Random Musings (Samera)

Being in South Africa has been an interesting experience. Although, I don't think I have experienced as strong of a cultural shock as some for a variety of reasons. Firstly, I have been confronted by extreme poverty before as I have spent a considerable amount of time in another, less developed African nation. Also, this is not the first time that I have been confronted with racial issues. Personally, I have always found the politics of race and race relations fascinating and often find myself reading random related journal articles for the fun of it- but I'm a geek like that. I often wonder what the others think when (probably) newly confronted with these issues. Sometimes, I get mad that it requires an out of country experience for many to realize such global problems- and these are global problems that no nation is spared of. Often times, people will reiterate that these issues are not far from home- I think this is an important point to make.

Such reiterations constantly makes me wonder why in America are issues of socioeconomic and race related poverty so easy to escape, while my fellow Duke Engagers are so aware of it here in South Africa? Yes, in Cape Town- you see homeless people asking for money or food on the touristy Long Street- and we feel pangs of empathy. Yet, I feel such empathy is vacated once we see homeless people on our local Ninth St. in Durham. Personally, I've been mentally wrestling with how do you show dignity for those who are in extreme poverty. After all, we all deserve the respect that humans are entitled to. This stems from the fact that the socially conditioned practice of ignoring the visible poor leaves me cold. I can't fault Cape Town though, this is the socially conditioned practice everywhere- if not worse in some places. Though much thought has occurred, I haven't figured out the appropriate way to interact with extreme poverty.

Additionally, my time in South Africa so far and specifically Cape Town, has awakened in me new areas of academic interest. Trust me, my prior mentioning of reading up on race just scratches the surface as to the amount of reading I do. Interacting with South African society via work and play has introduced a whole host of questions that only academic articles can answer (my form of personal education). One speaker we had peaked my interest in "Coloured" identity in SA and another made me wonder about perceptions of HIV/AIDS in the nation. My workplace (as well as the practices of South Africa's own president, Zuma) have me wanting to read up on the legal practice of polygamy as it seems so foreign to me. Overall, I'm excited to explore more parallel issues between the states and SA as well as find more random topics of personal interest.

-Samera