We have finally arrived to the Capitol of the world. The excitement is consuming and we are ready to take Washington DC by storm. I think we all arrived with high expectations on what the city has to offer and what the people we meet have to offer, which is not always good if you want to enjoy your experience as expectations could lead to great disappointment.

 

Throughout the program we have been encouraged by alumni to make the most of our experience in DC as it is after all a once in a lifetime opportunity in a place where there are many open doors, you just have to find the courage to go through them. We have been here for less than a week and already we are meeting tremendously influential people. I did find it strange, however, that many of these individuals are South Africans. I can't understand why we would have to come all the way to the USA to meet leaders of South Africa. Then I have come to understand that their presence here is important for promoting the growth of our country. South African ambassadors and representatives in various fields paving the way for us the next generation of South African leaders and ensuring that South Africa has a global voice that matters. This is what SAWIP does for us. It closes the gap between current South African leaders and young future South African leaders.

 

The first reaction I received from an American when I told her that I am from South Africa was "wow shame!". I was not at all offended as funny enough this was a girl who was raising funds for Africa. At a dialogue we attended at the Capitol Visitors Centre, a Somalian man told me "oh don't worry, Mandela will be fine", after he noticed on my business card that I am South African. I was quite shocked and of course asked him "so you know Mandela?". I was so confused that he was so assured that Mandela would be fine since he said that he never even met Mandela. He said the reason why he said that Mandela will be fine was because South Africa will be fine.

 

The faith that this complete stranger and foreigner showed in our country, is what we all should demonstrate. There are many times when people try to give us the impression that our country will not persevere because of the problems we face and how we approach them. Then there are people who have more hope in our country than we as citizens do. I think these are the people we should be listening to and surrounding ourselves with. Since if they see a bright future for our country then surely we should be the ones working towards it.

 

 

I just looked at the headline of this post and wondered whatever happened to the young creative who loved writing poetry and short stories for children. I once heard you become the person the world needs you to be, maybe that’s what’s beginning to happen…

 

 

A few weeks ago we had an evening session with the wonderful Harry Culver, a former executive at a large corporation in South Africa, SAWIP board member and active citizen passionate about the future of South Africa. He introduced and facilitated a discussion on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) within the South African context.  We outlined what the general idea behind these ideas meant. We explored some of the work being done by some of the large companies in the country. Things were going well…

 

It may be a result of hyper-critical minds, cynicism, or a general distrust of the ethics of large corporations and “boardroom philanthropy,” but the discussion quickly began to interrogate the motivations for some of these initiatives.  I think the work being done by these corporations is commendable: some corporations implement excellent welfare systems for their employees, ensuring there are support structures such as health care, child care and education subsidies available to them and their children. I also realise that a workforce that is holistically supported would have less quotidian “stresses”, thereby elevating Human Resource problems in the company and maximising productivity.  The support of entrepreneurial enterprises and the support of programmes to grow the middle class allows growth for the country as a whole and in so doing raises the amount of expendable household income, allowing for an increase in consumerism that benefits the future of a lot of the same corporations.

 

I’m sure I may come across as some theatre student who has no concept of the various initiatives being implemented that have no feasible benefits AT ALL to the companies that implement them. I do acknowledge that there are indeed true altruistic executives in the world. SAWIP alumni, ahem… None the less the motivations behind the work being done is not that important, the fact is CSR initiatives are being implemented regardless of reason.

 

 

‘It is much easier to have sympathy with suffering than it is to have sympathy with thought.”

Oscar Wilde, The Soul of Man Under Socialism

 

To be honest, I don’t know if the way we’re bridging the stark economic differences in this world is the best or most efficient. That video is VERY interesting but it still doesn’t offer practical solutions of what the RIGHT thing is. What I am finding is that his final thoughts are EXCATLY some of the things we in the team have been talking about. Some of the CSR initiatives we have been exposed to in parts of this programme don’t have sustainability in mind or elements of self-actualisation ingrained in them. That, I fear is contributing to our society’s sentiments of entitlement post-Apartheid and its continued implementation is doing more harm than good.

 

“If you just operate the child then they live a little bit better but in the same situation which produced them.”

Oscar Wilde

 

 

Although as an honours student I don’t write exams, some may think that exempts me from the stress the undergraduate students on the team face in the pre-departure rush. In retrospect, I would have welcomed the joys of exams – whoever said doing theatre was an easy way out has never done the honours course at UCT.

 

One of the things filling my plate in our last few weeks in Cape Town was the culmination of this semester’s service learning component of the degree. Through the year we’re required to work in various schools around Cape Town that don’t offer drama as a subject. We either teach weekly drama classes (known as process drama) or, as was the case for me this term, implement a programme for learners addressing a curricular or extra-curricular area relevant to the year group using drama (known as “Theatre in Education”). Bianca and Néna, two of my classmates, and myself focused our attentions of a grade 7 class. After a site visit and meetings with the educator we determined, to my delight, to focus our 3 week programme on leadership. As the senior class of the primary school it’s not difficult to understand why this was determined as the area of focus.

 

Through our rehearsal process we explored leadership scenarios each of us had either encountered or demonstrated that were successful examples of various leadership styles as well as the more unsuccessful ones. The interesting thing to arise out of this reflective process was how often the shortcomings or failures we experienced that lead to growth were not unique to each of us. We fictionalised some of these situations for the purpose of the workshop and adjusted them to achieve our desired outcomes for each of our sessions. I designed a workbook to accompany the practical aspects of the lessons (the two pages seen here are from that book). The workshop was thoroughly enjoyable for all and through a verbal evaluation we were able to identify a drastic improvement in knowledge of leadership skills and techniques thanks to our experiential drama teaching techniques.

