Preconceived Notions

(I also posted a new one below)
Today we are beginning our homestays in the township. Like I stated in my last post, I am really looking forward to this. This is one of the main reasons why the class is here. Before this trip even started, I heard many stories about what it was going to be like. What the people were going to be like, how the living situations were going to be, and even I was overall going to feel. I thought this was going to adaquately prepare me for what I'm about to experience. We were told the houses were on the upper end in comparison to the rest. We were going to be fed relatively well and we were going to be kept safe at all times.

Here are my initial preconceived notions going into the trip prior to arriving in South Africa:
1: I shouldn't worry, I will be safe and taken care of by all those leading the program.
2: The townships really couldn't be as bad as people are making them out to be if we're allowed to stay with families for consecutive nights.

Some of the group decided to go out Friday night. We ended up at a really cute Irish Pub where only about 6 middle-aged people were. A live band was playing and we immediately started singing and having a great time. The people there started talking with us and asked us where we were from and what we were doing in Cape Town. I began talking with a woman named Nicky. She was 39 and had a couple young children. She was a very nice woman and was very interested in our reason for being in South Africa. I was telling her about our itinerary for the week and when I got to what we were going to be doing this week, she was dumbfounded. She couldn't believe anyone would put a group of students into a township for a day much less five. She told me she wouldn't go into Gugs (the township we're going into) for more than a half an hour if someone paid her. There is crime and danger, she told me. "I would shit myself," she said. She compared Cape Town's townships to India's slums saying that the townships are Cape Town's slums and that I will be seeing a part of the real Africa. She went on to say "Let me prepare you..." and told me to bring tissues. I was going to be crying from the moment I walked into the township to the moment I left. The poverty there is heartbreaking. But I also need to be careful because someone could easily put a gun to my head. She said she was proud of us for doing it but that she was nervous for us at the same time.

To be honest, this doesn't scare me. She has never spent more than half an hour in that township. Who is she to judge? Has she ever tried to get to know any of those people or their culture or how they do the things they do? No. She has grown up to understand that that is just the way it is.

These are the preconceived notions I have after leaving the pub:
1: The townships are something to be afraid of.
2: The people are dangerous and I shouldn't trust anyone.

I did have the chance to talk to someone that night who made me proud to be here. His name was Eric. He is the father of two girls and he was also at the pub. We were also talking about my groups reason for being in South Africa. He told me, in the past year, he built 8 houses in the township I am going to. He said he was so appreciative to see people my age being willing to leave their country to learn about his and to bring it back to their own. We went on to talk and compare safety in our neighborhoods and how important it is for children and how many in the townships don't have that.

So far these conversations have had the most impact on me because they have put into perspective my initial preconceived notions. But all of these conversations I have been having began to take effect on me. I started to realize I cannot go into the situation I'm about to into with all of these thoughts in my head. If I do, I'm never going to be able to fully experience the situation nor will I allow anyone else to fully experience me. I read a book by Kevin Winge, who has traveled here to South Africa several times, and he talks about going into situations right. This is a perfect example of going into a situation right. I want to be able to create relationships and lasting memories and have the ability to grow and learn and I won't be able to do that if I hold onto the preconceived notions I held before.

This is the new notion I now hold going into the township:
1: ---------------------

As I said before, I am really looking forward to this. It is something I will probably never get a chance to experience again. I know I will learn a lot! I won't be able to keep you updated daily. I'll be back Friday so there will probably be either one long blog or several small ones. You'll hear from me then!