The study-abroad program was called Societies in Transition, which was appropriate because in 1996, Namibia was in a serious transition phase. In addition to the twelve or so American students in the program (all white), there were two Namibian students of color. The Namibian students were in their early twenties like the American students, but unlike us, they had seen the effects of apartheid firsthand. The rules of Apartheid were both ridiculous (Black people couldn’t eat white bread) and unbelievably cruel (Black people could be beaten to death for eating white bread).