I have always wondered what it would be like to be famous and in a constant spotlight. After visiting rural KwaZulu Natal, I can confidently say I would not enjoy being famous. Being a while person (umlungu) in rural South Africa makes you a sort of “novelty item.” Everyone wants to know you, have his or her picture taken with you, date you, or even just walk next to you. Multiple times a day I would find myself surrounded by people of all different age groups wanting to say sawubona to me.
Men were the worst when it came to celebrity like attention. Men and boys ranging from ages 6 to 80 were telling me that they loved me and wanted to marry me for a very high lebola. One day as I was leaving my home-stay house a young group of boys about 6 to 8 walked by carrying water and goods for their family. One young boy stopped and looked up at me. In the sweetest voice, he told me he loved me and would marry me right away. I laughed both out of discomfort and out of amusement. I could not believe a boy this young had already been affected by the premature idea of love. Even more so, I could not believe he was already taught that it was better and to be white and therefore he should strive to marry an American foreigner for. After a few days, I began to retreat into myself. I avoided walks, the beach, and anything outside of the home-stay. Being a “novelty” began to take its toll on me. Knowing there was nothing particularly special about me, I also allowed my subconscious feelings of white guilt to take over my conscious.
As the attention grew, I started to contemplate the difference between a visitor of a foreign minority group in South Africa and one in America. I attempted to interpret how this “novelty” status made me feel and why. I decided my discomfort with it was due to the difference in treatment black South Africans would receive in my own country. Urban America is extremely used to seeing people from all corners of the world just as urban South Africans are used to it. However, rural America is less accustomed to minority groups. Small towns in the middle of the United States rarely have minority groups live there or visit. These towns could barley imagine an African visitor let alone one coming to help improve their school. I believe that if a minority, like a black South African, entered a rural American town the citizens would do everything in their power to avoid the group. The people would also possibly speak negatively about them.
I tried to compare this complex of rejecting minority groups in the US to the celebrity status rural black South Africa gives its white minority visitors. In the end, I found only partial similarities. Even language barrier was not comparable because Americans believe everyone should speak English. Many Americans even believe it is rude to struggle speaking English when you are in the states. Unfortunately, I could draw no other comparisons of how rural America treats its minority visitors and rural South Africa treats theirs.
Now that I have left the rural area and have had time to reflect I have thought of a few actions I could have done differently to assist my comfort and understanding. Instead of retreating into my home-stay to avoid the popularity, I could have spoken with students at the school, men in the community, or possibly even my Baba and Aunti. With them, I could have questioned why people in the community were so excited to see us. I could have asked the men what made Americans so special. I could have asked if they treated white South African who came to the area the same way. Instead of running away from the situation, I could have worked to understand the people’s behavior. If I took the time to understand then I could have possibly viewed my interactions with the locals differently. Another way I could have changed my reaction to my “novelty” status would be to bring up the feeling of discomfort with the group. If we all took the time to share our feelings and discuss I could have adopted the techniques of other group members.
Although I know there were many things I could have done differently in the rural area, I do not regret my time there. Each experience teaches you something else. I did learn about how rural black South Africans feel about Americans. I also learned about my personal comfort level with being in the spot light. The week home-stay in Dokodweni was a great experience both for my own personal reflection and for my understanding of the relationship between rural black South Africa and the western world.
