Amelia got to feel the heart of the community of Ocean View

This week was fairly difficult because I had to say farewell to my friends from Malawi and Botswana as it was their final week interning with Africa Unite. AU is an interesting organization because it’s mainly run by interns however they’re all here for different periods of time so everyone gets close and then it’s time to say goodbye just as fast as you say hello. However I have learned so many things from them about community organizing that I can’t wait to take back with me.

This weekend marked the half way point of our trip and we had our homestay in Ocean View where we lived with different families from the community. The first night we met our families and had a lovely dinner with them. Next we headed off to a local community center to participate in a ballroom dance class that consisted of the most talented young dancers. We waltzed, one-stepped, jived, and my favorite, cha-cha’d for hours. The kids were great teachers and were impressed with how fast our group learned the steps! It was inspiring to dance and learn from them because just by being there and focusing all their energy on dancing they’re actively defying the stereotypes about young people in South Africa.

Pauline, Amelia & Alex Z with Aunty Carlin & Uncle Nigel

This weekend was incredible for me because Aunty Carlin and Uncle Nigel and the rest of their family truly accepted us and treated us as their own children. They were so welcoming and by the end of the weekend we were up all night chatting about our lives and the similarities and differences between our countries. Living in Ocean View for a weekend and meeting my host family's close friends and relatives made me see the close similarities between the Ocean View community and mine in New York.  The area where my host family lived was in a more stable part of Ocean View that looked similar to houses in the neighborhood I grew up in. But also the sense of community that was prevalent in both our neighborhoods where everyone knew everyone and everybody looked out for each other. In contrast, one of the most striking conversations I had over this long weekend was with our Chloe, the youngest daughter of our host family where she was telling us the lengths people go through here to be identified with an American. She told us how on Christmas Day, arguably the biggest holiday celebrated by Christian South Africans, that McDonalds was open and she knew people that had Christmas dinner there because they believed that’s where the Americans go. She then went on to tell us how the biggest and most “respected” brands here are the American ones and how most of the people who wear our sports clothing don’t even know what sport the logo is from or who the numbers represent, they just know that its American brand and that’s the style. Hearing things like that really upset me because to me it shows how our country has brainwashed the world into thinking we are the greatest country on Earth when more times than not we are more similar than everyone thinks. Overall the weekend was very nice and like the program coordinator Chantel told us, it was an opportunity to feel the heart of the community, which I’m so happy we did.