 

 

Although I adore self-promotion, you may wonder why that story was relevant. Apart from the fact that I’m pretty sure my team don’t really understand what I do and I’m debating the necessity  and relevance of “drama education” a little too often at times, I recently had an interesting conversation with some of my team members during the “walk-time” between programme events. The topic this time was “learning disabilities” a term I absolutely detest. I’ll explain why:

 

It’s perfectly understandable that human beings process information differently. Some people are logical, some more irrational in getting information organised. Some of us, as Kevin Sullivan said a few days ago, are “married to Mrs Spock” and find everything systematically and categorically processed devoid of emotion at times. As the Myers-Brigg indicators tell us, some of us process through writing reflectively, some delay, some talk through what they need to understand. These are individually determined; everything doesn’t work with everybody.  Similarly, it is understood that not everyone ingests information in the linear fashion prescribed by education systems for the last 50 years. To state that a learner who may absorb information better through lateral processes or the type of experiential processes I’ve been working with for the last 3 years, has a “learning disability” is an egregious error of judgement.

 

 

If truth be told in I have found, through informal experiments I have done working with young Capetonians, that information is better absorbed, remembered and later better recalled when the information has been conveyed through experiential teaching methods. These are, of course, not as easy as traditional teaching methods and do in themselves require some lateral, out-the-box thinking, I truly believe that no person is incapable of learning. I believe each person just needs to be exposed to a variety of processes to determine which is the best method of learning for them.

My professional exposure is taking place at John Snow, Inc., an organisation that does research and technical support for the health industry, particularly related to aid projects. Since I started working at JSI yesterday, I have realised how great a match this is for me and what I am thinking of pursuing in the future. I am also lucky enough to have the friendly faces of Olwethu and Cecil in the JSI offices with me. Although the three of us are not placed at the same projects, our offices are in the same corner of the 15^th floor. We each have a spectacular view of the Potomac River, the Lincoln Memorial, the Iwo Jima Memorial, the DC Mall, etc. What a pleasure it is to see the city from our viewpoint. It sure makes the hour-long commute to the office worth it!

 

The project at which I will be spending the majority of my time at JSI is the Strengthening Partnerships, Results, and Innovations in Nutrition Globally (SPRING) project. Today, I was based at the Agriculture and Nutrition Global Learning and Evidence Exchange (AgN-GLEE) in DC. I learnt an enormous amount. The theme of the day was “Strengthened and Sustainable Linkages among Agriculture, Economic Growth, and Nutrition”, which included some of the themes I am very interested in, especially looking at my thesis topic for the next 18 months. The attendance list included professionals from NGOs like Save the Children, USAID and World Vision. The day was commenced with a talk by Marie Ruel, the Division Director of IFPRI's Food Consumption and Nutrition Division. In my world, a superstar. I was inspired and convinced by the end of her discussion of the global landscape that nutrition and economics are the themes I wish to continue studying, specifically looking at the interface of the two.

 

We know that the nutrition an individual, a child, receives during the gestational period (pregnancy of the mother) and the first 2 years of his or her life, is absolutely crucial to growth. What particularly fascinates me is the effect that nutritional deficits in this period (referred to as the “1000 days”) can have on the brain. Cognitive stunting is a real concern. Linking this to economic growth, evidence has shown that there is a strong relationship between stunting and GDP. The relationship is 2-directional. An increase in GDP, which may mean a decrease in poverty, does not necessarily reduce the prevalence of stunting. Also, stunting causes friction on the curve of GDP growth. As a young researcher from a developing country, I am particularly concerned with what this may mean for our nation’s capacity (and continent, and the rest of the developing world) to grow economically over time. Cognitive stunting is not something you can rectify later in the developmental process. We cannot allow children to grow up without the cognitive potential to live a decent, fulfilling life. We need to gear our nation towards future generations that are well-equipped to contribute to their communities and society at large.

 

 

I am very grateful for the opportunity to work in this environment for the next 5 weeks, and to learn from individuals who are making contributions to nutrition and food security at both a research and policy level. I look forward to the knowledge and skill set I will develop, and what that will mean for my ability and capacity to make a difference.

Ting tong! “the train to Cape Town via Lavistown is 40 minutes late, Metrorail apologizes for the inconvenience.”

I miss the man who used to budged in a train carrying big plastic bags and a basket of filled with Chips and Lollipops, shouting at the top of his voice “chips 2 Rands ,Airtime and Lollipops!”.

I miss that lady who used to uplift our Spirits with a church songs on a very hot afternoon when all you wanted to do is to just sleep.

I miss that slightly overweight young lady who used to place her oily hair against the windows and let the contents of her mouth slowly drool down her chicks.

I miss the minister who told us to do as he said or else we would go to hell. I miss being squashed in between armpits and bosoms of strangers.

I miss the random toothless smile that flashed around the train. I miss the train that never arrives on time. I miss our South African trains. The American train is clean, fast and efficient, but it`s deadly boring.

The passengers never talk to each other, they just take out their toys (usually iPhones, iPod’s and kindles) connect to the wireless internet on the train and bow they heads as they worship these toys with their fingers.

South Africans are big on conversations, it how we learn about each others. We get advice from unbiased strangers. In South Africa you can talk anything about everything with anyone. UK had the Oratory Soapbox, South Africa has trains.

US is big on political correctness and this can create over sensitivity to people, we were made aware that there are certain topic that you are not allowed to discuss especially in public platforms, you cannot tell someone that you are dressed nicely because that’s sexual harassment, you cannot say Happy Christmas because you are forcing your Religion on others.

I don’t think you can say anything about anything that has nothing to do with work and making money. I think I understand the silent train, because genuine conversation imped by a lot of regulations and people would rather keep quiet. I don’t like this quietness in trains it makes me feel alone in a room full of people.

I agree that sometime when you are in Rome do as the Romans do; it is obvious that society would not function properly if newcomers did not obey the laws. One particular good example of this is road rules. Imagine what would happen if South Africans insisted on keeping the left when they are driving in America.

