Lights will guide you home

-->

Nelson Mandela-Can you see the outline of his face?!

 I haven’t updated my blog in quite sometime mostly because I felt very lost as to where to even begin in terms of conveying to my friends and family what my experience has been like in Pretoria and in dealing with the new factors that have come into play now that I’m in a completely new environment. We left for Pretoria on Friday and like expected we have all come to know each other fairly well. I think what is most interesting from a psychological perspective is how people’s personalities are magnified and their feelings/emotions/mindsets are highly sensitive to their new surroundings. Studying abroad is just  unlike any other experience; we forge friendships instantly and divulge aspects of ourselves that may have taken us months to feel comfortable doing so in our home setting. It is all beautiful and terrifying at the same time.  We are all very diverse in our backgrounds, personalities etc. however, I strongly feel in my heart that each one of us has something to bring to this experience that makes us indispensable to the group. We all want to change the world and every day we share our passions, dreams and concerns, and through these interactions get greater insight into how we can practically achieve our goals. Though at times I face my own challenges in regards to retaining my sense of autonomy while figuring out what my place is in this group, I’ve realized that overcoming this struggle will only make me stronger in the end. 

 Our professor had asked us to think about what are the challenges that we face as a group and what must we keep in mind in order to achieve success. I didn’t realize what my answer was to this problem until today; it is essential to keep sight of what we want from this trip and what we can bring to the experience in order to keep harmony in the group. I personally feel that I made a choice to leave NY in the past and put my best self forward every day or at least try my very best to do so. I think we are all here for different reasons and it is so important to accept that just as we are on this journey together, you are also here as an individual. We all want and expect different things from this based on where we are in our personal and professional lives and that’s okay. After not having many people to talk to and interchange ideas with I jumped right in to making fiends and learning as much as I could from my follow classmates. In that I realized I was losing sight on my personal mission for this Summer, I had no balance.  I think this is something we can all relate to in our lives when we set boundaries and realize just how important it is to spend time alone.  If we aren’t at peace with ourselves then we become victim to losing sight of who we are, what our passions are and what we truly want for ourselves, As much as I love being part of a group, the best gift that my time in Soweto gave me was being at valuing my alone time. We all have different ways of figuring this out. 

 

West Orlando, Soweto-South Africa

 I feel rejuvenated after days of dissecting Kaffir boy, adapting to a group environment, and choosing to take a step back to allow everyone who hasn’t been in South Africa for a month already to adapt and see this beautiful country through their own eyes.  I am doing my very best to work through all of these different feelings and I think that this past weekend was what I needed to firmly plant my feet on the ground again. On Saturday, we visited the Apartheid Museum and my admiration for Mandela and my personal favorite; Anti Apartheid leader Desmond Tutu reached new heights. The sense of respect that was felt by the visitors and staff was instant; our tickets were indiscriminately marked with either non white/white stamps and we had to walk through the entrance that was marked on our ticket to give us a sense of what it was like during the time of Apartheid.  Desmond Tutu to me is the epitome of unconditional love, class, spunk and personality. He is Ubuntu and a new role model of mine J Later that day we went back to Soweto-a place I didn’t realize was home until I went back. We met our host families; it was interesting how kismet our pairings felt.  Our host mom and her daughter Lerato (sound familiar anyone?) were lovely. You know that feeling when someone hugs you and it’s so warm and loving that you truly feel hugged and as a consequence of that; safe? It was just like that. It was the beginning of my homecoming. 

Mama and her girls

Maura, Jo and I were taken all over town with our new family and we visited the Mandela home and Tutu’s home (two Nobel peace prizewinners on one street) Unbelievable!! We also learned that our Mama knows how to have a good time! She took us to a restaurant where we were later joined by her friends and family and two of our other classmates who have become like brothers to me.  I believe that if you surround yourself with people who radiate positivity it will spill over and you will see it’s effect in the people that gravitate towards them and that night I was surrounded by friends and family who were doing the best and simplest thing; living life. I had the opportunity to speak to a young man named Kaye who everyone joked

Marc, Jo, Dan and our new family and friends :)

was the Kanye to my Kim (yes, yes, I had a good laugh as well), Anyway, he was telling me about this dream he has for his generation to take a stand and take South Africa in a new direction; one where Apartheid will never be forgotten however, it’s people won’t be reminded of it because they still live in the same conditions of that time. Hearing him speak reminded me of what I felt during my time in June, so much hope for this beautiful country due to the immensity of its heart. 

Homecoming at Tsogang Sechaba

It all came full circle when I visited Tsogang Sechaba with the rest of the group today.  Seeing Poppy and the warm welcome I was met with by the staff made me feel whole again. I didn’t realize how close I was to losing sight of what I came here to do. What I promised myself I wouldn’t let go of.  I felt so proud of hearing Tony explain to my follow classmates what it is we do at Tsogang Sechaba and how our fight is a daily one but the future of the amazing children that come to us is what motivates us.  I was also happy to hear that our expansion proposal is still on its way to finally becoming a reality and I am looking forward to being a part of it!  Each city that I have visited has varied in aesthetics, but one thing has remained the same; that fight, that awareness of the long road ahead but not losing hope of the dream being realized.  I have finally after this insightful weekend have realized that I can’t help what other people think or do especially on this type of trip, all I can do is choose how I will react to and make sure I keep very close to my heart and mind what type of experience I want this to be and not let anything stand in my way of what I came here to do. I am looking forward to writing my research proposal, mostly because I will get to expand on the immigration issues plaguing the country and learn more about education reform in this area.  I’m on my way and I promise not to leave y’all in the dark!