A White Texan in Africa

"Every time you say 'Africa is...' the words crumble and break. From every generalization you must exclude at least five countries. And just as you think you have nailed down a certainty, a defining characteristic, you find the opposite is true in other places. Africa is full of surprises."


That's a quote from a book I just picked up here called "Africa: Altered States, Ordinary Miracles" by Richard Dowden. I didn't think I'd want to pick up another Africa travel book, but a cursory glance at the bookstore revealed some keen perceptions like the one above.

I think that one hit me because I'm onto week 4 of my time in South Africa and I've been having trouble putting into words my experiences. Last year as I was backpacking across Southern Africa I couldn't help but be inspired. Blog posts flowed effortlessly because I was basically just reporting back on the incredible images I saw and people I met. Frankly I just haven't been as inspired by South Africa so far. It's big, (relatively) rich, and (relatively) developed. Which is a good thing, right? I mean, this is what all the other countries in the region are aiming towards. So why am I so unsatisfied by this place?

I think it's because, as the quote above alludes to, I have a picture in my mind of what 'Africa is' and South Africa doesn't live up to it. It doesn't conform to my view of Africa as wild, with surprises around every corner, and most people flying by the seat of their pants. South Africa is orderly, well-planned, and a little boring. The McDonalds is down the street, the nice mall is in that direction (or that one, or that one, or that one). Gas stations have gas, grocery stores have all the food you're craving, and the highways will actually get you where you want to go. There's very little room for the spontaneity and unpredictability of the Africa that I came to know in my previous trips, and I guess I'm just a little disappointed.

Ok, it's not South Africa's fault. It's my own for trying to define Africa from my limited experiences. This is a new part of Africa that I need to learn from as well. Because this is where all those other countries are trying to reach.

So in an effort to get out and learn about South Africa, we made a trip down to Cape Town on Thursday morning for a 2-day training of some South African NGOs. The program is called Ke Moja (Fit for Life) and is devoted to limiting drug and alcohol abuse among youths in the Western Cape province. It's a little like the D.A.R.E programs in America. South Africa currently has an alarming rate of drug abuse among kids - something like double the global average. The government of Western Cape has handed over the management of the program to my organization. The program runs through local NGOs that we manage. It was at this training that I learned my first lesson about working in South Africa.

If you paid any attention to the news in the last 30 years, then you know that South Africa has had a rocky relationship between the races. That's putting it nicely. There's a palpable tension here when it comes to race. I think that's probably true to a certain extent in the US as well, but it's different here. People are much more open when talking about race. It rarely escapes a conversation. "Oh well you know white people are like..." or "You know how the brothas are." Thoughts that could be offensive in the US are spoken of openly here. It's like the races all conform to their proper rols in society and people have learned to accept it. And as long as everyone agrees, then there won't be any problems despite the inherent tension involved.

So I was here about a week when my current employer let on that one of the best things about bringing me over is that I'm white. I squirmed a little bit when he said it. His point is that since he's an African-American and everyone in the office is black South African, that they need a white person in the organization to deal with the white people we have to work with. Immediately I reasoned that maybe he's just sensitive about race in a way that a white person who has typically been the powerful majority might not be.

But the time I spent down in Cape Town with the NGOs gave some credence to his point. Both of the guys from my office I went down there with told me the same story. Apparently one of the government officials we're partnering with congratulated us on picking up a white person. They explained how much more respect we'll get from the NGOs and how much more professional we look. In fact one official said that, in spite of the fact that my coworkers have much more knowledge of the programs at this point, that they should put me out in front to make the presentations because it would look more professional. Then, at the end of the trainings my coworkers laughed as all of the white members of the NGOs crowded around me to get my advice about the project and to explain to me their own programs. My coworkers let on that those same NGOs had had a rocky relationship with us from the beginning - and credited it to the racial gap.

So race is definitely out in the open here, and I definitely haven't figured out whether this is a good thing or a bad thing. As I put it to a friend earlier this week, on one hand they don't hide their racial tendencies like we do in the United States which makes it less of something that can be ignored. On the other hand people seem to expect you to conform to the predetermined tendencies that have been ascribed to each race. I think this is a matter which is going to take more research on m part before I can get across a conclusion. Luckily everyone seems more than willing to talk about race.


And now for the fun stuff. I've finally been able to upload some pics from my first few weeks here. They can be viewed here.

And here are a few more British vocab words for you to try to figure out: Torch, Globe, and Rocket. I guarantee you won't get all three. Good luck!!

And finally, I didn't get to do much touring of Cape Town on this trip, but there's a little pic to give you a taste of how beautiful the place is: