Jan 7

Written by: Mellon Mays Fellows
1/7/2013 3:42 PM 

It is 1:00 a.m. My body has not gotten the "adjust and sleep" memo yet. The morning and afternoon hours (8:30-5:00) were spent at our hotel---our larger group was arranged in "clusters" so we would be able to process the information from several of the speakers that we heard. For me the theme was really "Jamaica Kincaid--esque." Meaning that the interpretation given of Capetown today offered a well-defined point of departure between the observations of "tourists" (a position that we occupy, albeit one of increased awareness) and the realities of "locals." In one of our required texts for Humanities 305 at Heritage, we read Jamaica Kincaid's text, "A Small Place" in which she traps the reader in her memory and perspective of growing up on the island of Antigua. My students at Heritage relate to her "angst" in that they can understand the power of "two complex tales" that claim an experiential truth. Kincaid brings us (tourists) down for a landing with her narration----when you arrive and get off the plane, this is what you will see. Of course here in Capetown, the airport is that "first contact" experience, but so is the shanty town that you encounter as you enter the main highway to go downtown. The beauty of Capetown is mesmerizing and seductive. As our elder tour guide said to us the first day, "It is an eye orgasm." Students were shocked at that remark, mostly because they see elders as not part of "that" dialogue. Intergenerational distance.

Our speakers today, from diverse academic fields and perspectives, metaphorically spoke WITH Kincaid today. Underlying their politeness and genuine pleasure that we were their audience, there lurked a voice whispering one of the most shocking lines in Kincaid's work, "An ugly thing, that is what you are when you become a tourist, an ugly empty thing, a stupid thing, a piece of rubbish pausing here and there to gaze at this and taste that, and it will never occur to you that the people who inhabit the place in which you have just paused cannot stand you, that behind their closed doors they laugh at your strangeness. “ My sensitivity which runs deep did not pick up the depth of Kincaid's tone of disgust from our speakers, but instead detected sympathetic nuances as Mellon Fellows from the United States were gently and respectfully challenged on their positions of "empathy" for those in the Townships. One of the speakers, Jerome September, from the Citizens Movement, particularly moved me with his intellectual (but accessible) vision for change. When I spoke with him after the presentation, he was in agreement that we needed to stay connected. My provocative question during the presentation had captured his interest, he said. Questions of identity in Capetown are complex and not unrelated to questions of identity among Native American populations in the United States. However, the people here are willing to organize quickly with great passion and demand change.

It was an emotionally deep day...confined in Capetown, but also confined to "my cluster"----like summer camp, I am anticipating a tearful departure from my Mellon Fellows in my group. Our current elected cluster facilitator, Mellon Fellow Liam, from the University of Capetown, said in closing today, "I think we should remain together (read compelling speaking accent here) and spend more time together discussing our experiences around "the Cape" working through some of the self-protective (oops! My Freudian slip, not Liam's), I meant "self-reflective questions we were given to ponder."

So, tomorrow it is a voluntary (who can resist Liam's understated plea) breakfast with "my cluster" then off to the local crafts market, and then on to Rosie's Kitchen, where I will gift my Kitchen towels purchased before I left, and then, and then, and then.....unforgettable that's what you are....unforgettable in every way.

Winona

Winona Wynn, Ph.D.
Heritage University
Chair, English and Humanities
Coordinator, Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship Office Location: Harry Kent Work Phone: (509) 865-8500