Jillian continuing to co-educate . . .

Even though I’ve been home for a month already, it feels like my trip to South Africa was just yesterday. Everything I’ve learned in Cape Town has stuck with me and has been helping me continue my growth and do many of the things I’ve been striving to do since my experience abroad. I’ve been following the news more and staying informed with things that are happening around the world. I’ve also incorporated conversations about race and discrimination into my conversations with friends and family. Even though no one else completely understands what my experience was like, everyone has been eager to hear about it and has tried their best to understand. Before being in South Africa, I was afraid to have these types of conversations and would never speak up about anything about race, gender or class. After returning, I’m finding it so easy to talk about it. My hometown is not diverse at all and I was sheltered from poverty and racism for so long, which makes me extremely grateful to have been able to go to South Africa. Even though I’m not seeing the struggles people are going through around the world, I know it is occurring everywhere and I’m thinking about ways I can help often. I’ve been able to educate my friends about the world more and they all seem interested to learn more. I’ve also been able to have more conversations with my friends who are black or colored about their experiences. I’m learning so much at home just from talking to people and if I never went to South Africa, I don’t think I would be having these conversations. I miss the lifestyle in Cape Town and I miss the hospital I worked at because I was able to see the direct impact I was having on people’s lives. Even though I cannot see that at home, I have hope that what I’ve learned in South Africa will continue to help me educate others and impact people, however small the difference may be.

Jillian is preparing to leave and bring home some of the lessons learned

With less than a week left here, it’s hard to believe that I will have to say goodbye to beautiful Cape Town soon. The lifestyle in South Africa is so different to the lifestyle back at home. Everyone is much more relaxed here and less focused on rushing around trying to get places. I love the slow pace of life and the appreciation for the outdoors and enjoyment here. Even with all of that, it’s still hard not to notice the discrimination and unrest here. I was in a cab the other day and the driver was "classified" colored. There was a group of black men crossing the road and the cab driver got really hostile and honked at them. One black man was still crossing the road and the cab driver ran right into him and the black man moved out of the way just in time. The cab driver yelled out the window some very offensive and insulting things to the black man. This was my first real encounter with racism here. I’ve heard of things happening, but I had never been in the presence of it. This showed just how real the competition is between blacks and coloreds. It bothered me to see such hostility when the black man wasn’t doing anything wrong. I didn’t speak up, but I wish I did. I was so confused and shocked at what had happened that I didn’t know what to say. After the occurrence, a lot of things from Marita’s class came into my mind. I have a whole new appreciation for Marita’s class after this happened because I’ve learned so much about what to do in those types of situations. I’m hoping that if I have another encounter like that, I will be ready to speak up. After being in Cape Town seeing and hearing acts of racism and discrimination, I wonder if I will be able to notice things more at home. I’m hoping if I do see something like that again, I will be able to speak up.

Jillian still processing all is is learning

My parents came to visit this past week which was a lot of fun and also sparked some interesting conversations. I’ve talked to my parents over the phone about the townships and the experiences I’ve had, but they were never able to quite understand it because they had yet to experience it for themselves. Once they came to visit and after going on the township tour with Vernon, they were able to have a better understanding of it all. It was helpful to discuss it with them and be able to process it more, because I still haven’t finished processing everything that I’ve seen so far and I know I will continue to process it throughout my life. It was also interesting to see my parent’s initial reactions to everything after I’ve been here for so long and had time to take it in. They were shocked at the amount of gang violence that occurs in the townships, such as Manenburg. I never realized how much I’ve actually learned until I was the one educating and teaching my parents. 

Jillian enjoying time with her parents during their recent visit.

Having my parents visit at the end of the trip also made me realize how little time I have left in South Africa. With less than two weeks to go, I feel like I need so much more time here. At the same time, I’m ready to go back home and apply what I’ve learned here and educate my friends. I’ve grown and learned so much and I want to start using everything I’ve learned to educate others and further my education as well. I’m just trying to appreciate my last two weeks and soak it all in so I can have even more amazing stories and memories for when I return home

