As I have been home and people have been asking me about my trip, I don’t even know where to begin to fully describe what I have experienced in South Africa. It feels nearly impossible to put in to words. I hope I never forget the feelings I had sleeping in the wilderness or playing the drums with local South Africans. I really miss being surrounded by social workers that just seem to get it. They all know how to have a conversation and provide empathy, understanding, and support. I came home and realized that I am back to real life! There are really only a select few in my life that I can have similar conversations with on a daily basis.

Another aspect of my trip that I am reflecting on is a sense of community. I realized that I am missing a strong sense of community here in Virginia. When I was living in Utah, I had several of my immediate family around me, close friends, and felt generally comfortable in a lot of ways. When we moved in July, I don’t think I realized for a long time how much my heart has been aching for members of my immediate family and friends. Going to South Africa and experiencing all sorts of community made me realize how truly important it is to surround ones self with support. Although I have several members of my husbands family surrounding me and this is very helpful, I don’t have a lot of close friends out here yet. It can be difficult to feel supported in my efforts with school and my role as a wife and mother without a full, thriving support system. Therefore, I am going to make stronger efforts at connecting with local social workers and making more friends. It’s incredibly important to ones health.

This trip to South Africa has seriously impacted my life for the better. It was just two weeks and it influenced me in so many beautiful ways. I feel more fulfilled, educated, well-rounded, and I am so excited to be a part of the social work field. I felt like I had made the right career choice before I went out but I feel it even deeper now. I am not sure what kind of social worker I want to be specifically yet but I would love it to be something with international issues. I felt like I really thrived in that environment, talking with locals and making an effort at understanding what kinds of issues they’re facing daily. It was amazing to exchange knowledge and grow from one another.

Job shadowing was interesting, fascinating, challenging, and educating. I shadowed Realistic, an outpatient drug rehabilitation center, halfway house, and children’s home. I loved being able to already have a connection with the supervisors of this program before starting the shadowing due to the wilderness experience. It made the whole experience feel more comfortable and connecting. They showed us all the ins and outs of their programs and we learned about their future goals and current struggles. The top five things I took from this experience were:

1. The connection between the supervisor was hard to read at times. Unfortunately, my fellow classmate and I didn’t have the easiest time connecting with the supervisor who came in to the wilderness with us. He had a hard time adjusting and I think was surprised by the uniqueness of the experience. However, this was also a reminder that sometimes connections with our coworkers takes a lot of work and time. Sometimes we may even work with someone who can be difficult but that doesn’t mean we can just immediately quit our job and move on. We have to keep trying, keep struggling, and keep working at these relationships in order to build something meaningful.
2. You don’t need some fancy, ritzy looking rehab center in order to facilitate long lasting and affective change. Their outpatient rehab center wasn’t the nicest looking but the quality of care they gave to their clients was clear. One of the days we went to the beach with some of the clients and heard several of their recovery stories. They all seemed so happy to have found Realistic and it was amazing to see their connections with others. In America, I have seen and experienced many beautiful rehab centers that are total scams. They take a lot of money and give hardly anything to their patients.
3. Hearing from the social workers and what their daily schedule is like was very powerful. On the very first day we had an amazing and very real conversation with both of the social workers. They expressed frustrations with the system and how exhausting their work really can be daily. It was a reminder to me that social work can be very rewarding but also extremely hard and one can easily burn themselves out due to the nature of the system. I appreciated how much time each of the social workers and other workers took out of their days to show us their programs. They were excited to teach us and show us what they’re working on with their clients. You can tell they all really care about what they do for a living.
4. “South African time.” This was by far the most challenging aspect for me. Everything just felt so slow moving and I became frustrated at times. I felt like there was so much more we could’ve learned and/or seen if everyone had been more mindful of time. However, it was interesting to hear from South Africans their view of Americans and that we overwork ourselves. Many people felt like Americans work too hard and this heavy amount of work is why we have so many mental and physical issues. This perspective reminded me that maybe it’s okay to slow down a bit from time to time.
5. I realized on a whole new level how unjust the social work system really is and I am going in to it as my career! It was scary to hear about the similar struggles many social workers deal with in South Africa. It was exhausting and terrifying to hear how burnt out they can become in their jobs. It made me worried about my life choices but at the same time, I was amazed at how resilient and incredible social workers really are. Social workers just keep going and keep trying and keep helping people literally survive this life. As my professor stated near the end of the trip, “One starfish at a time.”