We celebrate different tributes commemorating different values. For the last few weeks my family and friends were beaming with pride celebrating my achievement of coming to Washington DC. They were full of hope that in the near future this country will be led by leaders with global perspective who will lead the nation with integrity and humility.

The day we (SAWIP team) were taking off from South Africa reminded me the story of Noah and his ark. I imagined my team as a flock of doves sent to go learn and observe then come back reflect to their communities. We do not have to be like the vulture Noah sent first, we do not have to be selfish and only satisfy ourselves and not give back to our communities.

The minute I set my foot down at Dulles airport I told myself that, this is the beginning of it all. I knew at the back of my mind that my country depends on this experience I will be getting in America. The first thing I observed about the Americans is that, its government is very protective and strict about its land and people. This is one of the important factors that most countries lack. If you cannot protect your people there are greater chances that you might always be blamed as a leader and violence is more likely to happen in your country.

The American citizens also meet the government halfway by obeying the basic rules for their own safety and welfare. Nowadays who still waits for traffic lights to instruct you to cross as a pedestrian? Guess what Americans do wait. This shows that they are disciplined even the drivers know when to go and when not to. From my South Africa these basic road rules are not obeyed, and then I come to think that our leadership might be poor at some areas because of not following basic rules. We are too ignorant at things that can put our lives into a great risk. However I feel like there is something which the Americans can learn from us South Africans.

On one of our orientations prior the trip to DC Washington we were told about the dos and don’ts in the USA and also topics we might raise and those we might not. Through those briefings I could note that Americans are not as open as we are as Africans, there are many social issues that aren’t spoken about, they are seemed to be coursing discomfort to some people. There is just no spirit of a community. In the trains if a person is not listening to an iPod he/she is reading a newspaper. No one is likely to speak or greet the other or anything. This was a new experience for me; sometimes talking to a stranger heals and helps because they are mostly not judgmental.

In South Africa people learn lots of things in public transports by listening to the conversations people make. People share their experiences and address their issues in hoping some people will help or suggest ways of dealing with particular problems they are facing with. Public speaking in my nation is one of the powerful tool that I think might be effective in other countries as well. At least before I fly back home I will make sure that I unite two complete strangers so that people can realize how nice and helpful to extend friendship and learn from other people’s story and experiences.

To be continued while in Washington DC………………………………………………………………………….

Life generally involves effort and goals where you need structure, focus and discipline to get the most out of it and to succeed in achieving your aims. Competitive sport is exactly the same, but is condensed into a bandwidth of minutes, hours or even days in the case of games like cricket.

 

Sport is a universal language.  At its best it can bring people together, no matter what their origin, background, religious beliefs or economic status.  And when young people participate in sports or have access to physical education, they can experience real exhilaration even as they learn the ideals of teamwork and tolerance.

 

If you can succeed in life and emulate that approach in sport you will be a champion. Conversely, if you can succeed in sport and emulate it in life you will be a success in whatever way you choose to measure it. Some use money as their yardstick, some professional or personal achievement, some contentment, some to make the world a better place and some aspire to support others. Your mode of measurement is down to you, but whatever it is - if you get the game of life right - you'll win.

 

Whilst in DC I have learnt that whether in sport, work or your personal life there are always ways to up your game. Whether it means following up on that extra business card or helping another person towards one of their goals; learning to listen with intent and pausing to formulate a response only after someone has finished their entire statement; or even something as simple as improving on/sharpening the way we speak and articulate our words.

I managed to find a group of Ultimate Frisbee players in my area and on Sunday I joined them all for a social game at Meridian Hill Park. It was incredibly interesting to see that Frisbee players genuinely have their own “Frisbee culture”. All the people I played with were very similar to my team back home and they seemed to have many interests similar to my own.

 

It doesn’t matter if it’s a pick-up game at the local park, or the Fifa World Cup final -sport is a beautiful thing. And so are the people who play them as are the people who watch.

 

 

Sport can help overcome ignorance and discrimination and sow the seeds of integration and equality. I am hugely grateful that I live in such a huge sporting Nation like South Africa and have now seen that sport has immense power all over the world.

We were driving to school in my mother’s car. Before we turned on the corner, we saw a bunch of young boys sitting… I asked “Mama why do they sit there everyday?” and my mother responded “Learn my child”… There they were, waiting for their day’s wage. Today they worked hard but it won’t make a difference, even if they sweat and break their backs and my mother said “Learn… learn… learn my child”.

These are about the conversations back home. Conversations around the dinner table where an unemployed father of four would tell tales through the pages of old scriptures about a man that was crucified so that we may find salvation. A man that now dwells in the corners of our yearning souls. See the only pay cheque my father ever brought home was a pay cheque filled with a thousand dreams, initialled with the words Faith, signed with the blood of Christ for ink. Memories, of a mother who did not receive an education prior to ’94, walking through the front door with a plastic bag filled with promises, promises of a home filled with love. See I was born into a family of dreamers. My father once told me that I could turn an empty plate into a plate filled with a billion dreams which could feed a billion families if I closed my eyes hard enough. Call us super-heroes who were never given a chance to fly because society had placed a mask of poverty over the billion diamonds embedded on our faces.

 

Dear mother who will consciountize our people. I will instil in their minds a philosophy of freedom unequalled rewritten scriptures of force bed religion. Dear mother who will heed our children into believing that the colour of your skin is simply a pigment and not a restriction that deprives one from attaining that seemingly intangible dream. I will make dreamers from the marginalised and weaker. Because my calling is to bridge boundaries between my people and their perishing history. I’ve found vacant spaces in conversations about colonisation, heritage and democracy. My calling is to inculcate the youth from grassroots to emancipation form mental slavery. To radicle for the privileged, better haves. A Steven Bantu Biko of the 21^st Century.

