I have now been in Grahamstown for an entire week and it has FLOWN by! It's so crazy that I will be living here for the next 3 months. I absolutely love it but there is so much about this city and this culture that has taken me by surprise. I want to preface this blog by saying that I am in no way looking down upon anyone, just simply stating what I have experienced so far and how I feel about it.
Poverty is extremely rampant here and the unemployment rate is over 40% just in Grahamstown; it is heartbreaking. Any time that we have walked out of a resturant with "to-go boxes" we have been bombarded with young kids asking for food and of course we give whatever we have. I just don't feel like it's making that much of a difference! Everywhere you look there is someone who needs help in some way or another. Yesterday we had a girl come and knock on the door asking us for money. Apparently my roommate had given her a peanut butter sandwhich the day before and she had remembered where we lived and had come back for more. Situations like this are everywhere and it just rips my heart out!
Racism is also still very prevalent here and the white people are much more highly looked upon. Although apartheid no longer exists, traces of it are seen everywhere. The white people are the ones who drive cars and the blacks are the ones walking on the side of the road (except for Misty and I!). The white people are the teachers, doctors, and lawyers while the blacks are the janitors, lunch ladies, and street cleaners. It just doesn't seem right to me at all!
Since I've experienced all of this, I am constantly thinking about what I can do to fix it but then realize that there isn't very much. It simply breaks my heart to see people be treated differently simply because of the color of their skin or to see children asking for food on the side of the road. I know that God has me here for a specific purpose and I know that I am going to some how, some way, make a difference in the lives of the people of Grahamstown...I'm just haven't figured it all out yet!
On a lighter note...
The most popular brand of chips in South Africa...and also the best name!
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