Being in Cape Town so far has been such an unbelievable experience, as hackneyed as that may sound. Every afternoon when we drive to Manenberg, the township in which we work during the week, we pass by incredible views of Table Mountain and the skyscrapers in the Cape Town city center, but also the view of thousands of shacks inhabited by tens of thousands of people. We drive past high-end grocery stores and people selling bag after bag of oranges at traffic lights. The diversity and range of people and cultures that I have encountered while in Cape Town has been far beyond what I expected. I thought I knew enough about South Africa before I came to avoid culture shock, but with so many different cultures crammed into a single country and even a single city, it’s been impossible. Even so, I have had such an incredible time while I’ve been here.
While working in Manenberg, I have been able to understand the opportunities and privileges I have been afforded more acutely than ever before. For example, while I was teaching computer skills to a woman, I realized how much I take for granted when I log onto my laptop to check my email and my facebook and just generally waste time. To my learner, knowing how to get on the internet and search for jobs online opened up a new world of opportunities. Now she can help her daughter with school projects, whereas in the past she could only play solitaire. While it can sometimes be difficult to see how I’m making much of a difference in two weeks of IT training when there are so many other problems in Manenberg, seeing the look of excitement and triumph on my learner’s face made everything worth it.
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