Allie on coincidence and the wonder of it all

I’ve been thinking a lot about coincidence lately, and how a series of unforeseen events can take you somewhere you never thought you’d be. It all started on Saturday morning, when a group of us were supposed to meet our friend M.K. for lunch in Guguletu. We were late, as usual, but we finally caught a minibus-taxi that just happened to have the nicest driver in the world. He wanted to know all about what we were doing in Cape Town, and even offered to pick us up from lunch. The restaurant is called Mzoli’s, and the way it works is you pick out what meat you would like them to cook for you, and then you eat it right at a table outside. They had everything- pork, chicken, lamb, beef, sausage- and it was all delicious. We ended up chatting with the family next to us, who were very friendly and let us hold their baby! Overall, it was a great meal.

           

So after this fantastic lunch we called our taxi-driver friend, and he nicely went out of his way to pick us up. After hearing that we were studying human rights, he took it upon himself to take us on a tour of the townships. We drove through Guguletu and into Manenburg, and all the while he was telling us about what these neighborhoods were like under Apartheid and the issues they’re facing today. On the way we stopped by the Manenburg People’s Center to meet his friend, who is a community organizer there. He was actually a really interesting guy- originally from Cape Town, went to NYU and Oberlin, and now working with the youth in the townships. It was great to get a chance to talk to him and see how people were working to improve these neighborhoods from within.

           

From there, we drove through downtown Manenburg, where we ended up in the middle of a parade. We got out to walk around, and suddenly we were surrounded by crowds of these wonderfully jubilant people. They were dressed in spangled costumes, blowing on horns, dancing, singing and generally having a great time. Children ran up to us to have their picture taken, and everyone who turned towards us greeted us with a smile. We obviously stood out- eight white Americans in the middle of a township parade- but it didn’t feel like it. For a moment it felt like we were really a part of this community, and that even though we didn’t know any of these people and came from vastly different circumstances, we had all come together to celebrate life and the New Year.

           

And it was as I stood in the middle of that parade that I began to marvel at where we had been led. So many little things had to occur to allow us to have that experience. If we had been on time and caught a different cab, or if Avery hadn’t started a conversation with the driver, or even if we had been caught at a red light we might not have been in the parade. But the universe works in inscrutable ways, and we somehow made it there. The same can be said about my experience in Cape Town as a whole. Just a few weeks ago I was just like any other college student in Connecticut, and now I’m here on the other side of the planet, living and working with thirty friends in the most beautiful and diverse city in the world. I can’t even begin to imagine just how many little factors played into my getting here, but I do know that I am so grateful that this is where they’ve let me.