 

Dear Liberation. For many moons now, I have been trying to recite in sign language, because actions speak louder than words. A lineage of fathers who weren’t fathered. Married, then single mothers. The heritage you left behind is a heritage of mixed monaural minds. What does a South African even look like? Dear Liberation, many sunsets ago, King Noble once said all his country ever makes you want to do is cry. But Liberation, you’ve never been interested. Unless we could turn those sunsets into gold while Anglo America takes our gold ink shaped chunks and sells it back to us. Kind of like selling us milk from our own cows. Dear Liberation, I thought you had promised milk and honey, but it seems you were talking about blood and tears. Dear Liberation, South Africa is no more. You’ve birthed into the Kingdom of Nelson utata Mandela. Mandela Bay, Mandela Square, Mandela Metro University, Mandela Garden Cart Boulevard, Mandela golden coins and banknotes. But simply don’t know of Subuko, Luthuli, Thambo or Biko, but believe that Mandela founded this nation with his Mandela Foundation. Is this your negotiate to settlement. But sometimes I feel it though. Lately, I’ve been writing my poems by the light of lit cigarette, feeling it though.

 

And my mother said “learn, learn my child. Learn my child. If you don’t want to learn, what do you have hope in, are you not ashamed? What will you be? When will you grow my child? Time goes and you need to know what your gifts and talents are. You have to learn and study my child”.

 

I love this poem because it speaks about the kind of conversations that I had a few years back with my grandmother and still have today with my mother. I grew up in a family into dreams, I have always been surrounded with people who had ambition, people who worked hard. But unfortunately, due to the past struggles and also because of a shortage of money, my family did not have the many educated people and even those who were educated, the highest they ever got was a teacher’s degree or a teacher’s diploma. This poem inspires me because it was written and performed by a young group of students whom I could relate to. Its aim is to inspire a conscious mind into the young people of South Africa, to arouse some sort of passion inside of them and steer that passion in the right direction.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBsrk-kjO9I

We live in a society that believes and preaches the concept “Respect is earned”, and that one cannot simply demand respect without having done something admirable or something ‘great’. In this world we live in, people receive different levels of resect all dependant on their social status, the amount of money they earn, their level of power or anything that enables us to rank some people higher or lower than others. We’ve been made to believe by our parents, teachers and even friends, that there are some people who deserve respect and then there are some that don’t.

 

I don’t think that this is okay or that it’s fair. After all, who actually sets the standard as to who gets respect and who doesn’t? I mean how much money does one need to earn in order to so called ‘earn’ my respect, how powerful does my neighbour have to be, how big should his/her house be in order to be respected? Secondly, this concept of earning respect means that some people in our society would be respected and others would be DISREPECTED.

In my opinion, respect is an obligation. It is not a choice, it is not earned, it is an obligation. Giving respect to another human being, and also receiving respect from that person, is an obligation, it is one of the few things in life that are mandatory. I would like to think of it as a basic human right, you earn it simply because you are a human being.

We do sometimes have ‘incentives’ to respect some people, for example one would have a high level of respect for Nelson Mandela, Mother Teresa, Mahatma Gandhi and a few other heroes in society because of the magnificent roles which they played in the past in order to make the world the better place that it is today. One would also tend to respect a police officer, or a current human rights activist because of the role that they are currently playing. Some would have and show respect to Queen Elizabeth because of her social status, similar thing to Mark Zukaberg because of his wealth. Now we need to think that if these people didn’t have all these ‘titles’ or ‘deeds’ attached to them, would we still respect them, would we still greet them if we saw them on the side of the road, better yet would be greet them back if they greeted us? If yes, that means that we respect them for being human beings, which is how it should be. If no, that means that we don’t respect people, we respect status, money, power, and that is a problem.

We need to learn to respect people, and in order to do this, we need to understand that people are not defined by their status, money or power. When you have a 10am appointment with someone, don’t arrive late because this person has a lower social status than you do, neither should you arrive on time simply because this person you are meeting is the president of the United States. Instead in both occasions, arrive in time because you are meeting another human being, because you respect their time, and more than that, you respect them. Greet someone on the side of the road, not because they have money, or because they are the Chancellor or UCT, instead, greet them because and only because they are another human being..

 

 

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He died twenty-five minutes later. His death left all his country stunned and bewildered as to the direction that this newly independent nation would take without its Great Teacher.

 

The loss of this great leader brings this country abruptly to a crossroads. Mingled with the sadness in this capital tonight was an undercurrent of fear and uncertainty, for now the strongest influence for peace that this generation has known is gone.

 

Chilling as they may be, the paragraphs above come from an article that was not reported from Johannesburg but New Delhi. The article was published in The New York Times on January 30, 1948. The death was of a great man, the father of a nation and a symbol of reconciliation, hope and peace – Mahatma Ghandi.

 

Cecil frustratingly remarked that he has, recently, often been posed the question: is South Africa ready to let Madiba go? He wisely explained that the real question should rather be whether we still believe in his ideals of a reconciled, free and equal Rainbow Nation and whether South Africa will continue to strive for those ideals after Nelson Mandela has passed on.

 

I would change the question slightly.

 

When Nelson Mandela declined to run for a second term and stepped down as president in 1999 the honeymoon phase of the new democracy was over. A South Africa where all were united behind the goals of freedom, justice and unification slowly crept to a halt. Grabbing your brother and proudly singing the national anthem was now reserved for international sporting events and beer advertisements.

 

Walking through the streets of Washington DC with Ashley Schneider (the daughter of my host parents), Mario and Saif yesterday I realised that this national pride is something that the USA has to the umpteenth degree.  As Saif commented ‘The American Dream’ is truly a national ethos and a kind of paradigm in which everyone can function to the advantage of the country as a whole. At its core it is beautifully simple: everyone is free to achieve upward social mobility through hard work.

