Injustice and Chats, etc.

April 28, 2011

What a day.

It’s been a good one.

But it’s had a lot of emotional roller coasters.

We woke up bright and early- 6:15, to be exact, to go to Robben Island.

I got to sit with Mackenzie on the way there, which was positive. He reminds me so much of Tommy! I MISS YOU, BROTHER!!!

On the ferry ride over to the island, I sat with Kelly, Heather, Zach, Ally, and Shanyna. Super fun, dude.

Then when we were on the island, I got to hang out with Kelly for a bit. She is so great.

Alright, Robben Island:

Robben Island’s main purpose was to hold political prisoners during apartheid. Not just political prisoners, however—they had to be black males. Black guards were removed from their positions when Robben Island was turned into a political prison, to be sure the prisoners wouldn’t gain grace or support from their fellow blacks.

What really hit me about Robben Island was how recently it was in use for imprisoning innocent freedom seekers. When I think about “injustice,” I think of America’s 1776! (Mostly because there’s a musical about it.) That is quite a while ago. But apartheid was literally during my lifetime. It was ended in 1994! That is so ridiculous! I am embarrassed for white people. I have to wonder at the creator of apartheid. How on earth did he think it would be a good idea to discriminate people based on what they looked like? How does that even make sense? WHO said that whites were supposed to be supreme over the indigenous people of this land? The more I learn about apartheid, the more imbecilic it seems! I can barely stand it. It also makes me think that the government must have done a fantastic job of hiding what was really going on!

They disguised apartheid with the term, “Good Neighbors.” Are you serious!? What is GOOD about apartheid?! Literally, it sucked in ALL areas, because besides people’s rights being completely taken away and losing family, which is bad enough already, it caused violence on both sides and just about killed the economy. WHERE are the positives?! I just don’t understand.

After the tour, I was able to talk to the tour guide. He was a former prisoner. I was so curious as to why he worked on the island and how he felt about it. I certainly would have no interest in being in the place where I was held captive! He explained that when he was offered the job, he had no source of income. He took the position reluctantly. At first, it was exceedingly difficult for him. But as time went on, he became grateful for his job because it helped him heal. He also felt proud that he was conveying the truth about the jail, and not some cleaned up version of the truth.

On the way back to the mainland, I got to have an awesome talk with Allie. She’s great. Then, I had a super positive lunch with Morgan and Wailana.

Before getting on the bus, a man came up to Janet and me and asked for the time. His accent suggested of Afrikaans. We told him the time.

“You are American?” He asked.

“No, I’m South African, and she is American,” says Janet.

“And you are from Cape Town?” Janet asked him.

“NO, actually,” says the dude… now with a FRENCH ACCENT! “I am from France! But now, I have perfected the Afrikaans accent!”

Oh my lanta. I was so excited. That is TOTALLY something I DO.

“You’re French? Je parle le Francais! En petit peu!”

Then he rambled in French.

I gave him my oh so winning “WHAT?!” face.

“You should go to France and learn French,” he tells me.

“Or,” I said in my French accent, “I could just talk like this!”

“Zat ees not bad! You would do very well in France!”

“Merci!” And off we were. It was fun.

On the bus, I had a God-moment with Karissa. Seriously, a God thing. Karissa and I hung out a bit more after we got back.

Then it was time to hang out with Janet! She bought me a mocha and we had a very therapeutic talk staring at the gorgeous ocean. I swear, there is no place more beautiful. AMAZING.

Hung out for Heather a bit.

Then I got dinner with Yolanda! Super positive!

And to finish my lovely day, Debs and I watched “Waiting for Guffman.” Debatably, it’s the best movie of all time J

It was all topped off by a very good night’s sleep.