There's no Starbucks in South Africa

It's the end of my first week in Pietermaritzburg. It's crazy to think that I've been in Africa for 8 days already. The chalet has now become home as we've slowly settled in and gotten accustomed to tea time and sleeping correctly. I can't say I've stopped being amazed at the fact that I can hear a waterfall running outside my window and my classes are often interrupted when a monkey pops his head in the door and the professor tries to chase it away.

Every day I learn something new about the African culture and I can't help but notice how happy they are with life. One professor was lecturing about individualist vs. collectivist societies and pointed out how individualistic the United States is. We're all about independence and finding your way in the world and leaving your mark. We believe in freedom, so much so that kids move as far as possible from home for college and we are constantly being pushed to be our own person and to reach our full potential. Africa on the other hand is very collectivist and people believe in family and community as the most essential things in life. Soweto tends to be very poor and 40% of the population is infected with AIDS. Many people find a way to improve their lifestyle and move to better conditions, but they come back or they visit on the weekends because Soweto is their community and they don't want to live without their friends. What happens is that they end up building their nicer homes there and they enjoy the community. They look for ways to be the best community they can be and they are willing to sacrifice for the sake of the group.

As i heard all of this, I couldn't help but think about the first church and how collective they were. The bible says that they helped each other and constantly met to eat and rejoice with one another. I've thought about what society Jesus would prefer, and I don't think individualism is all wrong because, at the end of the day, we each have a relationship with God and we are individually called to serve him, but it's so important to not forget that we share this world and we can't survive without community. Yeah it's important for me to get a degree and to become the best I can be, but none of that matters if I push everyone aside to get there. It feels so good to share life with others and to know that we live, not for ourselves, but for the love that saved us and that love calls us to live together.