Jillian knowing the things she's learned in South Africa will always be with her

For our excursion we went to Johannesburg and Kruger National Park. I enjoyed both places a lot because I was able to see a completely different part of South Africa. Living in Cape Town has been amazing so far, but being able to travel to other parts of the country has given me a more wholesome idea of South Africa. I also really enjoyed going into Soweto for some of the museums and for the Girls and Boys Club. I liked going to the museums because they reinforced the knowledge I’ve already learned and taught me more. I was able to see the effects of apartheid in another part of South Africa as well and learn about it in the museums. At one of the museums, we went to a cemetery where many victims of apartheid were buried. We walked up and down the line of people buried and that made me realize just how many people were affected by apartheid and how many lives were lost. One of the museum tour guides has her husband and children buried there and she got emotional during this part of the tour. Seeing that emotion and that affect in real life and not just hearing about it or watching it in videos made it that much more real. After learning so much about the horrible effects of apartheid, I still don’t understand how humanity could let something like that happen. I don’t understand how the rest of the world could let that happen. In the United States, I live in a mostly white community where I don’t see the oppression of the world or learn enough about it, but in South Africa I see and learn about it every day. The things I’ve learned in South Africa will always be with me and will be something that I can’t ignore.

Another part of the excursion that I loved was volunteering at the Boys and Girls Club. The children there were so fun to be with and I couldn’t help but wonder what their home lives are like. I think it great that Soweto has the Boys and Girls Club as a resource but that isn’t enough for all the children. It’s not right that children are punished for circumstances that they were born into and can’t help. All of the children at the club had such warm hearts and were so playful, but I wonder if the influences of society and the effects of apartheid are going to change that. There are a lot of great resources in South Africa and a lot of people working to improve the country, but there is so much more to be done and it’s hard to know where to begin. The excursion in Johannesburg was another great learning experience that exposed me to the beauty and hardships of South Africa in a different setting.

           

Jillian learning much about social work

The original social worker at Sarah Fox returned from maternity leave last week and I’ve already learned so much from her. I liked the previous social worker also, but I wasn’t given as many opportunities as I am now. I’ve been able to observe more counseling sessions and I have more independence to talk to the children and families. Last week, I went to Child Welfare to talk to another social worker about one of the patients at Sarah Fox. I really enjoyed that beacuase I was able to learn about another organization and learn more about child protection. My internship has been such an amazing learning experience, but it’s also been difficult to see so many children suffering because of neglect. Many of the children end up returning to the hospital once they’ve left due to malnutrition because they aren’t being properly cared for. It’s frustrating to see children neglected, but a lot of the time it’s because the parents aren’t educated enough. I experienced this firsthand when I attended one of the parent support groups at Sarah Fox. At the support group, the Sarah Fox staff educates the parents as best as they can on health, nutrition, and social services. I was surprised to see how uneducated the parents were and how important it is to speak in very simple language and keep things basic. When educating them on nutrition, many of them didn’t know what foods have protein or what foods were healthy in the demonstration. Sarah Fox is a great resource to educate families, but there are still so many people who aren’t getting a good education. This makes me question what South Africa is doing to help and why there doesn’t seem to be any improvement. My experience in Cape Town has been beautiful, but my eyes have been opened to the many struggles people face here and that only makes me want to help more.

Jillian's weekend of exciting challenges and fund times

Jillian's view from atop Table Mountain

Now that the planned weekends have ended, I’ve finally started making my own plans. Last weekend I hiked Table Mountain and it was such an exciting challenge. I was exhausted during the hike, but the view was absolutely beautiful and I loved the landscape throughout. It was like nothing I have ever seen before. There were cool rock formations and beautiful flowers that I couldn’t get enough of. I was also able to see the very unique protea which is Cape Town’s flower. After four long hours, I finally made it to the top and was able to take everything in. It was a cloudy day which was actually awesome because I was able to see the clouds flow over the top while still seeing the beautiful view of Cape Town. I felt a huge sense of accomplishment after hiking Table Mountain and I’m looking forward to exploring the other trails that lead to the top.

Sunday afternoon at Mzoli's

The Sunday of that same weekend, I went to Mzoli’s with some other people in the program. Mzoli’s is a restaurant located in the Cape Town township called Gugulethu. At Mzoli’s people gather under an open shack with music and bars and eat various types of meat that is cooked on a braai deliciously. At had such an awesome time because we were able to reconnect with the people at Human Rights Weekend. Mzoli’s was a great cultural experience because I was able to see another side of Cape Town that I hadn’t seen before. I met a lot of really fun people and everyone was so open to just having a good time together. We danced, laughed, and ate unbelievably good food. It was also a really good cultural experience because I was definitely a minority there. I liked doing something that was authentic to Cape Town and not so touristy. While I love exploring the city and doing all of the typical touristy things, it’s nice to be surrounded by locals and get a true cultural experience that is unique to Cape Town. My weekend was filled with new experiences and I can’t wait for the weekends to come!

Jillian eager to apply what she's learned

Last weekend I was fortunate enough to participate in Human Rights Weekend on a beautiful farm far from Rondebosch. Going into it, I had no idea what the weekend was going to be like. I was also a little nervous because I honestly had no idea what human rights were. I had a general idea, but human rights were not something I learned in school. Thinking about that now, human rights are such an important part of everyone’s lives. I’m amazed that schools do not teach us about our basic human rights. If we don’t know what our human rights are, how are we expected to defend them and stop them from being violated? This weekend was extremely necessary for me to understand what my human rights are and how to avoid being taken advantage with them.

This weekend was much better than I had expected. I was expecting to be sitting in a room all day getting lectured at about Human Rights, but it wasn’t like that at all. I was able to interact and learn from everyone, not just Vincent (the facilitator). In addition to the 17 of us, there were several other South African and international people there that I was able to meet and get to know. Meeting these people was probably my favorite part of the weekend. Immediately when I got to my room, which 11 other people were also staying in, we all sat in a big circle and started talking. I was able to get to know everyone throughout the whole weekend with the group activities we did. I was able to learn so much through these interactions and I now have a much better understanding of what human rights are. One of my favorite activities was the perpetrator, bystander, victim, and defender activity. In this activity, everyone had to write down a time when they personally violated someone’s human rights, when they saw someone’s rights being violated and didn’t try and stop it, when their human rights were being violated, and when they defended someone whose rights were being violated. I enjoyed this activity because I was able to reflect upon my personal experiences which opened my eyes to experiences I had where I didn’t even realize human rights were involved. This raised my awareness of human rights in everyday life and made it easier for me to recognize in the future so I can try and stop any violation I see. I also liked it because we were able to share our experiences with the group. I learned a lot about the people I was spending the weekend with and hearing their stories was heartbreaking but inspiring at the same time.

Overall, I found the weekend extremely informative and I learned a lot about other people’s stories and about myself as well. I developed a greater level of awareness for human rights and I’m excited to take what I’ve learned and apply it to my life. Human rights are so important to learn about and I’m thankful I was able to get a better understanding of them. One of my goals during this program was to become more informed and with Human Rights Weekend, I am definitely more informed than I was before.

Jillian's getting much more comfortable with South Africa

Jillian (in center) with friends Julia & Caitlin

As the program continues, I’m getting much more comfortable in South Africa. I’m meeting so many new people through my internship and just from being out in the community. One thing I’ve noticed about South Africa is that the people are much more open and willing to talk and have a conversation with you. I love the community here just because the way of life is so different than in the United States. People focus more on relationships than having a schedule and routine. At my internship, the pace is so different. People aren’t rushing to get things done. They are instead stopping to have conversations with coworkers and enjoy their time at work. Because of that, the atmosphere at my internship is great to work in. I’ve gotten to know the people I’m working with fairly well and we always have a good time together.

We’ve been learning a lot about racism in class and I’m beginning to see the world differently because of what I’m learning and being exposed to. A lot of this information I never learned at home and I felt uninformed. I found it hard to speak up about certain issues for fear of sounding uneducated or of offending someone. Now that I’m learning more about racism in the world, I feel a lot more comfortable talking about it. I ask more questions at my internship about apartheid and how people felt during it. I’ve asked the social worker numerous amounts of questions because we’ve developed a great relationship. I’ve learned so much from her just by starting conversations. Aside from starting conversations, I’ve been trying to be more active in the community regarding race, gender, and poverty.

Last week, I went to a production called “Reclaiming the P Word” which was put on by the Gender Equity Unit at the University of Western Cape. The show consisted of all young black women telling different true stories about sex, gender, and femininity. It was very similar to slam poetry. I really enjoyed the show because all of the women told the stories with so much emotion. Parts of it were really funny and other parts of it were more emotional. Afterwards, we met some of the people in the Gender Equity Unit who were in the show and they were all so fun. I’m glad I went because I met some really awesome people and learned a lot about women and feminism.