Who needs an undergrad in 4 years anyways? Through gap years, 'educational' breaks, exchanges, and internships, I have been lucky enough to explore the world - all things that will benefit a future in anthropological research (that's what I tell my parents, anyways).
One of the first things that my dad said to me after I told him about this internship opportunity was that I would be halfway around the world. Literally. About 100 miles off the coast of Durban is the exact opposite spot on the planet from Vancouver. Being that Pietermaritzburg is about 45 minutes inland from Durban... well, I could understand my parents hesitation. Furthest spot away I could get, and for 7 months no less. This would be the biggest adventure of my travel career so far.
What on earth was I doing, considering a 7-month position in South Africa? I should be finishing my degree, graduating in April, and heading off to find a 'real world' job after another beautiful summer spent with friends exploring the Pacific Northwest playground I call home. Instead, I would be getting on 2 international flights, committing myself to 7 months in a completely foreign place (where they were heading in to winter, no less!) with little knowledge of the history, the language, or the person I would have to be in this new environment.
Well, not to spoil the end of this story, but as the title of this blog post probably gave away, I did end up on those flights. Choosing South Africa. Spending my 'summer' months in a place about as different as you can get from the rugged PNW coast. And now here I am, a month in to my new home, and honestly? Still just as confused/startled/out-of-place as I felt 4 weeks ago... but also more sure than I have ever been in my life that I made the right choice.
Stepping outside my comfort zone
With all the questions I have been working through in the last month, I am becoming certain of one thing; if I hope to find some kind of truth through all my searching, it is essential that I am asking the questions and striving for answers while immersed in the culture.
Some things I have begun to work through... how does the colonial history impact the culture, and in what ways do the remnants of the recent Apartheid history differ or mix with that colonial narrative? What efforts exist around de-colonizing, and will I have a place in them? What are the impacts on todays young black children, the first generation to grow up outside the Apartheid regime? What is my role here, as a middle-class, Canadian, white woman coming in, and how can I do more good than harm? And how, in the future of my research and anthropology in general, am I going to use my education without imposing my truth on people who have embodied very different lived experiences?
None of these questions come to neatly packaged answers, and none of them are concepts I will likely sort through in my time here. These questions may take years to answer in any kind of capacity, but more than ever I am certain that I have begun the most important part: asking them in the first place.
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