Tussen Twee Vuren

april 12, 2019

So many things have happened over the past two weeks that I don't even know where to start.

Two weeks ago, the whole CASO group came to George for a weekend. I was very happy to be in a big group again and to hear all the experiences of the past few weeks from my Belgian, Dutch and Finnish friends. We ate a lot, including a braai, lots of wine and lots of laughter.

We also went to Knysna to the elephant sanctuary. I can't even describe how amazing this was. It was such an intense feeling walking between those majestic animals, feeling so small. My heart was beating so fast and everyone was dead silent. In the evening we had our goodbye dinner.

Another week of practicals started, but in a completely different setting this time. We were placed in Thembalethu, a very big community next to George that used to be a township. When we talked to people about what we were going to do there - door-to-door screenings and health promotion - they told us to be very careful. "It's not safe for you to go there", or "You better bring a gun so you can defend yourself" were some of the reactions that made me very nervous.

After working there for a week I can say that there has not been a single moment that I felt unsafe. The signs of poverty and violence were very obvious, but the people we visited were always very friendly. Even when most of them spoke Xhosa, they always greeted us and tried to talk to us. (I even learned some words in Xhosa, proud!!).

This week I was wroking in the hospital again. Working on "midwifery" made me very nervous, since I don't know a single thing about pregnant women and giving birth. I did get to see new things, and I feel like I am growing as a nurse and as a person.

To be very honest, writing this blog makes me feel very weird. I have been struggling a lot with myself. There are still so many thing I don't understand and this whole adventure makes that I sometimes am confronted with myself in ways that I did not expect. Living together with other people is more difficult than expected, and I definitely feel like I don't fit in the South African culture. It is very strange to be working in the poorest neighbourhoods of the area and seeing some very unfair situations, while we still go drive 2 hours to go to nice beaches or go pick our own strawberries, just because we can. Of course, I am here to enjoy and learn, but it just doesn't always feel right.

I don't regret taking the opportunity to come and join this project in South Africa, but it is way harder than I'd expected. I am being confronted with myself a lot and I realize how glad I am to live in Belgium.