DURBAN, South Africa ””mdash; When I told people I was
studying abroad in South Africa, many of them reacted to the effect
of, “Isn’t that dangerous?” or “You know
people in South Africa have AIDS, right?”
After I arrived and decided to go into downtown Durban to buy
groceries, many South Africans, especially white South Africans,
responded similarly ““ “Don’t go, it’s
dodgy” ““ and then proceeded to relate multiple stories
of people getting mugged or killed.
I wasn’t surprised by the reaction of most of my American
friends. I had no more of an idea of what to expect in South Africa
than they did, but the intensity of some of their claims surprised
me, and some even angered me. Without ever having traveled to
southern Africa, many of them were of the opinion that it was a
place people should never go, especially if they’re
white.
On the other hand, the South Africans weren’t necessarily
exaggerating. Crime is a reality in South Africa, especially in
Durban. If you do go downtown, you have to constantly watch your
back, and it is much safer to go with a friend or in a group. But
many of the white South Africans never went into downtown or any of
the other predominantly Indian and black areas in Durban. For them,
it’s “dodgy.” They’ve grown up with that
fact.
This attitude of self-segregation shouldn’t have been
surprising ““ apartheid only ended 12 years ago. But the
strength of the separation in terms of wealth and race hit me
harder than I expected. Even though I’m white, my accent and
the way I dress immediately give me away as a non-South
African.
Just as many of the white South Africans here balk at the idea
of going downtown, or how many people tried to discourage me from
studying in South Africa, neither I nor most of my white friends
would encourage a tourist to visit Los Angeles’ more
dangerous neighborhoods.
It’s my fault I haven’t made the effort to
experience all of the neighborhoods of Los Angeles, but it’s
a fault I can and will change.
And the same goes for UCLA. It’s not that I don’t
have friends outside of my ethnic group; I don’t have many
friends outside of my interest group.
Our similar interests lead us to be friends, but being in South
Africa has made me realize a few things: It’s dangerous to
only befriend people with similar interests as you, to stay within
your comfort zone and not explore possibilities, and to only stick
to what you need and not actively search for more.
My perspective on different topics has broadened since my
arrival. I’m no closer to finding any answers, but my
understanding of how the world works is a little clearer.
For example, it’s mind-blowing to listen to discussions on
globalization from the people globalization actually affects.
It’s disturbing to listen to how the white youth are paying
the price for a system they didn’t create. And it’s
exhilarating to see black South Africans excited that you’re
trying to learn about their culture or attempting to speak their
language.
These experiences have made me realize how silly it is to be
sitting in the United States discussing world politics without
actually going into the world and experiencing them.
But I didn’t need to come to South Africa to broaden my
perspective; I didn’t even have to leave the UCLA campus.
There are so many people on campus with different interests and
opinions. This is obvious simply from the number of student groups
that exist. And while it’s comforting and easy to stay within
my own interest group, the rewards of really trying to understand
someone else’s perspective greatly outweigh the discomfort
and social awkwardness involved in the process of getting that
perspective.
I’m learning a little more about how to break those
boundaries here. Hopefully I’ll be able to bring some of
those skills back home with me.
If you want to help Loewenstein discover Los Angeles, e-mail
her at lloewenstein@media.ucla.edu.
Send general comments to viewpoint@media.ucla.edu.