The importance of “in situ” learning!
I cannot even describe how valuable I am feeling this trip has been so
far for me. I met new peers that I can say now are part of my “South
African” family; I am witnessing spectacular landscapes with beautiful
mountains and vineyards on one side and the magnificent Atlantic Ocean
beaches on the other; and I am learning more about this incredible
country every new minute I spend on this trip.
What I believe is
the most importance feature of this South African Program is the
opportunity of actually feeling with all our senses each one of the
lessons learned in the lectures that we are having during our stay. We
could definitely have each one of those lectures back in DC, but that
would have not been the same. By being in person in South Africa, I am
actually observing and partially experiencing much of the challenges and
the opportunities that the country, and Cape Town, as one of its most
important cities, are facing in the Post-Apartheid period. For instance,
I would able to perceive the reminiscences of Apartheid by observing
the division of Cape Town in townships and luxury neighborhoods, and the
clear differences in the cultural and economic livelihoods of white,
coloured and black populations. Moreover, on the one hand I could
observe how Black Economic Empowerment works in the “Thandy”
agricultural cooperative, and on the other hand, how many political and
cultural challenges restrict the work of NGOs in their fight against
HIV/AIDS. Finally, I was capable to talk with locals and perceive their
restrictive hope about a country that they know have serious obstacles
to surpass in the immediate future, but have many reasons to hope for
better perspectives given its unsurpassable position in the African
continent.
That is the magic of what I call the real “in situ” learning!
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