Caitlin's becoming increasingly aware of her surroundings

I’ve been thinking a lot recently about how history still lives on so visibly here in Cape Town, particularly Apartheid history. It's interesting and saddening to see how apartheid legacy still lasts, either through racism or more often socioeconomics. I’ve also become more cognizant of these situations. In the US, if I was in room or an area with just white people I wouldn’t even notice- I only noticed when people looked different than me. This is most likely a function of the lack of diversity where I grew up, but it has begun to change as I experience life here. For example, going to a church in Rondebosch for Ash Wednesday I was struck by how the congregation was primarily white, as compared to the church service attended in Ocean View. This weekend I also visited Camps Bay and the Old Biscuit Mill and was surprised at the lack of diversity in those places as well. I’m reminded that whites are the minority here in South Africa, so when I see so many white people concentrated in one place I begin to wonder what is separating the races in Cape Town even today. There’s nothing revolutionary about these realizations, but they show that I’m becoming more aware of my surroundings and how the types of people I interact with can be a function of location and history. It’s also interesting to see the responses of my friends when we visit these different areas- I could tell that we all instinctively feel more comfortable in places like Camps Bay or Old Biscuit Mill because they’re populated by upper-middle class whites, which is what we’re used to in Connecticut. This is part of why I find it so fascinating to ask people here about the places they visit post-apartheid to see what habits have been changed and which ones remain. I was interested that I did some research and found this website, which asks the same question of several residents of Cape Town: http://www.citypress.co.za/features/oceans-apart-20120211/. It’s not a scientific study, but it captures some of the different sentiments that people have today. I’m interested to keep noticing these things and hopefully come to a deeper understanding of race relations here. 

Taylor P, Julia, Jillian, Caitlin, Taylor L, & Becca at Camps Bay with arms up (but with lots of smiles) in solidarity with Taylor L who broke her collarbone.

P.S. I actually was thinking more about what I wrote in my blog post, and remembering back to the things I did over the weekend. Despite feeling familiar with my surroundings, in the back of my mind the awareness of being in a "white" space actually made me feel vaguely guilty, because I felt like I was participating in racial and socioeconomic segregation. I also was a little pissed off at all the other people in these spaces, and wondered if they realized the implications of what was happening. I don't know why, but this was especially true in church- maybe because it's supposed to be a welcoming space for everyone, and I felt that the diversity there really didn't reflect Cape Town's diversity. I've become a lot more comfortable in diverse locations in the past month, probably from being the only white person in my internship! It's definitely been an interesting experience, and it makes me wonder how my Black friends from Storrs felt being the minority in a majority-white town. I'm definitely open to expanding my horizons and I'm hoping that by the end of the semester we'll all feel comfortable no matter what the race or socioeconomics of the people around us.