Study Abroad Student Blogs

As I write this, we are ending our second week in South Africa and our first week of classes. I’ve tried to formulate my thoughts about my experience in South Africa so far, but it’s nearly impossible to put into words. We have gone from being amazed at the beauty of Cape Town from the top of Lion’s Head to being grounded by the poverty we observed when visiting Kayamandi, a township just outside the comfortable enclosure of Stellenbosch. It’s hard to know exactly what to feel—I love experiencing the natural beauty, but learning about the disparate inequalities that exist here is also an essential part of this experience. Though we’ve only had a week of classes, our professors have continuously emphasized the importance of seeing the invisible, whether that be poverty, discrimination, or health inequality. So, amidst the unreal and very visible beauty of Stellenbosch and Cape Town, I find myself looking for those invisible things.

View from the top of Lion’s Head

Part of the reason why I chose to study abroad in South Africa was for the seemingly stark differences between South Africa and the United States. However, after being here for nearly two weeks, the similarities have been far more common than differences. In Kayamandi, we saw children in their creches, the equivalent of preschool, playing games with each other and with their loving teachers. At a community health clinic, the empathy and care for each patient was overwhelmingly present. And, unfortunately, the racial divisions present in South Africa are shockingly similar to those at home. These first two weeks have been quite eye-opening, and I can’t wait to see both the visible and invisible elements of what the rest of the trip has in store.