 

The context of our nation precludes this simple approach. For everyone to have equal opportunity in his or her pursuit of happiness, everyone must be on roughly the same footing when the pursuit begins.

 

Apartheid grossly stunted the upward social mobility of non-whites and the tortoise only wins if the hare doses off. The previously disadvantaged must be advantaged before people can be treated equally in all situations (this is the idea of substantive equality as enshrined in the Constitution – section 9(2)). But one cannot exclusively advantage one group without disadvantaging another – this is known, accepted and provided for in our Constitution. That is the reason why policies such as Affirmative Action and Broad-based Black Economic Empowerment are constitutional.

 

It is then evident that the South African dream seems to be that everyone is free to achieve upward social mobility through hard work and that because some have to work harder than others, we accept that we first need to reach a level of equality before we can apply sameness of treatment.

 

However necessary this may be (and believe me it is), this doesn’t sound like a dream right? We need a new dream, and we need a renewed unification of the South African spirit to move our country forward.

 

My hope is then that when Mr. Mandela moves on, South Africans unite to move the country forward according to his vision and ideals. That we demand leadership that aspires to that of Madiba and that we work as hard to achieve the unified South Africa as he did in his many years of inconceivable sacrifice.

 

The question to ask is whether South Africans will realise that we have moved away from the path that Madiba intended and whether his death will be able to unite the country behind a South African dream that was universal not so long ago.

 

The words of former Indian Prime Minister Pandit Nehru are a stark indication of how that nation felt after she lost her perennial father:

 

"Gandhi has gone out of our lives and there is darkness everywhere. The father of our nation is no more – no longer will we run to him for advice and solace. This is a terrible blow to millions and millions in this country.

 

"Our light has gone out, but the light that shone in this country was no ordinary light. For a thousand years that light will be seen in this country and the world will see it... Oh, that this has happened to us! There was so much more to do."

 

 

 

After a long and thoroughly enjoyable flight (aka team bonding session), we arrived in the United States of America (at Dulles International Airport) yesterday morning. Even though this is only the second of the thirty-nine days that we will spend here, I am very mindful of the fact that our time here will pass very quickly.

It makes me think of what Seneca wrote in ‘On the Shortness of Life’: “It is not that we have a short time to live, but that we waste a lot of it. Life is long enough, and a sufficiently generous amount of time has been given to us for the highest achievements if it were well invested. But when it is wasted in heedless luxury and spent on no good activity, we are forced at last by death’s final constraints to realise that it has passed away before we knew it was passing. So it is: we are not given a short life but we make it short, and we are not ill-supplied but wasteful of it.”

I relate this to our time in the USA in my (Pulitzer Prize winning) essay/paragraph titled ‘On the Shortness of the USA Experience’: “It is not that we have a short time in Washington, D.C/Virginia/Maryland and New York City, but that we may be wasteful of it. Our time in the USA is long enough, and a sufficiently generous amount of opportunities will be given to us for the highest achievements (both independently and interdependently) if we invest it well. But if we waste it in heedless home-sickness, close-mindedness, and not being willing to step out of our comfort zone; and spend it on no good activity, we will be forced at last by the return date on our South African Airways tickets to realise that is has passed away before we knew it was passing. So it is: we have not been given a short amount of time in the USA, but we can make it short if we do not make the most of it; and we will not be ill-supplied with various opportunities, but we can be wasteful of it if were are not proactive.”

What is culture? To me, culture is the mutual belief systems, religions, food, social habits and traditions of a specific group of people. You usually follow or inherit the cultural beliefs of your parents, the group that you identify with and you may even pick up some cultural habits of the society you live in.

 

When we were asked to define what culture means to us and give a description of our culture to a partner, it was rather difficult for me. When I asked my partner, Olwethu, to go first, it was even more difficult. He shared with me in depth traditions of his culture such as initiation, their clothing, the food and some beliefs that were really interesting. After this I felt rather uncultured or that my culture lacked the richness of his.

 

 

It has always been rather difficult for me to describe my culture, especially when asked to mention things that is specific to my culture. This is partially because as an African woman people believe me to belong to an African culture. Also, I have not entirely adopted the culture of my parents. Yes, I grew up in a Christian home and I am Christian. However, some of the societal habits, traditions and belief systems I cannot relate with. This may be because I find myself identifying with a more western culture where I've become more individualistic in some sense. It may seem harsh to be able to relate more to an individualistic culture since it could mean that you have no regard for your neighbor and you do not really care about anyone other than yourself. The lack of Ubuntu could be disturbing for any South African since it is such a big part of who we are. I do care for my fellow human being and my neighbor. I do realize that I am only because of others.

 

I have grown up in a place where you have to put your well being first and the well being of your immediate family is more important than the group or community as an entirety.

This might be a harsh reality but taking care of my family takes priority over everything always. I give when I am at the means to do so but I cannot give when I can barely provide for my own. Living like this in a community that needs so much can be very frustrating for someone who believes that you have a choice and can form your future into one that is more favorable for you. You can't leave everything to chance and wait for someone to come and save you, you have to go and make opportunities for yourself. Handouts are nonexistent, you have to work for everything you want. This may be because this is what my mother ingrained in me that you will always get what you want if you are willing to put the hard work in to get it. To me this is reality but to someone else it may seem easier said than done.

 

We were warned that we might experience culture shock and some might get it worse than others. Having been to the USA before I don't quite remember having culture shock. I stayed in a place where the people hardly knew their next door neighbor. This did not bother me at all. However, where I live everyone knows everyone and they make it their business to know your business. It may seem intruding but at least when I come home at night and I have to open the garage on my own, I know that there is a nosy neighbor peeping through their windows and if anything should happen they won't hesitate to make their presence known.  It is somewhat comforting.