Visiting Robben Island was one of the most substantial days for me on my trip to Cape Town, South Africa for a variety of reasons. First, I learned that destructive behaviors have been repeated through out history and are continuing to be repeated today. This pattern of white men being in charge and treating people of color like they are less than human. Establishing a prison or a place of prosecution as a place where they can beat and torture others because they are in a position of power. I used to go on tours of places where really terrible things like this have happened and thought, “thank goodness this is over.” Thankfully one of the leaders from Educo Africa reminded me, “Hayley, this isn’t just something bad that once happened and is now over. This is still happening all over the world.” I honestly had never really thought about that and it struck me deep. This experience is a reminder that I have to be aware of what my race carries for many people of color that may seek my assistance in the future as a social worker. It makes sense that they may be closed off, careful, or untrusting. They have a huge history that justifies those feelings.

Another significant moment of the tour was our tour guide. He was a former prisoner at Robben Island and now worked there as a tour guide. This struck me as amazing and heartbreaking all at the same time. While it was beneficial to have him so we can hear an authentic past prisoners experience, it was as if he was still in prison having to work there because he explained that there aren’t a lot of jobs to come by in South Africa. He explained that it can be difficult to work there sometimes but, he is glad he can share his experience with those visiting. On my way out, I told him I was grateful and appreciated hearing from him and he said, “You need to tell others about your experience so they come and can understand this place.” I agree with him. Those visiting Cape Town need to go to Robben Island so they can broaden their horizon on South Africans historical trauma.

The wilderness experience sparked a lot of emotions for me. I did not realize how uncomfortable I was with sleeping outside without a tent protecting me until the first night. I was incredibly anxious most the night. However, after the first day, I found myself a little excited to lay down for the second night and stare at the stars. I didn’t realize until this experience that I have never truly camped. I have camped with a lot of comfort and luxury in my life. This experience pushed me to be creative and let go of unneeded possessions. Turns out you can absolutely clean dishes with sand, sleep without a tent, go to the bathroom in the wilderness, and can connect with others on a deep level just by simply being outside with them.

The hike to the campsite was a little rough. We had to go when it got dark because it was too hot in the day. When we got to the campsite, we couldn’t see much and we realized we forgot the matches for cooking. It really pushed everyone to their limit. We were all a bit cranky and tired but we really bonded in that time while we waited for our leader to go get the matches back at base camp. We went to bed for the night and awoke to the beauty of where we had been sleeping all night. Big rocks, little patches of wildflowers, sand, and all sorts of little creatures. We went on a hike to a large peak and that was intense. I had to lead the group up to the peak and I had such a difficult time. I was extremely out of my comfort zone and it pushed me to really trust my instincts. This experience helped me realize how strong of a leader I can be if I trust myself.

We ended the day with swimming in the most beautiful, natural little pool I have ever swam in. The water was so fresh and cold. Perhaps the best part of the whole experience though was the conversations centered around vulnerability and connection. I was able to cry and allow myself to feel tough emotions in an incredibly safe space. That was probably the most special part of the wilderness experience and I hope I never forget those memories.

All I can say is that I have been blown away by what I have seen in the last week. I am slightly embarrassed by how shocked I am with how developed and modern Cape Town is than what I originally assumed. There are museums, high end car dealerships, nice restaurants, and much more. Yes, there are areas of poverty and the townships are rough but there are plenty of cities in the United States that have similar features. Washington DC is busy and lively and generally safe, however, there are areas that I would seriously avoid and are very dangerous. My classmates and I did have a moment of fear on the way back to our hostile after dinner one night. Two men approached our group of nine and was asking for any spare money and we weren’t responding. He proceeded to say, “don’t make me pull out a knife” but he didn’t follow through with this threat and walked away. Based off conversation with others that have lived here or visited in the past, there does seem to be a rise in robberies in the town where we are staying.

My other impression is that the locals are very proud of their country and culture. They’re excited to share with those visiting their food, history, and current traditions. I also get the sense that they have been through quite a bit of trauma and there is tension among the various townships and government. Government has not been kind to the citizens of Cape Town. It is understandable why there is a lot of frustrations and resentment. I have learned so much about the similarities between townships here and indigenous reservations in the United States. There are several commonalities between America and South Africa regarding issues of power, privilege, and oppression.

I can also see why many people could come and visit Cape Town and not really see all of Cape Town. It is an extremely beautiful place at first glance. The beaches, the views, all of it is quite stunning. However, there are a lot of injustices going on underneath all of that beauty. I have no doubt that thousands of tourists every year do not receive the full cultured experience when traveling here. It can be easy to overlook the pain and suffering a large majority of people are experiencing living in Cape Town.