Hello, white kids!

Something important to understand about South African culture is that people are by no means uncomfortable about pointing out race. Black, coloured, or white–it's a simple fact of life that people don't shy away from. There are no politically correct terms like we have in the United States. Here, if you are of African ancestry and your skin is dark in color you are black. If your skin is lighter or your family ancestry is Indian or Middle Eastern you are coloured. Though the end of apartheid insured legal equality, cultural and economic racial divides are still glaringly present.

The University of the Western Cape (lovingly nicknamed UDubbs) was originally founded in 1959 as a college for people classified as coloured under the apartheid system. It's been a long upward struggle for the university over the past 50 years, but it has now become a well-established institution open to people of all races. That being said, most of the Marquette program participants are a stark minority at UDubbs, where the student body is still primarily coloured and black. I'm sure it's comical for the UDubbs students who watch the minibus roll up to the main entrance and unload a pack of disoriented, loud American kids.

All my life I have gone to schools where white people are the majority of the student body, and where many of my classmates come from affluent or privileged backgrounds. At UDubbs, I attend class with people from all over South Africa (and quite a few from other Sub-Saharan countries). Some are from the townships, some grew up in small, distant towns, and some are from the city. There seems to be a wide range of economic diversity. One thing I love, though, is that you really can't tell. Everyone here dresses to impress, and the only people who really stick out are international students like myself.

I've been asked several times why we don't go to the University of Cape Town, which is closer to where we live and far more racially diverse. The fact is, studying at UDubbs is giving us the chance to know what being the minority feels like. I must step out of my comfort zone on a daily basis, which is slightly terrifying but altogether rewarding. At UDubbs and at my service site I am compelled to reach out to people who have every reason to be skeptical of my motives as a white person and as an American. Making friends outside of the Marquette group will take some time, but I have every intention of doing so. I've met quite a few people who have gone out of their way to help me, namely the people in the Performing Arts department who have given us rides home from choir practice (Yes! I'm in the choir!). Though some people at UDubbs haven't been altogether welcoming, there are certainly kind people who have pointed me in the right direction when I get lost (a daily occurrence) and who patiently repeat themselves when I can't quite hear through their accent.

Last Saturday, I walked to the Old Biscuit Mill farmer's market with my housemates. The Old Biscuit Mill is located in a more affluent area of Cape Town, and the shoppers there were almost exclusively white. Though the market was overwhelming, touristy, and beautiful, the truly interesting part was the walk there and back. Observatory (also known as "Obz") is a diverse, middle class neighborhood, mainly populated by students and young families (it's actually a lot like Asheville, NC in many ways). Leaving Obz, we walked through some rough areas to get to Biscuit Mill–areas where a group of six white girls definitely sticks out. I was a little uneasy, but with a group that size and in the middle of the day we had nothing to worry about. At one point, a car full of black guys pulled over to the curb and one got out to run into a nearby store. He saw us, laughed, and said "Hello, white kids." It's the general reaction we get wherever we go, and I'm definitely getting used to it.