During the first week of orientation, the Director of CIEE described the three stages of culture shock. He demonstrated this by using three apples. He took a bite out of the first apple and exclaimed how delicious and exciting it tasted, and that it gave him full of life. The second apple he tried made him feel nauseous and it had a weird worm-like creature living in it. The third apple made him feel content. He acknowledged that it tasted different to him, but he liked that different taste. When writing my first blog after arrival, I was most definitely still eating that first apple. But now that I have been here another week, and have seen and done more, I have experienced a taste of that second and third apple as well.
I went on a tour of Cape Town, which ended in Cape Point, the very tip of South Africa. The ride took us through the city and past many museums and touristy attractions, which I had already seen. It was at this point that I knew why some people say Cape Town is very European. The shopping and the restaurants all have that European feel. But we kept going past the city and I was able to see parts I did not expect to see. First, there were the beaches. They were gorgeous with a turquoise color and rows of nice restaurants and shops. On the hills overlooking the scenery were these huge mansions. Their location was perfect and their architecture was flawless. I had been introduced to the homes of some of the richest South Africans. But then we kept driving past the luxury, and with only five minutes gone by, arrived at a township. The instant contrast was mind-boggling and I did not expect it at all. I had seen the extremes in living conditions within such close proximity of each other. That usually does not exist in the States, at least not to this degree where on one end there are million dollar homes and on the other there are homes literally made from scrap. The tour guide explained the circumstances of these people. And the lectures I had in my African Development course at Georgetown came to life. There is no middle class in South Africa; you have people who are either very rich or very poor. And the outlook for those who are poor to rise up from despair is grim, with South Africa having around a 25% or higher unemployment rate. So although South Africa is considered “European”, I learned during that drive that there are aspects of it which make it not like Europe and not like anything I see at home, particularly not that extreme level of poverty. What this showed me is that the States are much different than here, although my first week made me feel like I was in a second home. While America obsesses over the middle class, South Africa has none. The politics are very different here and I hope that through talking to locals and when I get to visit the townships, I will be better informed as to how different it is.
I have tried to keep up the initial excitement I felt in the first week during my last free week before school starts. I have been successful in many ways. I shark cage dived on Monday which was incredible and far from something I’d ever see myself do. I ventured to the middle of nowhere to listen to South African bands where I met a lot of locals, who showed me the quirky and hippy side of many South Africans. However, I still can’t shake the feeling that something more needs to come from my experience. As my dad told me over the phone, I’m not here on vacation. What I saw with the gap in class showed me that there are many aspects of South Africa needed to be experienced. And these aspects do not necessarily involve me taking out my camera and being a typical tourist. I need to find out what else will complete my experience. When I do, I will be able to say I finished that third apple.
