Derek asking difficult questions while being grateful for this opportunity

Throughout the past couple days of orientation I’ve been fostering feelings of guilt. Although I am grateful for all that we’ve been able to experience, I have begun to see our group as a means for social stagnation amongst the races. We infiltrate the city in our clunky traveler’s bus and we tour the townships as if we’re in a museum and their homes are nothing but exhibits of poverty. We awe and coo about “how interesting” or “how powerful” their conditions are to us without stopping to think that this is someone’s reality; that people and children live there daily but we’re just stopping momentarily. Let me say this now: in no way is this post attempting to demean my co-educators experience or say that the townships should not be a part of orientation. I just find it contradictory that after a day dedicated to learning about the culture or oppression of the colored and black people of South Africa I have to deny a beggar, of this same race, even the smallest of change for my safety. I find it contradictory that we talk about how kind and inspiring the locals are, yet we must travel in packs and continually be aware of scams, muggings, robberies, or violence. I find the praise by the locals undeserving. With each activity we’ve been told by all how brave, selfless, and special we are; but what have we really done? Yes, we have taken a great step as privileged people to educate ourselves on the history of another ethnicity’s hardships but it is in vain if we don’t sacrifice to support those in need. Thus, I am grateful that this abroad experience gives me the opportunity to strip this façade by serving the community through my internship and activist project.