May 2008, South Africa: Wow! Was I really in South Africa? For many years I've dreamed of visiting Africa-- the motherland. Never in a million years would I have imagined that a work opportunity with Resident Life would take me to Cape Town, South Africa.

I was part of a delegation of University of Maryland students and staff who traveled to South Africa to attend the Residence Student Leadership Seminar and the Association of College and Universities Housing Officers International (ACUHO-I), Southern African Chapter Conference. We were in South Africa from May 14th thru May 26th.

Our delegation consisted of five students: Sumner Handy, Alex Bluecher, Jo Mensaf, Jessica Jacque, and JaMar Mancano. The Student Leadership Conference allowed both American & South African campus leaders to meet and discuss matters pertinent to student housing from an undergraduate point of view.

After a 17 hour flight, we arrived in Cape Town Thursday evening. We immediately went to bed once we settled into our room. The next morning Amy woke me up saying, "Oh my god, Tosh, get up and look at this view!" So, needless to say, the night before we hadn't noticed the spectacular view from our hotel living room! There was a huge mountain directly behind the hotel that was simply stunning.

The next day, our first full day in South Africa, we went to the University of the Western Cape. We met folks from the ACUHO-I Study Tour group and enjoyed lunch. The rest of the week was busy, but exciting. We visited Langa & Arcada high schools, walked along side African penguins on the beach, toured Robben Island where Mandela was imprisoned nearly 30 years, danced on Long Street with locals, ate crocodile & ostrich at Mojo, and learned about District Six and the devastating effects of apartheid.

Throughout our travels the people were incredibly friendly and so interesting to talk to; I certainly learned a lot more about South African history and politics very quickly. I was inspired by South Africans and their willingness to embrace transformation after apartheid. They believe the country has a long way to go yet, which means many talked passionately about change and transformation.

At the time of our visit, there were riots, more commonly referred to as xenophobic incidents, in Johannesburg & the outskirts of Cape Town. The riots were against immigrants from other parts of Africa (not tourists). It's kind of similar to some of the attitudes we hear about in America- "they take our jobs, take our money" etc, only Africa it was far, far worse. One morning there was a picture of a burning man on the front page of the Cape Town newspaper. We were fortunate because the incidents were very isolated, so as foreigners we didn't come across any trouble; the incidents were all over the news, radio, papers etc, the country has never seen anything like it, which is quite unfortunate. It was a very sad state of affairs and a difficult one to resolve (because each perspective makes sense). Despite these troubles, it was I enjoyed visiting South Africa—a dream come true! In fact South Africa felt strangely familiar and I instantly connected with so many people; I could see myself working in this country for a few years…I've always wanted to live and work abroad, so this too could happen one day soon.

Traveling with the students also made our journey more interesting. Hopefully we'll remain connected once we return to campus. I enjoyed spending time with the students and learning together along the way. As I reflect on my experience, I had an epiphany: knowledge IS power! In America this has become such a clique; however, I established new meaning for the term as I stood on Robben Island listening to a political ex-prisoner share how he was banished to Robben Island because the government did not want him to share his knowledge or influence others to rise up against apartheid. He talked about the importance of "each one, teach one" and his reflections resonated with me. At one point in time the South African government was so afraid of people thinking critically, or challenging systems, that intelligent community leaders were imprisoned…dang, so knowledge is indeed power!

Although South Africa is a really beautiful country, I was astounded at the extreme poverty throughout the city. Yes, there are poverty stricken areas in America, but not like the poverty I witnessed in South Africa. Miles and miles of people were living (and surviving) in poor conditions; it was a humbling experience for me causing me to wrestle with the fact that more doesn't equal happier or better…consume less so others can have…there's enough for each to have some. There may be times when I operate under a scarcity model, but I now believe that each person can have a little of fill in the blank and there would be enough for all.

This experience has changed me, and to quote Melissa Ethridge, "I will never be the same..."