 

I do expect my experience this time to to be much different from the last time I was in the USA. Now I get to go with an amazing group of people and a wonderful organization. This is possibly because I feel that my purpose this time is greater. I leave as an ambassador for Bishop Lavis, Parow High School, the University of the Western Cape and South Africa.

What my culture is will be what I want it to be. I might even have a mixture of different cultures but I am certainly not uncultured.

 

I thought it would be a good idea to not beat around the bush with my first blogpost in Washington DC. By the look of things it can only get more busy from here on. These are merely random thoughts I made note of during the day rather than a coherent reflection.

 

The city is unlike any I have seen before. It is a crossroads between the splendour of an  old European city and a modern day conurbation. I feel big in relation to the people and small in comparison to anything else. Some of the architecture seems quite imperial, as if the colony never really outgrew its roots in the motherland. I am not so much bemused by the size of the Starbucks coffee or the servings at McDonalds as a am at the size their public infrastructure. Subways and busses are impressive, and I've send them all over the world, but nothing quite matches the national mall and the sheer size of the Smithsonian. The people are wonderful though (but after one day isn't everything).

 

I have seen more different denominations of different church groups in a day than most of my adult life. It seems the need to secede stretched farther than just the political spectrum. In a way it also reinforces the idea that there is a niche for everyone, no matter how obscure your belief. We don't just cater for everyone's dietary requirements, we do it for their beliefs as well.

 

I can clearly see how one can get caught up in the whole idea of the American dream (when did the Americans claim upwards mobility for themselves though? Why is it their dream?). Being in the heartland of the richest country in the world gives you a new perspective on what we should aspire to. On the way from the airport we didn't drive past a sprawling informal settlement but through woodlands dotted with industrial technological complexes. I think the show of opulence manifests most in the size of their cars. I feel you should need a professional driving permit to drive those things. An aspiring entrepreneur in South Africa could fit at least 15 people in any of these SUV's. I think they compensate by making them all automatic since they must be absolutely impossible to park.

 

About 15 seconds after we landed Phillip sniffed the air and commented: "America, the land of the brave and the free" or something like that. He was joking, but it is almost as if everything just screams it at you. One cannot help but appreciate the magnitude on an almost constant basis. The fear of missing out is strong here. Every moment is an opportunity to experience some other aspect of this amazing country. We will barely leave Washington in the six weeks to come yet I feel that what I've seen in one day is enough to suck any man in for a lifetime, and there is a place for everyone.

It is a strange thing to know a place primarily from the media that you are exposed to but have never actually explored yourself. We know it through its travellers and the knowledge, ideology and thinking that it spreads around the world. We know its music, its films, its celebrities, its companies, its leaders, its heroes, and its enemies. There is surely no culture in the world that more people identify with, that more people from separate backgrounds feel that they know so well. We think we know this group of people, this United States of America.

Our SAWIP group has finally arrived in Washington, DC, the capital of the USA, to start the second leg of this program. The past two months have been, in short, a series of workshops and learning sessions designed to get us thinking and exploring parts of South Africa’s history, its legacy and our role in the society in which we reside. What this next step does is put us in a unique working environment in one of the most competitive places in the world with the aim of exposing us, challenging us and teaching us.

 

How I approached this culture in which we are going to work I found quite surprising. There are naturally bigger questions about the structure of the American society that interest me but what I found the most exciting, the parts that surprised me the most were the small things: I know this country as a great one, in the scale sense of the word, but I forgot that it is composed of millions of small people going about there ordinary lives.

 

Seeing normal Americans doing normal things like catching a train, doing normal jobs like working in a supermarket, doing normal tasks like buying food, was what astounded me. I came out of the airplane, got my passport checked by a security guard and got ushered through a series of corridors until I found my bags. These ordinary people doing ordinary things was almost one of the biggest culture shocks that I’ve had (although I speak right now from a single day’s experience only).

 

Even more is the mix of American identity that I have already born witness to. This plays out in two distinctive ways: firstly, I have interacted with a multitude of different races and cultures all with the same accent and the same mannerisms (taking class as given), with an American style of holding themselves; and secondly, I have seen and heard people of completely different cultures speaking completely different languages shopping at the same places and making use of the same public facilities, with the same outcome in mind.

 

Needless to say, this view will change over the next few weeks but, right now, this is what America has been for me on this first day: an oversized shock of different people with similar characteristics taking part in this massive game and all somehow finding their place.

 

This past week I have had the honour and pleasure to meet some of the US’s prominent thought leaders in the fields of social entrepreneurship, social change and higher education. These individuals are thoroughly committed to being agents of social change. Their primary methods vary from financing projects, leading large organisations and projects, teaching, doing research to facilitating processes of change. I have come out of these sessions a more inspired individual. They have challenged me to be more focused, more critical in thinking, softer with people, to be as aware of what I know as of what I don’t know. Something that I realised once again was that my actions and work are informed by that which I understand, and that complacency with that knowledge is dangerous. I have identified certain subjects and themes that I need to investigate further. Broadening one’s skill set must include a continuous mission to find out that which you don’t know exists.

 

As I write this, I see the North Eastern parts of the USA fly past from the train. Just by the end of the day I will have been in seven states. That is a privilege. This is one of the themes I have identified as needing more thought. I feel that we need to identify privilege more openly and speak from a place of gratitude and modesty about what each of us has. In comparison to many of the people I have interacted with in the US, I don’t come from a family that has financial privilege. As children, when my brother and I commented on the fact that we didn’t have a swimming pool at home, my parents’ response was always that we travel in our swimming pool. We were encouraged to embrace the wheels under our feet, the expression my parents used to explain our family’s love for travelling. My swimming pool is the experiences I have from all around the world. That is something I am privileged to have, and am grateful for beyond words.

