Last week, Joseph asked some of the UConn students to attend his high school and give a talk to his classmates about the importance of education. We all did not know what to expect but we got into a mini bus taxi on Friday morning and headed to Gugulethu. We arrived at Sithemelie Matiso High School and received a warm welcoming from the principal. He granted us a tour of the campus and we saw that the facilities were run down and noticed there was a lack of resources. We reunited with Joseph in his economics class and he asked us to give advice about various topics, such as motivation for education, peer pressure and balancing schoolwork with other school activities.
The atmosphere of the talk was more like a conversation, as opposed to a presentation and I really appreciated that. The students in the class were not afraid to ask us questions. I personally felt it was difficult to answer because I could not imagine being in their shoes and I could not pretend to know what it would be like. Most of the students live in poverty, and they want to break the cycle in order to obtain better life. However, they need to overcome so many barriers. For example, the school has no library. In order for them to complete a research assignment for class, they need to access the public library in the community, which means, paying for transport. The library can also get overcrowded because it is the only facility in the area so students need to be at the library from the minute it opens until closing to make most of their time. These young adults have tough lives and my heart was burdened by the time we left the school. I realized I take my education for granted—I always complain about having so much work. But in reality, we are so blessed to receive an education and to have so many resources at our disposal. Furthermore, I am blessed to be able to study abroad and learn about different cultures while also taking in different perspectives and lifestyles.
After our trip to Sithemelie Matiso High School, we went to Mzoli’s for lunch. Mzoli’s is basically a meat restaurant for meat lovers, located in the outskirts of the township of Gugulethu and it is a very popular hangout for internationals and locals. Before you are seated, you pick what you want to eat. The menu includes, chicken, sausage, lamb, beef and much more. The meat is cooked in a braai style with a very flavorful sauce and the meal is served with bread. The 10 of us ate the entire meal in less than 15 minutes. I will definitely be going back before I leave!
This past Sunday, I finally found a Christian community that I can plant myself into during my stay in South Africa. Since my arrival in Cape Town I made several efforts to find a Korean church and I am so happy to have found such a loving and welcoming community. I called a cell number that was listed online and the Pastor of the Cape Town Korean Church picked up his phone when he was literally boarding a flight heading to Korea for his one month vacation…I would say this is definitely God’s doing. He took down my contact information and he arranged a Deacon of the congregation to come fetch me on Sunday morning.
I was so excited for Sunday to come because I wanted to be in an environment that I familiar in. Back at home, I am a member of a Korean American church and I deeply miss the sense of community I had there. However, the service was not what I expected. The whole sermon is in Korean, so I had a hard time catching and understanding the message. I also did not expect everyone to be SO welcoming to a newcomer. I was not confident in speaking Korean but the members of the church tried to speak English in order to accommodate me even though it is not their first language. I even met a big group of young college students who attend University of Cape Town as well and we all spent the whole day together. We ate dinner and went bowling in Claremont! I won’t lie…I was beginning to feel home sick, but I am so thankful to have spent the whole day in company with newfound friends. I look forward to growing my relationship with the church and with their ministry.
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