"What is it like?"

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*This blog contains some violent and sexual content.
The most common question any person gets when they move to another country is “what is it like.” Most people want you to sum up the views, situation, and intricacies of an entire country in a couple short sentences. I know I and other fellow travelers fall into the trap of replying with a vague statement such as “oh it is great here.” Then continue on with blanket statements like the weather is warm, the people are nice, the food is okay, and so on. I am trying not to do that here in Africa. I believe that people really want to know what it is like here, and going over the weather, food, and general opinions of the people may give a brief look, but it is definitely not sufficient. Having said that, any explanation I give is inevitably biased by my previous experiences not being a South African. I do not maintain that my ideas are the end all be all, but they are a start.
Is South Africa the same as the US? Sure in some ways it is, I have internet, a cell phone, a bank account, and I am working on purchasing a car. I go to cafes and bars with my friends and speak to most people in English. Just like in undergrad I spend hours at my desk reading books, writing papers, and taking facebook breaks. I go to a supermarket for my groceries and eat a lot of the same foods just from different companies. Children still ride their bikes and play soccer in the streets. Many things are similar, but then again many are different.
In South Africa I have a problem not with flies or caterpillars, but lizards and chongololos (giant African millipedes). Instead of raccoons or possums getting into the garbage here they have monkeys. When I drive I sit on the right side of the car and drive on the left side of the road. If I want to take a cab I can take the traditional version but also can take a mini-bus, comvee that is unmarked and shoves as many people in as possible. I along with most other households have a domestic worker who comes and cleans my apt and washes my clothes once a week. Most anywhere I park my car will have a self-appointed car guard, he watches over the cars in his area so they are not broken into or stolen and then when you go to leave, you give him some change. There are lots of different words I will explain later, but my favorite and one of the most confusing is just now. If I say I will do something just now it does not mean I will do it now, rather I will do it in a bit. If I am going to do it now, I would say I now now. Let me tell you that has already led to some confusion.
So maybe after looking at this you would conclude that while there are some similarities, there are more differences, and I think you would be right. But one thing I have learned everywhere I have traveled, is that people are innately the same. We all get up in the morning whether it is in a house, a hut, or a roundave,l and we, at a basic level, want the same things. We want to be able to meet all our basic needs such as food and water for ourselves and our families. We want to be able to go about our day in relative safety and at the end of the day we want to be surrounded by the people we love. I know that sounds corny but it’s true, and I want to put that idea forth because sometimes it’s easy to only focus on what is different , which is exactly what I am about to do.
What is it like in Africa? Well I have no idea, but I can tell you what it is like right now in my little corner of Durban. Today I am working on my paper/exam/presentation at home due to the protests occurring on campus. The protests began last week and the grievances seem to be due to housing, financial aid, and academic exclusion among other issues. While after hearing more from other students, I agree that these issues are completely legit. You would be appalled at the housing situations people are facing. But the strike does not seem to be going in the right direction. Last week the protesters cleared out lecture rooms and assaulted students that did not comply. This week they have resorted to breaking windows and damaging school property. On both Monday and Tuesday things got so out of hand that the police resorted to setting off tear gas and firing rubber bullets. Some non-protesting students were forced into the buildings by police and were reportedly kept there until evening. One thing that I have noticed about the protesters is that they seem to be wearing the same color, coincidence? Not so much. The majority of the students are wearing their ANC (African National Congress) shirts and some are holding signs of their beloved Jacob Zuma. Wait, I thought this was about conditions on campus? It seems that with the election so near, this student protest has turned into a bit of a political rally as well. This unfortunately not only alienates some who would otherwise support their cause, but also distracts from their plight. A notice on the IFP (an opposition group) website claimed that students were fired at with rubber bullets for wearing their IFP shirts even though they were not involved in the protest. Truth? Who knows, but this added political aspect only seems to be complicating things.
Politics complicate things? No, never! Politics here are very different from the US, not only is it based closer to the British Parliament system but there are many differences due to the fact that their democracy is in its infancy. People say that the US is a baby, but as we know South Africa’s democracy has only been around since the end of apartheid in 1994. In South Africa there are over 16 official parties to choose from. Of course there is one main party that has been in power since 94 and that is Mandela’s African National Congress or the ANC. Now don’t be fooled, just because it was the party that emerged after apartheid and has the support of Nelson Mandela, does not mean it is all about freedom and equality. Maybe that is their platform but the amount of corruption that has been exposed just since I have been here is amazing. Another complicating and interesting turn of events was the resignation of the South African President Thabo Mbeki in September of 2008. This came after Mbeki, who in 2005 was the leader of the ANC, fired the deputy president Jacob Zuma. The feud between the two seemed to stem from corruption issues among others. Then in 2007 when the ANC voted, Mbeki lost majority and Zuma became leader of the ANC. Since then Mbeki resigned and Mothlanthe as stepped in as South African president while Zuma gears up to run as the ANC candidate for president. The ANC candidate has, since the end of Apartheid, been a shoe-in for President. But in a surprising turn of events a group of ANC supporters have broken off and started their own group called Congress of the People (COPE). Now they are a very new party and probably don’t have much of a chance in this election, but it is a huge step. I should mention that in most areas the official opposition to the ANC is the DA, Democratic Alliance, ran by Helen Zille. To make matters even more complicated Zuma has been tried on a number of corruption and racketeering charges as well as rape charges. His last set of corruption charges were just dropped days ago, but the opposition is sure to fight that decision. Zuma is famously known for statements he made during his rape trial such as deciding not to use a condom to protect against HIV because he would just shower afterwards. Yes this is the future leader of South Africa. The elections will be held on April 22, and then I think I will get to experience a different side of South Africa. I am assuming it similar to the states where everything is about politics in the weeks coming up to election and then post-election it calms down a bit. I hope there is still a degree more of political awareness here than in America. I think Americans have gotten lazy about holding their government accountable, and South Africans definitely can’t afford that yet! On a side note, I have been pleased with everything I have read about the new Obama administration, they are really getting to work on some issues that are long overdue!
I am finishing this blog a few days later when the strikes have subsided and things are pretty much back to normal for the end of quarter. Unfortunately I was told that the strikes will be back with the new quarter, they just had to take a break so they could pass their exams. I am going to post another blog that is just for fun, I’ve been keeping a list of words that are different from American-English. I’ll continue to update it as I find more!
Nihamba Kahle

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Photos

Protest
Photo from Oliver meth