 

 

Yet I say this knowing that my privilege is great in comparison to many people in the world. Most, even. I do not go hungry, ever, nor do I have concerns about where I sleep at night, if it is safe, about the risk of diseases I will be unable to respond to. My life is relatively carefree. Yesterday morning I woke to the sound of crashing waves on the Rhode Island coast, a beautiful place with children running freely on the beach. It was glorious. I am thankful for that, and for all the other privileges I have, and I acknowledge the fact that it is a privilege, and that I hear and see those things in the world that make others’ freedoms smaller. SAWIP is an expression of my freedom, and for that, too, I say thank you.

So this week we are headed to Washington DC. I am so excited. These past weeks have been such an arduous journey – but fulfilling at the same time.

I love my team and I am excited more so because I get to share my experience with them.

 

 

Last week our work exposure placements were confirmed. I had been hoping to get a position at the World Bank because I felt that the experience would be relevant and practical for me as an Economics student. Then the list came out and I realized that I have been placed at Physicians for Social Responsibility, an organisation that campaigns for the banning of nuclear weapons in the US. I was so disappointed. Even the goals of the organisation seemed so far removed from what I was interested in terms of the issues that I care most deeply about.

I spent the evening crying and whining about why I didn’t get World Bank. My whole team knew how disappointed I was and they did their best to console me.

I e-mailed the Physicians for Social responsibility team to introduce myself and to get more information about them. I received an immediate and very welcoming response which included documents about the organisation and even cool video clips on what their initiatives are.

I am now looking forward to the work exposure I am about to experience. It’s funny how things work out because in my SAWIP application I said the reason I am applying is to gain new perspectives and to be placed completely out of my comfort zone. Through the work I’ll be doing with Physicians for Social Responsibility, I’m getting exactly what I asked for! I am therefore grateful as I realize this.

We land in the US on the 12th of June, which is on my birthday. My host mom is quite pleased about that, which makes me happy too.

 

So the DC phase begins. It’s time to change gears. This ride is an adventure that I’m definitely going to embrace with open arms.

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I’m not too worried about experiencing culture shock while I’m in DC. The American culture is so often incorporated into the ‘Western’ part of South African culture that it would be much easier to relate to than say, a culture in the Far East. Mainstream English media is generally from either an English or American perspective and we constantly receive lessons in American history and current affairs simply through the movies that we watch. I’m not saying that I know what Americans are like or that Twilight is a good reflection of the American psyche - all that I’m saying is that the American culture is well advertised throughout the world and especially in South Africa. South Africans have a better idea of the American culture than the cultures of Kyrgyzstan or Bolivia.

 

 

I’m more concerned about explaining some of South Africa’s idiosyncrasies.

 

There are a few minor oddities such as the use of ‘now-now’ instead of ‘later’ (which is just ridiculous really), serving pieces of dried raw meat at social gatherings, snacking on smoked mielies (corn on the cob) that you bought at a traffic light while on your way home from work (this might just be a Gauteng thing), the fact that Ouma rusks has “dip ‘n ouma” as its catchphrase, or that all taxis have white-rimmed tyres (if you know why please tell me).

 

Then there are slightly more serious quirks in the South African culture. For example, our society generally accepts that you should be able to pay a security guard a few hundred rands a month and then expect him to give up his life to protect his employer’s fortune. But it is accepted nonetheless, and not only that but the private security industry in SA is one of the biggest in the world, with a private security company even protecting the Brooklyn Police Station at a stage not too long ago. As comedian Nick Rabinowitz rightly declared at one of his standup shows: if Lesotho invades, I’m calling ADT.

 

The only reason for this anomaly is of course the high unemployment rate. US Consul General, Erica Barks-Ruggles recently explained to the SAWIP 2013 team that the most difficult thing for foreigners to South Africa to comprehend is the high unemployment rate. At the height of the Great Depression unemployment in the USA was at around 25%, South Africa’s unemployement rate has been hovering at that level for the last five years. The extended unemployment rate, which includes people who aren’t actively searching for work, is at around 37%. Compare this to the US unemployment of just under 8% and one can understand how it can be difficult to ponder a functioning economy in which a quarter of the workforce are not working at all.

 

In any other context it might be easier to explain the sprawling presidential quarters of Nkandla, or why an airbase might be hired out for private events – keep that in mind for your 21^st, Jess. I doubt, however, that it would help in explaining how a government can urge foreign countries to boycott their own goods or how those fighting unemployment and causing it, to some degree, are part of an alliance who run the government.

 

I hope I can do South Africa proud and show the world that South Africa is actually quite a lekker place. Eish.

In a focus group for a linguistics research thesis, we were posed the question: 'what does the identity coloured mean to you as a post apartheid colored youth?'. The room went silent as we waited for anyone else other than ourselves to answer. For the purpose of the study we were all coloured youths between the ages of 19 to 24. Then the facilitator asked: "how does it make you feel when people call you colored? Or you have to tick off colored under the race section on a form? Or people make comments such as 'that 's so colored of you!".  Firstly, I thought that this was very dangerous ground that we are treading on as whatever we say is taken as generalizations of what other colored youth might be thinking. Secondly, I don't like to think of myself as post apartheid youth as it is often misconstrued. Lastly, in a country that has so much healing to do,are we as youth realizing this and what are we doing to help?

 

The remark made by one of the participants was that "if black South African people find the term black to be derogatory, and they are allowed to tick off African, then why are we as 'coloured' people allowing ourselves to still be called colored in a democratic country? Surely, it should be fair that we are also called African. Did our parents and grandparents not also fight for freedom alongside other Africans?" This of course came from a place of extreme frustration and hurt for this person. I was actually moved as I could see that it took a lot of courage for him to express his thoughts and feelings so openly on such a sensitive topic. So my question was 'if you do not appreciate being called colored and consider it to be a derogatory term then why allow people to  call you that and why not tick off 'other' or 'I do not wish to answer?'. Exasperated from his surge of adrenalin and shocked from my response, he answered "I am the color of my skin in this country. I can never escape my race as I am stuck between two other race groups fighting for superiority, dominance and power. The middle is where we will always find ourselves".

