Jerard reflects on cultural differences

All throughout this trip so far I have been constantly looking at the similarities between the United States and South Africa. The conversations I had and the relationships I established this weekend really showcased the differences between the two cultures. I noticed these cultural differences while on my homestay, which consisted of my roommate, Patrick, and I visiting an elderly couple in Ocean View. The things I’ve noticed are by no means concrete rules and are just an interpretation from my perspective. The major difference I’ve noticed is that here in South Africa people tend to have a community first mentality while in the U.S. people are much more individualistic. The part of Ocean View we stayed in was an impoverished predominately colored area where all of the inhabitants I met seemed to work at Pick n’ Pay. Despite the many challenges facing the individuals in Ocean View they all seemed to be geared towards bettering their community first. The name of the elderly woman we stayed with was Aunty Kay-Jane and she had an incredibly insightful daughter by the name of Bonita. At the age of 40 Bonita quit her job at Pick n’ Pay and decided to go to university for Theology. This was an incredibly brave decision considering her age and the fact that without Pick n’ Pay she would have essentially no income. Her courage becomes even more apparent when you consider that Bonita did not have the prior education to excel at a university and needed to learn many skills my generation takes for granted. Her motivation for going to school for theology was so that she could learn for herself and teach others about her religion. She also wanted to gain a different perspective on things and make a better life for her daughter. The main reason she wanted to go to university was so that her education could serve as a launching pad for her community. She is currently working towards her Honors in community development. She was not the only person I met here who talked about community development. In fact Bonita’s best friend dropped out at the same age and from the same job in order to achieve similar goals. Improving the community was a common subject amongst the residents. It crept into every conversation possible. Including any conversation I had about the talent show members of the community were a part of.

I doubt that if I went to a similar community in America people would have left a talent show talking about how best to improve the community. Instead I would have had conversations about who were the best individual acts or how a parent believed their child was the cutest part. A talent show in America would have been all about individual accolades. Just like the community aspect of South Africa can be seen in how students approach university, so can the individualistic nature of America be seen in our students. When selecting a major in the states it is all about what our individual interests and pursuits are. We are told to choose something that will make us happy first and that the money will come. It’s about making personal career choices instead of bettering the community you came from. The obvious drawback of our individualistic culture is that we don’t seek to help people first. This is why America has so many problems it could easily fix if those who are the haves helped those who are have-nots. Much like individualism a communal mindset does have its drawbacks and this was explained to me very simply by the sage Bonita. Many members of the community have the ability to move out of their current situation and into a better community, but they choose to stay where they are because of a fear of going somewhere different. Many of the people I talked to had not ever left South Africa or even visited other parts of their own country. This gives them a much more limited exposure and shackles them to their community. To me this weekend was important in my development as a person even if it wasn’t the most exciting time I’ve had in South Africa. I learned that both a community oriented mindset and an individualistic mindset have their respective flaws and both should be utilized with moderation.