One of These Things Is Not Like the Other...

When we are asked about the differences between South Africa and the United States, one of the first things that comes to mind is attitudes towards race and ethnicity.  Coming from an environment of political correctness, and in some cases an attempt to ignore race by pretending that we are “beyond” it, the frankness with which South Africans discuss this issue can be startling.  We heard someone describe a friend as “of French-Hugenot extraction” as matter-of-factly as one might say that he works in finance or enjoys fishing.

 

Why this difference?  Very simply, the wounds of a racist regime are still fresh – apartheid only ended 14 years ago, so not even a generation has passed.  The transformation this country has undergone in that short period of time is astounding, but attitudes and actions do not change quickly.  Another reason is that racial divisions in this country are reinforced by language.  In addition to English, Afrikaans, Xhosa, Zulu and several others are widely spoken.  Many signs in this area of the country are in English, Afrikaans and Xhosa.  Most people that we encounter speak at least two of these, but the difficulty of communicating across cultures is something we understand well!

During class this week, I was the only white student out of about 12.  In the United States, this would be an unusual occurrence, but nothing more.  Here, I was possibly the only one for whom English was a first language.  All of the lectures and course materials are in English, but group work and informal conversations on the side are often in Afrikaans or Xhosa, or switch very quickly between these and English.  I feel awkward, trying not to interfere with the status quo, but also wanting to connect to my colleagues and not be more conspicuously different than I already am as a young, white, American female in that group.

These issues add an extra layer to my experience at U.C.T. so far, which has been a good one.  Transportation is affected so strongly by the legal and political structure that supports and funds it; learning about it in such a different context gives me a much richer knowledge base than simply studying or working in the field in the U.S. would.  A major part of the work I will complete for this class will consist of evaluating the design for a new train station in a poor township south of Cape Town (this picture was taken from the station, looking out on part of the township).  I will have to rely on my classmates for background knowledge of the area (and they will have to speak to me in English to do that!), but in the end I should have a deeper understanding of at least a small portion of this wonderfully crazy country we now live in.