 

This was a scary realization as everyone else in the group nodded d'accord. I was dumbfounded since I believe that the current youth of South Africa are our visionary change makers and healers for our country. However, if one group feels so hopeless about their place in the country, and we need everyone to contribute to make an impactful change, how is our democracy working for us? If everything we say has to be sensitized and politically correct so as not to hurt anyone's feelings, how do we work through our frustrations and start the healing process? Have we really overcome the struggle and moving forward?

 

I wish everyone could attend the workshops that I have been attending through SAWIP. There are always mind shifting perspectives and insightful opinions. Your way of thinking will always change after a workshop especially if you think that you knew everything you needed to know about a subject. These issues of identity are difficult to digest and many of us are afraid to talk about it. It is even more so in an extremely diverse country where there are several mixed races. What do you then consider yourself to be? And which race will you identify with more? Is your bloodline or race then less pure? Is homogeneity over-rated or would a homogeneous society be easier to live in?  If you asked me what my identity is and I answered " I am a coloured South African female", what thoughts does this bring up in your mind?

 

I am a coloured South African female...can you identify with this?

Trying to keep your head, trying to do all that is expected of you, trying to complete tasks on time and to the best of your ability not allowing your grades to slip…

 

This is everything that I have been TRYING to do for the past 2 months and just when I think I have a handle on things and I’m coping, a new challenge comes along like exams. I have been juggling all my SAWIP responsibilities, my academics and extramural commitments. Most of the time I think to myself this is impossible. There is no way I can finish everything I need to do and still have time to spend with my family. Then I talk to my team and I feel tons better. We have such an amazing support system. They remind me that I am not the only one with these feeling and somehow we will get through it as we always do. We just need to push and persevere and keep faith.

 

With merely days to go to our departure to DC I am feeling the pressure. There is such a rush to get everything together in preparation for what is going to be a life changing experience. I am definitely overwhelmed with all these mixed emotions of excitement, uncertainty and fear. In our session with Joe at Stellenbosch about the American culture, he asked us if we are excited and I said no and his response was “you’re broken”. This of course was hilarious since I was the only one feeling this way. It is expected of us to be excited by now, however, with everything else going on it is hard to be excited just yet. During the session we met American exchange students Matt and Emily who gave us an idea of what to expect. After socializing with them post session I started feeling the excitement. We started making plans of things we have to do to have a true American Summer experience and it meant so much to me that they were willing to help us adjust once we arrive.

 

It made me remember how fortunate I am to have been chosen for this wonderful program. I would never have had the opportunity to be exposed to the great things we have been so far, and meet and learn from so many remarkable individuals who have overcome adversity and are true survivors. I am grateful to be a part of this team and plan on making the best of our time in Washington DC.

 

Being groomed as a leader is not an easy process. It comes with great challenges and responsibilities. However, whatever is thrown your way, you are capable of overcoming and making the best of it. Your potential has been recognized and wonderful people have decided to invest in you, the rest of the development of it is in your hands.

No pressure…

 

While I was studying for my History of Economic Thought exam these past couple of days, I was fascinated by the way the different schools of thought changed overtime - depending on the conditions in society.

Plato stood against retailing as he felt that it was unnatural.

Adam Smith came up with the invisible hand theory (people can pursue their self-interests and the  market will still clear) on the basis of distributive feudalism.

Thomas Malthus advised parents to have fewer children because he predicted that there wouldn’t be enough food to feed all of them.

The Mercantilists believed in accumulating wealth and maintaining a positive trade balance.

The Physiocrats saw value in agriculture.

Karl Marx envisioned a communist society versus a capitalist one which he deemed to alienate and exploit the working class.

John Maynard Keynes saw that the market would never be able to remain stable (financial markets would disturb equilibrium). Then Hyman Minsky established the instability hypothesis to explain phenomena such as the Great Depression.

The Utopian Socialists focused on equitable profit-sharing.

Marx Weber considered the Protestant work ethic as the foundation of capitalism.

Karl Polanyi claimed that the economic system was embedded within society.

I could go on and on about the many other philosophers and their ideas (as you can see, I very much enjoyed this history course :-) !).

 

I wonder what these economists/philosophers would say regarding the state of our economy today? What would they say about welfare of our nation? What type of policy changes would they suggest be implemented today?

The one thing that they have in common is that for each theory that each philosopher established, they based it on what was happening at society at the time. In terms of the sustainability of their ideas, I am not sure how each of them dare. They identified the needs and problems that had to be addressed at that point in time, and formed policy accordingly.

 

 

Today we have the pleasure of being able to evaluate these theories and form criticisms and judgments. When using these models and thought processes today, IT IS PIVOTAL TO LOOK AT WHAT IS GOING ON IN OUR SOCIETY. Karl Polanyi claimed that economic systems were embedded in society. He saw that regulation was always necessary to prevent society from collapsing.

It is important to look at the past, but more importantly to focus on the present and the repercussions that the decisions of the present have on the future of society.

Since the beginning of time, there have been many opinions about how things were supposed to be. Before the Middle Ages, it was wrong to charge interest for lending money. After the Middle Ages, charging interest was not so bad under certain conditions. Today, changing interest on financial loans is the norm!

 

As I consider all the other social and economic theories that emerge today, there seems always to be a transition from adopting one economic theory to adopting another (or combining two schools of thought into a single theory). This is my reflection: Even if some policy is implemented today, it will have to change to accommodate changing society. Things are always going to change.

 

As a future public health-care economist, I have to keep looking at what is going on in society, keeping in mind the factor of change. As the SAWIP team intending to implement a community project in Robertson, we have to meet the people, see how they live and hear them out. We have to look carefully at what is going on in the society.