In thinking about my COSAT
experience and my time in Cape Town more generally, I decided to use the
metaphor of a souvenir to discuss my journey here. In discussing what a
souvenir is I will use the following definition: “A thing that is kept as a
reminder of a person, place, or event.” We look forward to returning with
mementos of our travels to commemorate an experience and show to people back
home what we have done and learned
What
should be remembered is that this process is occurs as a two-way street. We
often forget that we bring a lot of baggage (physical and metaphorical) to
whatever space we inhabit. These souvenirs that we bring from home influence
the lens with which we see things and how we process them. My souvenirs from
the States were pretty varied. I came to Cape Town with an open mind about what
I would encounter and the new things I would learn from being here. I think
this lack of expectations stemmed from not having a great understanding of the
complexities of South African history, culture, or education. I packed with me
the insecurity of not being able to relate to the kids that I was supposed to
be teaching at COSAT. I also was worried about my abilities as a teacher since
I have never taught or tutored formally before. My own ideas about gender
relations and equality also came with me on this trip. At the beginning of the
program, I did not think overtly about packing this overtly, but as I saw
gender dynamics and relations play out around and with me, I quickly realized
that I was speaking a different language in terms of how women are treated.
Lastly, my oversimplified notions of Blackness and connectivity with black
South Africans were knowingly brought with me because I had the intention of
observing how race relations play out here versus America.
As I
started interacting with Cape Town and taking the different classes in the BOSP
program, I began to form a travel guide, if you will, of the things I would
need to understand in order to navigate this context. First, I had to grasp
that not all racial issues could be compared with the US. Race plays out in a
very specific way in South Africa that does not always have an American
equivalent. For example, there exists the very heterogeneous mixed race of the
“coloured” people, while the one-drop rule in the States (where a person has
the slightest drop of black ancestry, they are considered black) still
determines how people identify and are identified. I also learned through
Service-Learning the importance of building relationships at our placements to
be effective volunteers. Because of several field trips and speakers we were
exposed to, I also began to have a better understanding of the history of South
Africa and the different cultures and stories that exist. Another crucial
aspect of my travel guide was the information I gathered about the South
African educational system. Without a framework with which to understand on the
most basic level the importance of Matric and the incredibly quantitative
nature of the system, I would have entered COSAT completely lost.
Finally
after all was said and done, I think I am taking back some pretty amazing
souvenirs from Cape Town. I know that there are limitations to what I can
accomplish and I should accept that and focus on where I can be of service
(which meant building relationships and talking to students for me). Jessica
and I accomplished this by finding out where our common interests and
experiences lied with whom we talked. In relation to this, the concept of
reciprocity comes to mind, which was crucial in my service. As much as I was
curious about the students and teachers, they were curious about me, which led
to rich conversations in and outside of the classroom. My understanding of the
country’s schooling from primary to tertiary gave me a great appreciation for
what COSAT is doing and the accomplishments they have made. Lastly, I learned that first impressions are
not always accurate; some people might need a different approach or more time
to fully understand them.
Studying
and participating in service-learning has made my time in Cape Town absolutely
incredible. Not only will I return with some amazing souvenirs and stories, but
I believe I have also left a small part of America for those I encountered.
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