After saying goodbye to my sister and father in Cape Town, the young people working at my hotel invited me out. And so the last night of the trip, partying with the locals in two bars/clubs, revealed me another South Africa, hidden from the tourist eyes. In the early morning hours I listened to the bright young hotel manager sharing his dream of studying in a university, and heard the mixture of anger and disappointment in his voice for knowing that he would most likely never have enough money to realize his dream. Having spent the evening feeling like equals, and suddently realizing how different opportunities we were given and how immensely priviledged I am, made me feel awfully sorry. On the other side of the table, the pappa betalar style white guy dressed in brand clothes listened to the story, replied with a shrug and changed the subject for skateboarding.
One of the core values in my Finnish upbringing has been equality. It definitely conflicts with many of my experiences from this spring; from the British aristocrat demanding his seat at the front of the car from the black guy, to the submissive behaviour of the Nigerian servants towards the richer, and the snobbish behaviour of the Nigerian elite. I can’t deny the fact that a lot of the people think that it is perfectly natural that some people are a lot more worthy than others, and sometimes, I even have to play my part. But still, I am most proud of our Finnish mentality, and believe that it is a great contributor to the success of our country.
