Fun fact: the quote in this blog’s title is a line from a book readapted to a song performed by the Wiggles (a kid’s nursery rhyme channel). I learned this after returning to the States and looked it up on YouTube. PSA to all my fellow ACE storytellers, after watching that YouTube video, I can confidently say we nailed that storytelling rendition to the kids, from the exaggerated swishing swashing to roaring bear sounds to minute tiptoeing. Good job, us!
Three weeks ago, I would never have thought that this line from the book “We’re Going on a Bear Hunt” by Micheal Rosen could describe my unforgettable experience in Cape Town this summer. In the book, the words mean persistence and resilience will help you achieve your goals. Still, this message from a silly children’s book reverberated across all the interactions and elements I had during this experience.
According to the locals, Cape Town had one of its worst winters while we were there. One minute you could see the road in front of you, and the next minute, stormy winds had obscured it. I know we all wished we had brought a few more rain jackets. Through it all, we persisted, and with a little bit of luck…ok, a lot of luck (our GVI staff kept emphasizing how lucky we were – the iconic Table Mountain was covered by clouds almost every day we were there, but somehow, on the one day we went, the skies were beautiful, and we got a gorgeous view, see photo above taken by Sean Morello). We were able to have a great experience nonetheless, and we knew that this was part of what made our experience unique.
Everybody goes through their own struggles; however, it is no surprise that the struggles we face in the US are vastly different from those in other countries. Going into Cape Town, I was aware of this. I knew that the kids in Langa and other areas came from struggling families, but it was the concept of perspective that I learned the most. It was easy for us to feel bad for these kids and their families when we knew there was very little we could do to substantially change their situations. However, what Mak, the head of VUSA, said early on in our program about VUSA’s mission changed my perspective entirely. He noted that “VUSA is there to make kids proud about their culture and their abilities, but ultimately about themselves.” Encouraging kids to take up sports and academics and keep a balance between the two allows them to have goals and achieve big things in life. It keeps them proud of their families and who they are, rather than envious of what they may not have socially and economically. “VUSA teaches them to love themselves.” His words were compelling, and I believe that, unlike other study abroad/service programs, ACE allowed me to learn more about myself through the stories and lessons of others.
While we made 1,400 delectable PB&J combo sandwiches at Ladles of Love, painted building blocks, and stirred pots of curry and rice to give to lots of kids at an ECD (Early Childhood Development Center), it was the conversations between the administration, security guards, teachers, café workers, and so many more throughout this whole trip that had me reflecting. I’ve never been a big reflection journal person, but it was simply the sheer number of lessons and stories that somehow filled 30 pages of my ACE journal. This reflection had me thinking about who I was as an individual in this big world and from their POV, what small changes they wanted to see to put bread on the table, see their families happy, and persist through challenges to make that happen. A smile is really a universal symbol, and pure, selfless happiness was a core emotion that filled me and many others when we read those stories and played games with the kids at ECDs, and were on the field with the older kids during our Sports Holiday camp in Langa. It was like we were being transported back to childhood, just having fun kicking a ball around and cheering your friends on when they scored – an amount of happiness that no Disneyland or Chuck E’ Cheese can recreate. Happiness is fist-bumping and acknowledging the work of all the people around us. Spreading happiness is listening to the stories that they kindly share so that we may learn from them and enact change however we can.
I genuinely learned something from every person I met on this experience, which deepened my love of creating relationships because you never know who will inspire you or teach you something new! Thank you to everybody who made this experience possible, and a special shoutout to Heather, Nina, and Conner for making this trip extra special with y’all’s stop-by! I gained new perspectives, met amazing people, heard incredible stories, ate fantastic food, saw incredible sights, and, most importantly, look forward to my next trip to Cape Town!
