There are many things I have learned here so far. I have realized that there is no way I could ever go back to being the person I was before this trip. I have grown in ways that I didn't expect and have learned more from life experiences than I could ever get in my classroom. I am about to list a bit of my frustrations that my friends and I here have discussed. We also admitted to falling into at least one of these frustrating misconceptions before arriving in South Africa.
Frustration Number 1- Short term missions trips. People coming to some country in Africa expecting to help and change the world. This is frustrating because it is condescending to the people here, and many times when one is attempting to help someone here by bringing western ways into the world, or just giving up some of their time to volunteer it can end up leaving the people worse off. I have learned from many experiences and conversations here and have realized how necessary it is to do a fair share of research on the outcome of one's intentions. I do believe that one person can make a difference and help, but making it seem like you are better than the person you are helping is never the right way to go about things. You never know how much someone else can help you until you change your perspective and be open to new ideas and new people and new cultures.
Number 2-The term 'The Real Africa' and the categorization of Africa as a whole. First off Africa is a continent and not a country. Secondly, you cannot say something to the extent of "African men do this..or African people behave like this...African women live like this.." that is such a mistake that many people have made here and need to be aware that putting that big of a generalization on something as different as people and places is a huge no no, and is also very offensive.
Number 3-Having many people here judging America solely on the country rather than the individual being spoken to. There have been many instances here where I have been associated with the American terrorist who killed 16 villagers in Afghanistan, as knowing celebrities and coming from Hollywood, as being obnoxious and loud drinking entirely too much, as not exactly knowing anything about the world outside of American culture and much more. Just as assumptions shouldn't be made about all South Africans, assumptions shouldn't be made about all Americans. Always get to know the individual.
Number 4-The spread of the Kony Video. It is frustrating to many people here that so many Americans have spread this video all over facebook and youtube, and many may not even be able to point to Uganda on a map. If you are passionate about the cause definitely get in touch with people from Uganda or even people here to know their perspective. When asking around, the most frustrating part to others is that what is trying to be stopped in Uganda and what has become such a big deal to many Americans, is happening all over the world, not just in Uganda. If you want to know more in this perspective, feel free to shoot me an e-mail and i can get you in touch with some of my friends here :)
Sorry if this is a venting session but I needed to get all of this down.
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