Initially I was blown away by the beauty of the people and the natural landscape in South Africa. After being here for a few days, however; it became evident to me that life in South Africa is not so beautiful for everyone. Keeping previously disadvanteged groups out of the educational mainstream is a way of perpetuating a perminent underclass. The economy in this area of South Africa rests on the production and exportation of wine. There are about 300-400 wine vineyards within the eleven mile area that makes up Paarl. Access to cheap labor is making the owners of these vineyards wealthy beyond their wildest dreams, and it is one of the major contributors to why eductaional conditions have not improved in the black and coloured communites (the primary sources of cheap labor).

Despite this, however; my experiences in South Africa have consisted of many positives and negatives. These include being mistaken for a local man and getting harrassed by the police one night, being chased by a little Jack Russel Terrier during my morning run, and witnessing a homeless man searching through the trash for food. On the opposite end of that coin, I have seen a dedicated group of teachers trying everything they can to protect a school that is under attack by desperate (drug addicted) individuals from the very community it was built to serve, and I have seen people of several ethnicities (including both black and white South Africans) giving their time and energy to help the Amstelhof School Community through science workshops, free soup programs, and campaigns to end violence against woman and children. The SAEDI team and I have seen a lot of things through out our time here and sometimes these realities conflict with one another. Although it can be difficult to make sense of any of it, there is one thing I can say for sure. South Africa like the United States is undergoing significant social change!