complexities, paradoxes- components of reality

Our rural homestay starts tomorrow.  Im STOKED.  We will be living with families on an unspoiled beach.  No hotels, no casinos, no shopping malls, no chain restaurants, no tourists running around with their money belts.  Nobody has ruined this beach (yet).  Amazing, right?

I am going to seriously miss my sisters.  Playing with Lu every day has been quite a treat for me.  I have become very close with my older sisters as well.  Im continually amazed at how "at home" I feel with my family here.

The woman who will be living with us in the rural homestay is speaking to us today.  She is a professor of education at the University of KwaZulu-Natal.  She's also HILARIOUS.  "Ok. Let's introduce ourselves.  I'm terrible with names, so I won't remember all of your names.  I just call everyone darlin', honey pie, sugar."  Sounds like a good ole American, Southern woman.  She's filled with insights into the highly paradoxical nature of today's South Africa.

Racially, socio-economically, sexually, this place is SO CONFUSING.  Who's the oppressor and who is oppressed?  Its complicated.  It is absolutely not black and white (not using the terms racially).  I have encountered multiple white people who fought against Apartheid and suffered as a consequence.  There are also white people who committed horrible atrocities against people of color.  I have also witnessed very sexist black men.  There is no way to label all black people as one way or all white people as one way.  Or all women as one way and all men as one way.  I knew this before experiencing South Africa, but it seems to be much more acute here than in the U.S.

Our leader of the rural homestay spoke to us about her continual astonishment at Apartheid.  Even for a woman who grew up in South Africa, lived through Apartheid and its demise, it is shocking.  It actually happened.  And not that long ago.  People were tortured, killed, and robbed of their basic human rights solely because of their color.  Even more shocking and disgusting- we (the U.S.) and the rest of the world did very little to stop it.  To the contrary, the U.S. just recently (2008) removed Nelson Mandela and the ANC (African National Congress) from the CIA's list of terrorists.  A bit absurd?  I think so.