And so I have returned to South Africa yet again. I’m going to refer to this as Phase III of my South African adventure. Phase I was the four months that I spent here in 2005 studying abroad as an undergraduate. Phase II was January 2007 to May 2008, during which time I was getting my masters degree and working part time. And now Phase III, I am working full time here from August 2008 to August 2009. I’m working for an organization called the Media in Education Trust Africa (MiETA). The mission of the organization is to improve the lives of children through improving access to education, particularly in rural areas. Basically development through education. If you want to learn more about it, visit http://www.miet.co.za/. I’m working here as a researcher. I monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of the education centres programme. While I’m not sure that research is my calling in life, it has been a phenomenally eye-opening experience thus far. As I’ve said before, I think I’ve learned more by working for this organization than I did in my year of classes at UKZN.
Speaking of class work, my dissertation is completed! I finished up the 100+glorious pages in May before I went home. I heard in July that it had passed and am currently completing a couple of revisions and will bind it and be done with it. I am also in the process of discussing turning it into an article for an academic journal. This will probably be a two year process, but it’ll be cool to be able to say I’m published!
From June to July I spent some much-needed quality time at home, which included a trip to the Bahamas for my sister Corey’s wedding. During this time I also went through the process of applying for a work permit. I was finally successful after jumping through some hoops and now have a one-year work visa. It was really great to be able to spend such an extended period of time at home and to get to see so many of my friends and family. As much as I love South Africa, there is no place like home.
Which brings me to the title of this update. Last week for work I spent a few days in a rural area called Mbazwana, about 4 hours north of Durban. Driving through the rolling hills of Zululand with my colleague, listening to Zulu gospel music, and eating some roasted corn that I bought from a lady who was cooking it over a fire on the side of the road; I thought “I am SO acclimated.” My Zulu language skills, while still lacking, have improved since I’ve been working because about 90% of the people I work with our first language Zulu speakers (they also speak English). Although I can’t really take part in Zulu conversations, I can usually pick up the gist of a conversation and every now and then impress people with a token phrase that I’ve picked up. To which they exclaim “hawu!” and slap me on the back with a friendly laugh.
And as shown by the street-corn that I enjoyed, I’ve also become much more adventurous in my eating. A couple weeks ago I tried my first sugar cane straight from the field (you suck on it and it tastes kinda like maple sugar candy). While I still avoid some of the more traditional meat dishes (such as chicken feet and cow intestines) I gladly take part in street-meat (I had some lovely chicken out of a paper bag purchased on the side of the road in a rural town last week) and have even learned how to cook pretty well, if I do say so myself. I’ve learned all sorts of Zulu music and pop culture. I’ve learned to walk slower and to talk slower and to somewhat alter my heavy American accent so people can understand me more easily. And even though I always stick out as a white oddity in the townships, I feel pretty comfortable there too. And I am now living with two white South Africans, so am gaining a better understanding of white South African culture as well. Yup, I’m pretty proud of my level of acclimation.
But hold on one minute. Does a more adventurous appetite and the ability to sing along to the latest Zulu pop song really indicate acclimation? Does the ability to take part in a South African political discussion or the ability to ask a question in Zulu really mean that I’ve acclimated to a culture? After all, there are still moments when it all sort of catches up with me and I feel tired of always being out of my comfort zone. There are times when Zulu customs get so confusing (well the customs aren’t confusing, but my understanding of my role/place in them is confusing) and I want to throw my arms up in the air and sing the American national anthem while I eat a hot dog and drink some lemonade.
I always wonder at what point someone can feel fully acclimated to a new country and a new culture. I used to believe that there was indeed a point when this happened, when someone could proudly say “I am a South African” (or whatever the country/culture they’re in). But I don’t really think that’s possible. I think that no matter how long I am in South Africa, I will always be an “ex-pat.” It will never really be mine in the way that America is. (As an aside, I’m not sure I can really group the whole of “America” as my home, but that’s a debate for another day.) I have, however, become much more comfortable here. It’s funny to think that after studying abroad here for 4 months in 2005 I felt like I understood South Africa, because my understanding now is much deeper and more diverse, but still not complete.
South Africa continues to fascinate me. I am fascinated by the clash of traditional Zulu culture and “western” culture and the exciting diversity that is the product of this clash. I’m fascinated by how traditional views about the place of women in society are being shaped by more liberal western ideas. And on the flip side, how western ideas adapt to traditional ideas such as respect for your ancestors and the strength of the extended family as a social unit. A friend of mine here recently told me that the essence of being human is the ability to adapt. The ability of traditional Zulus to adapt to a changing world, and the ability of an American girl to adapt to life in a new country. And yes, a year and a half after my “adventure” began, South Africa is still a new country. My life has fallen more into a regular pattern because of my newly acquired full-time job, but every day continues to throw new challenges and new adventures at me, even when I don’t recognize them as the challenges and adventures that they are. And so I continue to be “un-acclimated,” and to learn from all of the experiences, encounters, and detours along the way.
