So it’s been a number of days since I wrote in this blog, and I will do my best to do them justice. Sorry for posting all of this at once. Last week (Sunday, May 31 to Friday, June 5) we were in Gugulethu, which is a poor township associated with Cape Town. I could go into detail about the whole experience and what we did each day, but it would take forever. Instead I will try to discuss my feelings and thoughts as I try to make sense of what I have seen.
I was startled the first day when, following a trip to a treatment action campaign office, we visited an AIDS clinic. It was a small building packed with desperately sick people, and the air resounded with deep coughs. While I saw some sick people last year, especially at Brownsfarm clinic, those experiences did not hold a candle to the level of sickness at this place. Moreover, the patients had probably been waiting around for hours in the contaminated air. We were subsequently led to a side room away from the patients and told about the program, which works to treat AIDS and tuberculosis together, as many of the patients that show up to clinics have both diseases.
I was most shocked simply by the levels of poverty. It is something that must be shocking every time you see it, because I thought that last year’s experience would have prepared me. It didn’t. The clinic was surrounded by shacks on all sides, and the patients looked very sick and very impoverished. Moreover, many of the struggles that surround the treatment are related to poverty. Despite the fact that the patients health is lower because they are not eating well or at all and living in deplorable conditions, they are limited by their inadequate educations. This prevents many of the sick people from really understanding the treatments they are receiving and the proper way to carry them out. All in all, the healthcare situation in Gugulethu is very poor.
` This was just one of many issues we confronted during the week. While this trip is designed to confront the AIDS issue, much of the time was spent learning about poverty and its repercussions in the community. AIDS is a complex issue that is intertwined with the South African culture and the poverty of the township. I think it is impossible to remove it from the other immeasurable influences in the community.
In this vein, much of what we saw was on the level of the individual. We worked closely with a woman named Johanna, who is a volunteer with the JL Zwane community center. Her work involves community outreach, and she spends her days visiting many of the members of the church to make sure they are doing okay. Many of these people are old, suffering from a variety of illnesses or general feebleness or both. Many of these people are unable to attend church for these reasons. We helped deliver food parcels to a few of these people. I noticed that many of these elders also have grown children at home who are, for whatever reason, unable to work. Many of these grown children are alcoholics or otherwise desperately ill (often AIDS and its associated diseases), and they rely on the grandparents for sustenance.
This situation leads to one of the most startling aspects of the township. Since the grandparents are too old to do much and the parents are out of commission, the young children of the grandparents’ grown children are often left to care for two generations of older people. This means that many school age children are forced to either not attend school or spend their entire evening taking care of their sick elders, leaving them with little time for either education or childhood. The children, who are members of the community that most need care and attention, are left without any support in a situation that often leaves with hungry tummys and worse. It is very sad.
These kinds of scenarios are rampant in the township, as thousands of people are struck down by AIDS. Many children are often left caring for younger siblings after their parents die, with almost no support from their community. There was also a young reverend from Florida, named Mel Bars, who was at JL Zwane working with these orphans. The community center takes special care of about 50 young people, putting them through education and supporting them with food. It was very cool to see Mel’s work, and, while the stories associated with the orphans are tragic, the program also has a lot of really motivated kids who are making the best of a bad situation.
I think this is the greatest irony of the township; that terrible conditions exist, but the adversity encourages individuals to make great achievements in the face of challenging conditions. This is one element that has challenged me during both trips; that I come from so much privilege and that I have a responsibility to make the most of it. I think I have done a good job of that, but there is always more to be done. Given that I will have some free time this summer, I need to find a bigger way to get involved in the community and help people. I have always said to myself that the most powerful way to impact a community is to make my own work the best it can be, but I think that community outreach is also a big deal. It would not take much for me to brighten the lives of a few people, and I think that committing to some kind of work would be really beneficial in my life and teach me more about generosity.
Generosity is another thing I am working with. At one mindfulness retreat the leader talked about three major issues people face: confusion, greed, and irritability. Any individual is often pronounced in one of these ways, and I think I have problems with greed. I am always trying to take the best for myself, and I am afraid of giving because I want to conserve my resources for myself. I think these practices have negative consequences in my life, and I am trying hard to be mindful of this. This has been ongoing over the last few months, and this trip has been a fun opportunity to practice this. I think volunteering in the twin cities when I get back could be a great way to work on my generosity and get a better sense of the personal rewards of being generous.
One thing that was discussed both this year and last is the concept of making a difference in the life of just one other person. I haven’t always believed that this is important, but I see in Gugulethu that positively influences just one other person’s life is a powerful thing. It benefits both the giver and the receiver, and creates more love in the universe, which is always great. I need to keep this in my head as I do work over the next year and eventually head to medical school.
I think this is all I will write for now. It is a lot of information, and I am doing my best to process it all. I will definitely be writing tomorrow, so stay tuned.

