Soccer, Surfing and Sharks

What do these 3 things have in common? They’re just about the only things that have been publicized about South Africa this past summer through news and media coverage... I’ve been watching very closely. For those of you who haven’t been tuning in, The FIFA World Cup took place in South Africa earlier this summer and brought a lot of commerce to the country (especially to the creators of the infamous Vuvuzela.) My favorite week of TV, “Shark Week” on Discovery, taped most of their footage in the coastal waters off South Africa, where some of the largest and most aerodynamic great white sharks in the world are found. It also happens to be that Durban, the city I’ll be living in, is one of the world’s hottest surfing cities, and is very close to where the “perfect wave” from the 1960’s surfing documentary “The Endless Summer” was finally found.

But when you strip away these three media attractions, you’ll find some of the things they don’t advertise to you on TV. South Africa is home to more HIV-positive individuals than any other country in the world, and it alone, as a single country, accounts for 30% of the GLOBAL burden of HIV and AIDS. Currently, 17.6% of the population is infected with HIV, which is roughly 1 in every 5 adults. The average life expectancy is only 47 years. It’s estimated that there are between 1.5 and 3 million AIDS orphans living in South Africa today as well. Up until 2003, South Africans with HIV who used the public health system had no means of getting antiretroviral treatment (ART) after the government deemed public distribution “not cost effective.” Finally in 2003 the government approved HAART, a program that would ensure free, universal access to antiretroviral treatment through the public sector. Interventions and rollout methods have been limited since then and many of those who desperately need ART still don’t have access to it.

For those of you who don't know what I'm actually doing in SA, I'll give you a “brief” overview: I’ll be living in Durban, a large city on the east coast of the country. It’s located within the province of KwaZulu Natal, which has the highest AIDS rates in the country. So essentially, I will be going to the most heavily burdened part of the most heavily burdened country in the world. Have I freaked you out yet?

My program is an alternative study abroad experience. I will not be attending a typical university. Instead, professors, healthcare providers, politicians, and non-profit organizations will lecture directly to my class. I’ll be learning Zulu, (not the be confused with Xhosa, the clicking language which is also prevalent there). To hear what Zulu sounds like, check out this site (and wait until you get to the color blue!) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yb3g2Htya0k

I will be living with Zulu-speaking families in the suburbs of Durban, and in rural and tribal villages. The last month of the program I will have the freedom to study any aspect of the healthcare system or social policy in South Africa in an independent study, where I can volunteer/intern with an organization or conduct my own research.

I will not be taking any science classes. This was actually the scariest part of the trip for me to grasp- that I, a pre-dental student, will take a whole semester without a single science course. What the heck am I thinking?! It was a bold decision, and trust me it wasn’t an easy one, but at this point in my life, I need to take a step back and go do something totally off the beaten path. I’m ready to open my eyes to some of the bigger things out there in the world, gain a whole new perspective, and hopefully make a difference along the way.

I know some of you out there are worried about me living in a country with such high crime rates and so many public health issues, but here's what I have to say to everyone- A few weeks ago, two girls from my school were killed in a terrible car accident, simply on their way to work in the morning. No matter how far around the world you may go, things happen every single day right outside your door. You can’t pass up on opportunities in life just because you’re afraid, or because you’re unsure of where they might take you. This is my life, and I’ll never have an opportunity like this again.

I will leave you with this quote from Andrew Holter, a former student at U of R who ironically never made it back from his semester abroad in Europe (which is considered a “safer alternative to study abroad,” or so I’m told). I need to credit Jess Murphy, (who was a personal friend of Andrew’s at Richmond) for passing this quote along to me when I was first contemplating even going abroad. It reads,

"In life, the gains come on slowly, and the losses happen in an instant. Life is tragic. If you're reading this, it means you're alive. Do something with it. You don't want to die without any scars, do you?”

I'm about to head out on the adventure of my life. I’m going to be completely removed from my comfort zone, family, friends, and everything else I know, and be totally immersed in another culture and a new perspective. I'm going in part to learn more about global health, something I've become passionate about over the past couple years, and in part to learn a little about myself too.

But first I should probably finish packing.

Off to Jo'burg in the morning!

Alexa

“The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun."

- Chris McCandless