One of the things I have learned from living in South Africa
is how welcoming the people are. The
first week my ministry partner and I were meeting student leaders on campus.
When we where in one of the student’s leaders room she kept insisting that we
sit on the bed and throw away our trash in her room. We were hesitant to do so because we were
trying to be polite. She then explained that by not doing these things it was
making her uncomfortable. Others differences I have noticed in South Africa and
the Untied States is the way they have a really different concept of time and
they take their studies a lot more serious than American students. Overall I
have really enjoyed life here in South Africa!
-Mallory
Gurley
The most striking difference about South Africa is that
there are areas of very rich living close to areas of very poor. There are
areas of Johannesburg that remind me of any American or European city, with
shopping malls selling Burberry and people driving Audis and BMWs. Yet there
are townships just outside of Johannesburg (literally thirty minutes drive),
like Alexandra that we visited last week, that look completely foreign, where
people literally live in shacks without electricity.
One of the hardest things for me to adjust to living in
South Africa has been the difference in the concept of time. As an education
major, I live by the motto, “If you’re not five minutes early you’re late.”
South Africans, however, are generally very relaxed people and they run on what
they like to call “South African time”. They’re never in a hurry, and since
I’ve been living here I’ve often found myself five, ten, even fifteen minutes
late.
One of the most pleasantly surprising things about living in
South Africa has been the students’ selflessness. Last week, my ministry
partner and I had just met two girls. One of the girls had “taken a pack” for
her lunch that day (this is what the students say when they take a bagged meal
from the dining hall). She was giving us strangers some of her food and as she
handed me a candy bar I asked, “Why don’t you want it?” She replied, “You don’t
give only what you don’t want.”
-Caitlin
Curl
After spending 5 weeks in Africa I have come to the
conclusions that I must be part African (Don’t let my white skin fool you lol).
In many ways the culture here fits me better than the American culture. First
off, if you talk to any African about soccer they will instantly warm up to
you. So it helps that I love soccer and have played it most of my life and in
college. Seriously though, Africa has left its mark on my life. Being here has
renewed my love for Christ and my desire to glorify him in the things I am most
passionate about, namely sports. I’d like to share a little bit about my
experience with the sporting culture in South Africa.
One of the first students I met here plays on the women’s
basketball team at Witz. She invited me to come practice with them one night.
In American we are trained from a young age to be good at sports. However in
Africa most women only learn to play sports in school. Many of the basketball
players come from small villages so it is difficult to have a competitve bball
league. Also, most families don’t have cars so it is difficult to commit to any
club team. In the most loving way I say this, the Witz varsity basketball team
reminds me of a middle school basketball team. Don’t get me wrong, they girls
love the sports and want to win games, but they are still learning the
fundamentals. I really enjoyed practicing with them and it cool to see how
important team chemistry is no matter what sport you play.
So I found out something disappointing when I got to South
Africa, most women don’t play soccer. However South Africa does have a women’s
soccer team that will represent that country in London this summer at the
Olympics. Africa doesn’t have nice sports facilities like we do in America. In one
township we visited there is only one grass soccer field for a population of
over 1 million. I tell you what though, that doesn’t stop the people from
playing. You see soccer being played in the street, on a dirt field, or even on
a little plot of grass. Instead of goals and cones, they use shoes and
backpacks. As many of the CCP guys found out, playing soccer is a great way to
meet the locals. It is never to hard to find a small pick up game.
Traditional sports are important to South Africans, but I
think dancing is even more important! One of my favorite experiences in South
Africa happened during a church service in one of the poorest townships in
Joburg. To many Africans, worship is synonymous to dancing. During this service
the whole congregation was moving together worshipping Jesus. There was freedom
to worship God anyway you wanted without being judged. The dance steps were
easy to pick up and the Africans welcomed us into their group like we were a
regular attendee. Back on the campus of Witz we taught some students a dance
called the cupid shuffle. Within 2 minutes they were adding their own style
into the dance and were putting us Americans to shame (there was a lot of
laughter involved too). I love the culture here.
Ok this is my last remark about my experience with the
sports culture. This country loves Rugby. I have come to the conclusion that
Rugby players are the toughest athletes in the world. Imagine a 280 lbs (127
Kilograms) guy, who has more muscle than he knows what to do with, running full
speed at you! Ok, now it is your job to stop him. Ya right! It is an amazing
game to watch, probably more entertaining than any other sport out there. I
encourage you to check it out sometime. Well that’s it! Hope you enjoyed
reading about this.
-Jaimey Etten
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