Well, finally, roughly two weeks after arriving, we began school. We have classes Tuesday-Thursday from 8:30-4:30 . They are no doubt long days, and do not leave much time for doing anything else, but it is nice to have four day weekends. Tomorrow we do not have school. It is a national holiday here in SA: National Youth Day. The day is in memory of the youth who gave up their lives in dedication to the revolt against unfair education and rights during the apartheid era.
Yesterday it was raining, so we basically stayed inside all day. I traveled to a nearby outlet mall to look for some running shoes because I wsa hoping for a second pair of shoes. I found the shoes I was looking for, but surprisingly, they were more expensive here than back in the states. This is a stark contrast because things are usually much cheaper here. The average cost of a restaurant is $7. My shoes that I was looking for was about $120. This fluctuation in price is not too surprising because while most things are cheap here, other things are more expensive: cheese, honey, gum to name a few.
On my way to the outlet shops I was walking along the street looking for them when a poor man approached him. He asked me for a house. While I didn't have a house on my person, I asked him for directions to the shops, and gave him a breakfast in return. He was ecstatic. I did this action with our past class in mind. Am I really helping the problem? Am I showing a poor man a feast, only to turn him out again. Most people argued in our class that our presence here is worthless. We can't help, we can only know that there is a problem. We also talked about how we cannot see people as a problem to solve, but as a person. How can we do this if the problem is clear? There are many difficult questions to be answered here over the next few weeks. Any thoughts?
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I think you have a big heart! Always have. Can't wait to see what you do with all you are taking in. You definitely are constantly in my thoughts!
ReplyDeleteI think it is awesome that you are looking such great, challenging, and intimidating questions in the eye, so to speak.
ReplyDelete"Most people argued in our class that our presence here is worthless. We can't help, we can only know that there is a problem." I think, in those two sentences alone, you have answered your own question. How can something be worthless if you are learning and growing from it? You may not be helping anyone or anything on this trip, but hopefully you are gaining insight and perspective that will shape your sense of civic duty and your desire to give back in the future. There is a whole world of need out there, and I do believe that, once we are aware of the need, we can find ways to help. Numerous people I've met are completely ignorant that some of these problems even exist, just trapped in the bubble of their own lives and their own immediate needs/desires. I do not believe your presence there is in any way worthless; it's part of a bigger picture and an education that WILL allow you to make a difference in the long term. Just my thoughts :) Love ya!