Popping My Bubble

Art by Melissa DePeaza | VOX Staff

By Melissa DePeaza | VOX Staff

A step outside the door from breathtaking Table Mountain, and a moment down the street from miles of white shores and shiny blue oceans, Cape Town, South Africa is one of the my favorite places in the world. It is where my mother was born and raised. Whenever she would return from visiting her family back home, along with all the foreign candy and junk food, Mommy brought us stories. The impression I got from those stories and the photos she would bring back was that people in Cape Town were behind us here in America, trying to catch up in fashion, technology and infrastructure (they didn’t have any skyscrapers yet and the roads were narrow.) I didn’t know how ignorant my perspective was here in my American bubble.
When I was 12, my parents decided that it was my turn to visit my family in Cape Town on my own. Naturally, I was excited. How many kids get to visit Africa? I had been to South Africa once before, when I was a baby and far too young to remember anything or anyone. I knew my dad’s side of the family here in Georgia, but I wanted to get to know the other half of my family and bring back my own stories. I was sure my grandparents, aunties and cousins couldn't wait to ask me all about our family and life in America. So I packed my things, kissed my parents and siblings goodbye, and off I flew.
What are people in America like? How do you speak? What's in fashion? The 18-hour flight over the Atlantic Ocean gave me a lot of time to think up answers to all the questions that I was expecting everyone there to ask me. I thought that they all were going to want to be like me, the American girl. I imagined myself to be some kind of superstar.
At the time, I was completely oblivious to how selfish and snobby my thoughts were. I really did just think that America was the best country and that everyone else thought so, too! So imagine the slap I received to the face once I got to Cape Town.
My sentences would often start with "In America…"
But as I found myself saying that more often, I found myself hearing these sentences just as often: "Yes, but you're in Africa, now. You see, we don't do/call it/say that here."

Waking Up
At first I got defensive, still holding to the notion that the U.S. ruled and everyone else drooled. But slowly, as I started settling in with my family and going out to different places, my thoughts all started turning around. Soon, I was the one asking all the questions. What were people here in South Africa like? How did they speak? What was in fashion? And as soon as I did, a new world opened up to me.
I realized I needed to change my way of thinking and let go of the self-righteous attitude that was blinding me from enjoying the beauty of Cape Town and the unique qualities of other countries and cultures that I had yet to find.
I had to accept simple things like driving on the left and everyone religiously watching “Days of Our Lives” and “The Bold and the Beautiful” along with other soaps. Traffic lights were known as robots, sneakers as takkies, barbeques as braais, and every time someone came to visit, we would serve rooibos tea (which has recently gained popularity in Georgia).
Their world was not centered on being like the United States. If fact, they seemed to resent Americans for acting so superior. I noticed that a lot of times, when strangers found out that I was American or that I couldn’t speak Afrikaans, (a language spoken in Cape Town) they would look at me funny, like I was disgusting. Or they would smile and laugh in a condescending manner. That helped humble me, certainly. And it made me wish I knew their language and had their accents.

Going Deeper
One of the places I visited while in South Africa was Robben Island. During the years of apartheid (South Africa’s racial segregation system, which only ended 1991), Robben Island was where anyone opposed to apartheid and other social outcasts were imprisoned. Over 3000 people were banished to the island, including former South African president Nelson Mandela (before he became president) and my tour guide. She told us about the torture she and other prisoners had to endure for years and the different things they did to get around the guards, like hide secret messages in tennis balls.
I felt for all those people. I was struck by how recent the events occurred. I was shocked by how cruel humans could be, but for some reason, it didn’t seem personal. When my mother told stories of her childhood, she would briefly mention how her schools were divided by race and how she was considered “colored,” not white or black. (My mom’s half Indian and half European.) It was just the way she grew up. No one in her family was really politically active and all news outlets were banned from broadcasting any information concerning Robben Eiland, so she was oblivious to what was going on there.
Hearing about the injustice helped open my mind to world issues. It actually gave me a new appreciation for my rights in the U.S. I realized I’d taken things like equal rights and a free press for granted. I didn't feel proud or superior, but grateful.

Returning Home
When I came back from my trip to South Africa, I was more intelligent and more mature. That one month in Cape Town changed my life. It sensitized me to matters more important than the selfish ones I had prior to the trip, like who was eliminated on this reality show or what that actress did last Saturday. I realized that these things weren’t really important. Feeding the hungry, healing the sick – these thingswere important.
Once I popped my bubble of misperceptions, I wanted to pop others too. I started talking about world issues more with my peers. I began paying attention to international news, like the genocide in Darfur and recent ethnic tensions in South Africa. Last year I joined a non-profit youth group called Youth Leadership for Global Health, which brings world issues to a community level. I have also decided to take a year off before college to travel the world. Of course I want to go back to South Africa, but I want to see other places first. I want to know what’s out there and experience it for myself.