expecations

Having now read most of the blogs, it seems like a big theme of the trip so far is expectations. I even touched on this in my last/first entry. It is amazing how, as human beings, we formulate so many anticipations for the future. I think this is relevant even in daily life, as I have expectations for how practically every day, week, or month will go, whether its business as usual or something spectacular (like this trip). Moreover, I have felt like I am practically retracing the steps of last years trip, having listened to the same lecturer, visited the same museum, and gone to the same market area. Thus, I feel that I am especially susceptible to allowing my expectations to take over my senses and not directly experiencing what is going on around me. I am working hard to be mindful of this, which is a really interesting exercise.

Today we had the first classroom component of our trip, which was fun. Zwelethu, our lecturer, is a really engaging speaker with a lot of really cool history. I did, however, feel a little ignorant, as I am really rusty with my history. I think I was even a little sharper last year on these topics. Regardless, he had a lot of cool things to say and presented the history in a really comprehensive way. I really wish we would have had more time to discuss the lecture, however. We broke for lunch immediately, and I feel that information like this gets lost pretty quickly when you don't immediately stop and consider the take home messages. Additionally, this was my first chance to be a teacher in the classroom, and I was sad at the lost opportunity to try facilitating discussion. I am sure there will be more chances though. I wrote down some questions I wanted to ask, so I will save them for Friday, when we have alloted discussion time.

Overall, the first two days have gone by quickly. Reading the blogs, I sense that the rest of the group is getting restless for the township stuff. I have mentioned a couple times how that part of this trip is really intense, so maybe I am setting them up for it. This trip has a really interesting design, in which we get comfortable in the parts of South Africa that are really familiar. We are purposely staying away from the stuff that is really controversial. I love how this illuminates the poverty that we will see. It shows how society is full of contradictions, which are enshrouded in an organically evolved culture that reinforces them. Just like in nature, everything fits into its context perfectly. Every element of the universe is interconnected and in complete, uninterrupted dialogue with everything else. I hope I can impart a sense of this transcendence to the students, as I feel this is something critical to a deeper understanding of our personal experiences and our role as societal leaders, regardless of the immediate context.

Christen's Blog

For a really comprehensive blog that links to some other blogs, check out Christen Christopherson's blog. She is the teacher of this course.

christenincapetown.blogspot.com

Travel and Day 1

Hi there. For anyone reading this, my name is David Horn, and I am the teacher's assistant for the May/June 2009 South Africa trip. I went for the first time with last years group, and I am coming along this time to provide support for our teacher, Christen, and advice for the students as they explore this amazing country. I graduated from the University of Minnesota this May with my B.S. in neuroscience, and I am currently planning for a career in medicine.

I have had a lot of mixed emotions as I prepared to embark on this trip. While last year's journey was an absolutely amazing experience, the Cross-cultural Leadership Context of the AIDS Pandemic program challenged me to take in a ton of experiential information in a very short period of time. Consequently, the three weeks were exhausting, emotional, and unwaveringly intense. For this reason, I am anxious for the next three weeks, and I am already combating expectations that I have and trying to be open to this time as its own distinct experience. I definitely felt this way as we traveled to the waterfront today and visited a posh mall and restaurant. I understand that the first part of this trip is supposed to be a tourist experience, so that we can compare the perceptions we are having now to those we will have in the township; however, I am reflecting on our experience in the township last year and applying it to today's settings, which is making me somewhat uncomfortable.

This is particularly interesting to me because this experience tests the way that last year's trip was life changing. In a way, this is a direct test of the lessons I learned last year, as I apply my new perceptual templates to an environment that I have already experienced once. Moreover, this year has been one of great personal growth and change, as I dealt with a number of changes in my personal and professional life. I am both excited and anxious to see how this plays out over the next few days.

It will also be interesting to watch other students have this experience for the first time. I anticipate, given that I am the TA, that I will be a little bit outside the group, and I will be taking some steps back and making observations about the ongoing group learning process. I will also be making extra effort to ask questions that help guide the thoughts of the students as they explore South Africa. This should be a very fun, exciting adventure, and I am looking forward to its development over the coming 20 days.