is Xhosa /koh(with click sound)sa/, and it is one of the main dialects in this area of South Africa. Classes started on Tuesday, and one of the classes I'm taking is Xhosa Language and Culture. I love being able to apply what I learn.

Week 2 of my time in South Africa was eye-opening.

On Monday, we took a city tour, and our tour guide's name was Colleen. Colleen is a fiery, brilliant, and brave woman who has been somewhat of an activist since childhood and is someone who has lived through apartheid. On our city tour, she shared and showed us many things, such as the following: colonization, slavery, religion, language, the "pink" area (gay areas), where Nelson Mandela gave his first speech after being released from prison, controversy surrounding the 2010 FIFA World Cup, Camps Bay (what you see pictured in my last blog entry), Muslim neighborhoods (Bo Kaap is the neighborhood with the colorful houses, pictured here), etc. The other picture I included is of this bridge that was originally half the width that it is now, that had a fence going down the middle, with barbed wire on top. Non-whites walked on one side, and blacks on the other). Everything was really interesting, especially when she had included her personal stories.

On Tuesday, classes began, bright and early. I'm a shopper and take advantage of the fact that I can "shop" (aka try out classes) the first few days of the quarter. I went to the "Race and Division of Labor." Definitely an interesting class. It's taught by a woman named Xolani, who is part of the GSB at the University of Cape Town. The class delves deep into race relations and tensions in South Africa through the lens of labor (is cooler than it sounds).

On Wednesday, I went shopping from 9am-5:30pm. I shopped the Xhosa language class. Who knew that clicking could be so hard? There's 3 clicks, and I have yet to perfect one. Afterwards, I shopped the "History and Politics" class taught by a Mary Simon. She has a very interesting story. Just to give you some details about her life, both her parents were activists and were exiled, she was under house arrest for a couple years and was not allowed to be with more than 3 people at one time because authorities thought she might be conspiring. After the history class, I went to my service-learning class. Everyone in the program in doing service-learning, which is basically volunteering for an organization in the service sector. In addition, we take a class to understand the theories and concepts in service delivery. The first discussion was really fuzzy for me, but it was still interesting.

On Thursday, we took a tour to different "townships" and went to District 6. ("Townships" are places where non-whites settled after being evicted from their homes during apartheids.) Again, Colleen was our tour guide, and what made the tour especially fascinating is that she is from District 6. District 6 is famous for the residents' resilience to eviction from their homes. Colleen told us childhood stories, pointed out houses in the neighborhood of who used to live there, and gave us a tour of the District 6 Museum. I highly recommend reading a little bit about South Africa history, apartheid, and District 6. If you don't want to read, at least watch the movies "District 9" and "Skin." Two very different movies which show the harmful and devastating effects of apartheid.

After the District 6 tour, we took a tour of two of the townships, Langa and Khayelitsha. We learned about the history and some of the problems that are still occurring in these communities which house millions of South Africans. We even got to meet women in these townships, and they are two of the most inspirational people I have ever met. One woman has HIV/AIDS and has become an inspiration to many in her community because of her strength. She leaves her anti-retrovirals on display in her living room to show others that "AIDS doesn't mean you're going to die. You can still do something." And she has been doing a lot. She teaches women how to sow, has her own small business, and sells trinkets. We met another women who met Vicky, who transformed her home into a bed and breakfast, "the world's smallest hotel." From the outside, the two-story building is made of metal scraps and sheets, but inside, the place is beautiful. Wooden floors, nice furniture, tile bathroom. Afterward, we had dinner in Langa. The inside was huge, and the owner was a great hostess and comedian. There was a group of men singing and playing music and a giant buffet (26 dishes). The overall experience of learning more about the townships and the people who lives there was truly eye-opening.

From Monday to Thursday, I gained an even greater appreciation for the history and culture of South Africa. I'm very blessed in that I got learn in multiple ways--from taking classes, going on tours, attempting to speak the language, engaging with people from here and learning these stories…I'm so excited to learn more about the context of where I'll be living and service-learning for the next few weeks. So much more to learn and I can't wait.

Molo…a brand new day has begun :)