What Lies Beyond the City Border

Yesterday I was reminded of what had sparked my initial interest in studying abroad in South Africa. I have found that it becomes easy to get caught up in all of the beauty and glamour of Cape Town and forget about what goes on past the city borders. This past week I have gone to exquisite beaches, hiked up extraordinary mountains, and have had the pleasure of attending various gourmet restaurants. During all of this excitement I will admit, the concept that I was in a third world country was somewhat lost in translation. However, on a trip that I took yesterday my feet were brought back to ground level as I got to see a part of Africa that is not necessarily promoted in the average travel book. Here at the University of Cape Town there is an organization called SHAWCO that has a partnership with the townships and allows UCT students the opportunity to go in and work with the children once per week throughout the semester. After a brief presentation to all of the students studying abroad, the SHAWCO staff brought any students interested to one of the three townships involved in the program.

When we dismounted the bus, we were no longer in the area that we had recently become familiar with. Even though we were a mere twenty minutes out of town, our surroundings took on a completely new look. Tiny broken down shacks lined the dirt filled roads, raggedy clothes were strung on clothing lines from wall to wall, and the Merecedes and Audis so often seen in downtown Cape Town were replaced with beat up cars or no cars at all. Although I was a bit apprehensive getting off the bus and walking through the gate of the rundown school, my nerves rushed away the second we reached the building and were bombarded with smiling children filled with joy because we were coming to see them. As we walked from class to class children shouted hello, posed for pictures, and even asked for our signature as well as our place of origin. We spent an hour of our time interacting with the children and learning about their lives both in and out of the school system. I made several bets with the 6^th grade boys on whether or not I could beat them in a 1v1 game of soccer. I tried to tell them that I am three times their age and play at the collegiate level but they would not budge, resulting in a pinky promise for a match the first time I return. The girls in the class were amazed by the color and texture of my hair, as they couldn’t understand how it got so light and why it dried so straight. A few of them asked me if they could buy it from me, but much to their disappointment I was unwilling to pull a Demi Moore and buzz it all off.

One thing that I found particularly odd, as well as quite funny, was the children’s fascination with Asians. Whenever someone of Asian descent walked into the class all of the children would shout and point. One boy even yelled, “Look at the Asian!! Teach us karate!” as he did various chops and spins like the karate kid. Perhaps the children had never seen an Asian face to face and were only exposed to them through the movies and video games that present a very limited side of the Asian culture. At any rate, it was pretty funny to watch how uncomfortable the Asian student got as the children barraged her with questions and somewhat politically incorrect assumptions. Once we left the township I was hooked. I soon realized that the organizers of SHAWCO knew exactly what they were doing by bringing us on an hour tour. This second you step off the bus you fall in love with the kids and the program. It is inevitable that you will use your time to be a part of this group and work towards developing a relationship with the children of the township. I plan on going at least once per week on an afternoon, but I need to decide the age of the children that I am going to work with. Any suggestions? I love how cute the little ones are, but I will admit that I enjoy joking around with the older children that give you a little more attitude. Being a person who has always had a bit of sass ever since I was little (just ask my mother if she hasn’t already bored you with stories), I feel as though I can appreciate the work of a good wise guy.

I find it somewhat funny that all of this time I have professed my interest in helping those in need and changing the life of another during my stay in Africa, when really it seems as though I am going to be the one who takes the most out of this experience. Sure I might help the kids develop in the game of soccer or teach them how to improve their English grammar, but it is me who will be growing as a person because of this relationship. These children are going to allow me to see the world from a different, far less fortunate perspective. Even today seeing the excitement they got from our arrival taught me that there is more to life than all of the glitz and the glamour that we have become accustomed to and quite frankly, taken for granted. Of course it is easy for me to recognize this fact a short while after I have visited the township and seen it first hand. It is also easy to say all of this in a blog or to my friends, but I am hoping that after four months of being integrated and involved with these children and their lifestyle, that I can see the world from a different perspective in a lasting way, even if the change is only ever so slight.