Yesterday, it's been 25 years since Nelson Mandela was released from prison

Yes, you read that title right: 25 years ago on 11 February 1990, Nelson Mandela was released from prison. And I was in Cape Town where he made his first speech as a freed man. What an incredible feeling of finally being free after over two decades imprisoned.

Yesterday was probably one of my favorite days here. We started off the morning by visiting the Langa Township Museum. Langa was one of the first townships in South Africa, so there is so much history surrounding the very street that I live on. The museum was once a pass court, meaning that was where people were taken if they did not have their passbook or identification book on them. Black people during apartheid were required by law to carry this bulky book containing all of their ethnic background information, employer history, and place of residence. They could be arrested on the spot if they failed to produce the book to a police officer. Eventually black women were required to carry a passbook as well, and this lead to a huge Women's Defiance Movement in the 1950s in South Africa, especially Langa. There was one woman we learned about, Annie Silinga. She was one of the most resistant women during the struggle. It is said that her grave marker bears the slogan, "I will never carry a pass!" Up until her death 1984, she was never registered with the SA apartheid government nor carried a pass. It is also said that she told an officer, "If you strike a woman, you strike a rock." So that is definitely my new motto.

Annie Silinga

Look at this amazing woman. Meet my new hero.

After the tour of the museum, we took a walking tour of Langa, which was wonderful. I had really only viewed the street that I live on, so it was amazing to see the rest of the township that I call home. In Langa, there are several different types of housing: there is the multiple family hostel, were several families can share a single room. There are the renovated hostels which allow one family to an apartment. There was also the ranch style houses, like the one I'm staying at. The government also supplies some residents of Langa with temporary housing, which is equipped with solar panels on the roofs. And lastly, there is the tin shack that so many associate with townships. The government however is demolishing the shacks and moving the residents into the temporary homes.

Family Hostel

Temporary housing

Shacks in Langa

After class today, Mama Kholeka took me to a relative's surprise party! Happy Birthday in Xhosa is Imini emnandi kuwe (I think) and you sing that just like you would in English! In Xhosa culture, or at least the family I was with, it's tradition for the birthday person to sit in the middle of the room while everyone says super nice things about you. After the person finishes saying the nice thing, everyone breaks out into song. The songs are all in Xhosa, so I had no idea what they were saying but it truly sounded lovely. 

While I was there, two small girls were hardcore staring at me. I motioned for them to come sit by me and they just stared at my skin. The one girl, she had to be about 5 or 6, grabbed my nose and said, "White people's noses are so pointy." I just laughed, mainly because I had no idea how to react. I then asked them, "Ngubani igama lakho?" which means "What is your name?" They were totally taken aback by my ability to ~kind of~ speak Xhosa. Then they told me their names (which I promptly forgot) and the six year old asked where and who I was staying with. I told them I was staying with Mama Kholeka in Langa, They both told me that I was lying but I assured them I was definitely staying in Langa. To this, the six year old said, "But white people don't stay in Langa."

Since coming to South Africa, I have definitely become more and more aware of my race. In the US, I belong to the majority of white people, so I've never really had the experience of being "the only white kid in the class."

But recently, I've been the only white girl in the room or the only white girl in on the bus or in the cafe. It's been a very different experience for me. I don't really know how to describe how it makes me feel, but it's different. And that's exactly what I wanted from my study abroad country. I can already tell that it's effecting me and changing how I view the world, though I'm not entirely sure how just yet. Already I am so grateful to South Africa for shaping my person growth, even though I've hardly been here two weeks. I am so excited to see what the rest of my journey looks like and how it ends up shaping me.

I'll end with the words of the Great Madiba:

"What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead."

Thank you, Tata