Hello Gugs!

My first day in Guguletu was a day of mixed emotions. I started out feeling scared as we drove by shacks with tin roofs that had rocks on the roofs to keep them from flying off. Houses had bars on windows and doors for protection from unwanted visitors. Our driver didn’t help my nerves by telling us that he never comes to Gugs and warned us not to try to be brave Americans by walking around drawing attention to ourselves. He specifically said not to even think of leaving the house after dark. I’m sure you can imagine where my fear was coming from hearing this from someone who lives near Gugs. I was also very nervous because everywhere we drove people were staring at us through the windows. We weren’t even out in public yet and we were drawing attention to ourselves.

Then, we arrived at the JL Zwane Center. We attended a church service there and I felt very awkward walking in there because were the ONLY white people and Xhosa was the primary language being spoken (I think they only spoke English because we were there). My nerves quickly settled when I realized how warm and welcoming everyone at the JL Zwane Church is. We received so many smiles, hand-shakes, and hugs, which was very reassuring. The service began with the reverend talking about being able to go to your neighbor’s house to borrow sugar. The girl next to me asked if we did that in the US and I said not really, at least not at my house because we just go to the store. I began wondering why my mom, or myself, doesn’t go to our neighbor more often. I then began thinking about the value of community. It was very obvious during the service that community is a large part of life in Gugs. Everyone was talking, singing, and dancing during the service I’m becoming convinced that the US values independence more than community.

I couldn’t tell if it was the fact that the congregation was able to all be together at the same time or if it was their faith that brought pure happiness to them during the service. All of the women were singing at the top of their voices and pulling us into the aisles to dance with them as if they didn’t have a care in the world. Obviously they have many concerns such as poverty, HIV, TB, violence, rape, etc. At this point my emotions changed from worried to comfort because I knew if these people could be happy, I could be too. My eyes began watering after 5 minutes of the service just watching the joy of the congregation. After mass we talked to some local youth and this revealed a lot about the similarities between us. They attend school, love partying and shopping, and want to move out of their parents’ homes soon! This also brought me back down to earth because I remembered that, even though they face different struggles than I do, we’re all just young adults.

My last and final stop of the day was Thotho’s house, my host mom. I walked in and was instantly greeted. She gave me the biggest hug I’ve had in a while and I instantly felt safe and extremely grateful. I also met Sinazo, Thotho’s 14 year old granddaughter, who lives with Thotho. In Xhosa, Sinazo means having everything, the perfect name for this BEAUTIFUL young woman. I later found out that she lives with her grandmother because her parents work in Port Elizabeth and she didn’t want to leave Guguletu. Sinazo is just like any other teenager that enjoys dancing, singing, fashion, and soap operas!

I didn’t think that I would be able to sleep at all this week because I’d be too scared and on edge but thanks to Thotho I no longer feel that way. The kind hearts of everyone here and the value of community made me feel right at home. I was happy to see, and I’m sure my mom will be glad to know, that Thotho’s house had gates over the windows and doors like most houses in Cape Town and she does live in a house, not a shack. She has running water along with electricity. Her house is quite nice actually. 

Thanks for blogging,

Brittany