Days at Christel House are growing shorter and
shorter by the week, as time does when it's flying by. Me and Claire counted
how many days we have left, and we came up with a stark number: 10. 10 more
days coming into the library, 10 more days being called Miss, 10 more days to
hustle students through the halls, only 10 more days for one of the main
attractions of the Cape Town program. I can't even describe the realization of
how little time there is left. We both teared up, it was unavoidable. It just
feels like there is too much left to do, too much left to learn and to love
about the staff, faculty, and kids. I've learned so much from them, and I know
Claire has too.
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| http://sa.christelhouse.org/ |
And something that stands out to me the most that our
librarian in particular is trying to teach me or impart to me is that idea that
I can't draw parallels from the U.S. to South Africa. I had a conversation with
her daughter last week, who had just returned from 6 months studying in
England. And I was asking them how do the Metric students of South Africa stand
a chance against the competitive global market. This frustration of
non-competitiveness comes from the work of the week, where I found out that the
students have no computer skills. Of course this comes from their backgrounds,
not having a computer or smartphone at home is normal and I know that use and
practice is what creates computer literacy skills. But I couldn't comprehend
and became so annoyed when students in 4th, 5th, and 6th grade could not even
function Google. Where they did not even know to click on the blue headings of
search results to find webpages, or the girl who had been sitting for 15
minutes thinking she was playing a game to find that she was only watching a
YouTube video. It was disheartening and I couldn't believe that even just the
speed of my typing was amazing to them.
From this frustration stemmed this conversation, where
I could not believe they had no computer skills and wanted to move to America.
I mean if you can't use Google, where do you plan on getting a job. Having
basic skills in Microsoft Office, which is not even the internet, is mandatory
for most people seeking a job. It was just baffling to me that they had no
concept, and they both kept telling me the same thing. You can't compare them
to the U.S., to a global standard. Especially these students, of course the
White South African population is as educated as any American. But the students
who are taken into Christel House, they are competitive with their own groups.
But then I remember all our talks about the vicious cycle, where a lot more
than others just isn't enough to break poverty and go to university, and the
whole conversation left me defeated. Because 1.) How do I not compare to the
place I am from? Where I am a communications major, I know what the world is
shaping into. You can't not know how to use the internet, I'm sorry if
Generation X is upset about that. And 2.) How do we reach global equity unless
we compare those countries considered "developed" and those
considered "still developing". Maybe not compare, just get to a
standard, where is the standard, who is the standard, what can never be done in
some places? It's all so difficult and I find it so hard to talk about because
I just don't know what to do about it in my own actions. The truth is, I can't,
but what else can I do to help. These are the conversations I will miss,
because they challenge me.
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