My other home

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Africa. A continent as diverse as it is expansive. The word Africa ignites the imagination into expanses of open land, wild animals, beads, grass huts, and the opening song from the Lion King. While there are areas like this, maybe without the theme song, there are also major metropolitan cities, cars, highways, people making money from oil, children fighting guerrilla wars, construction, people starving, innovation, malls, tradition, universities, mining, fossils of human origin, music, and so much more. An unknowable truth until it is experienced, Africa is a place everyone should go to once in their life, or at least that's something I've always believed.

South Africa is a destination of dreams for many in other Sub-Saharan African countries. The hope of work/ an ability to provide for their families, city luxuries (technology, plumbing, food, clean-ish water, etc.), and schooling. It has become a network of cities and shanty towns interlacing into normality. Rich, moderately well off, struggling, poor and starving intermingle daily, no division to hide those that are just surviving from those who are prospering.

A trip to Africa will expand your mind and broaden your appreciation for everything we take for granted in "first world countries" (I really hate that term, but that's a subject for another time) from easy access to clean water, heat and food, electricity, to internet, infrastructure, trash collection, air quality, sanitation, and the amount of jobs available. When you have not just seen this state of living on TV, but have walked through it, interacted with these people, this world, that is very real, you find it becomes impossible to complain about much of anything.

South Africa does not have a glamorous history of love and acceptance for all, like many others. The only thing they did that America did not was put a name on the separation. Besides the world cup being here this sad fact is what is most known about South Africa, with the beautiful Nelson Mandela rising like a phoenix from the ashes. It has been nearly 20 years since the end of Apartheid and the beginning of an ideology for equality for all. One of the first places to legalize gay marriage, the only country in the world to willingly dismantle all their nuclear weapons (6 1/2 to be exact), sign language interpreters on the local news stations, and leader in pioneering many other open minded ideals of equality but unfortunately, somewhere along the line, the future sought by Nelson Mandela seems to now be slipping through the cracks.

They are trying to progress in the world market but due to a need to correct the past rather than forgive and move forward, corruption, greed and lack of education, they seem to be facing more problems than dreamed of with the creation of their new country. If you smile at people, for the most part they will smile back, but there is an underlying fear seen everywhere. Every building and home has a wall around it, fortresses of steel, barb wire, brick, spikes and electric wire. Gates to get through not only these walls but also the front doors, and in hallways, every door locks to every room, (bedroom, kitchen, any room), bars on windows, alarms for those who can afford it. Everyone I know here has either been robbed, car jacked, seen violence, experienced it, or knows someone close to them who has. With odds like that it is easy to see where the fear comes from. But as you explore the country it is also easy to see why this violence has occurred. Too many people, not enough work to provide for their family let alone give them time to get an education. If you are starving or have kids at home who are, its easy in desperation to do what ever you find necessary to provide, and sadly more often than not violence is resorted to. Education becomes a low priority when your trying to eat and it seems to become a never ending circle of regression rather than the progression originally sought out by the people. Many with skills, who can, leave their home country, which has become a big issue here now. With the skills and knowledge leaving, the country perpetuates into the downward spiral.

Even with that backdrop this is still one of my favorite places on earth! As long as you are aware of your surroundings, it is likely that you can travel here without incident and will have an amazing time as I always have. The land is beautiful, ranging from stunning coast line, to desert, to mountains, to bush. The flora and fauna never cease to amaze me and everyone has stunning gardens around their homes and businesses. There are trees that look as though they came right out of an Alice in Wonderland type tail; bright red, purple, yellow, and white and more flowers than I've seen anywhere else in my travels to date. Game reserves are not far from the cities, with a certainty of seeing animals directly through your car window not in a cage. When it rains the sky opens up blanketing the land, with tremendous lightning and thunder that rolls strait through your soul. There is nothing like the rains here in Africa. The food is bursting with new flavors, and you see influences from all over the world, though they have not mastered Mexican food and spices yet, it does make me smile when they pronounce jalapeño or guacamole as Jal-ahh-pee-No and hawk-uh-mole-E. Your sure to come across smells your not likely to forget and see more ways of life than you previously perceived could be lived. With a smile, you can strike up conversations and meet wonderful people. There is always enthusiastic gratitude when you help others out and it is rare to see people standing on the corner begging, they are usually trying to sell goods instead. You often see beaded and tin (from soda cans) stone and wooden sculptures (key chain size to large garden pieces) being sold on the side of the street others sell fruit or hangers and many other random things. The people are creative and inventive, I have always loved the art, anyone who has been to my house has seen loads of it everywhere. There is color and dance and vibrancy and even with all the struggles people are not giving up, they are still building and trying and hoping for a better future. The people are proud of their country, just as I am to be a part of it. The pure excitement seen at the world cup showed the truth of the African spirit of the people here.

Hope is not lost, they are working towards a better safer future for their people but until the leaders elected are educated and soulfully true to a nation of peace, as Nelson Mandela perceived, they are likely to continue to struggle with poverty, dirty air, land and water(though it is much cleaner here than Egypt was), violence and corruption.

I have done my fair share of traveling around South Africa seeing the tourist sights and beyond. This trip I came to be with my family, it has been 3 years since I last saw my grandma, Aunt, cousin and friends out here. With that time gap, all I wanted to do was be here, talk, share meals, help out a bit. I have read 4 books, one I would highly recommend is, Healing The Heart Of The World. I found it to be thought provoking, inspiring, confirming, confronting, among other reactions. It's well worth the read! My younger cousin Joshua and I watched the Harry Potter movies in order with much discussion on the books, missing details, making of, etc. I hiked up along side a waterfall in the Botanical Gardens by my grandma's, with two good friends, Hansie & Marie, and saw the beautiful Black Eagles which are only slightly smaller than the Bald Eagle back home. Hansie and Marie also took me up a cable car near Haitebeespoort Dam for a drink and lunch and out to a fund raising music theater production. I felt the light rumblings of my first earthquake, strange sensation and only a super mini reminder as to the true power of our earth and nature. We had a Halloween party the weekend before Halloween. Four of Josh's friends came over, they are around 13 years old, none of them had done anything for Halloween before. We carved pumpkins, the kids painted their faces, trick or treated at the 3 houses in the complex participating, one of which put together a little haunted house to walk through as it poured rain! Tots and I made the driveway into a graveyard with some movie props from the warehouse she works at, candles and our carved pumpkins, none of which stayed lit through the rain. Everyone had a blast, too much sugar and I got to see my good friend Justin for the evening as well, he was kind enough to join me following the kids around for trick or treating in the torrential rains, we were all soaked to the bone. Another good friend, Gail took me to Pretoria for my Thai visa, as well as a few of her favorite places including a rock & gem shop. Vivianne, the shop owner, was so lovely we connected quickly and got to sharing stories. She showed us pictures of her grand-baby and I told her about Burning Man among other things. After hearing about Burning Man she wrapped up the few little crystals I had picked out to join me on my trip and gave them to me as a gift. It was a beautiful moment, and I am very grateful to have connected with her. Picking up rocks always seems like a good idea to me for some reason when I'm traveling(collected rocks along the way of my last trip as well), despite the thoughts of weight in my backpack lol. I've attracted much wonderment with my purple hair and tattoos out here, it's not so common though most seem to like it, my grandma loves the purple hair most of anyone though, which makes me ecstatic! We spend a lot of time reading, and I've had the pleasure of painting her toe nails. Before we go pick up Josh from school we spend the afternoon hours talking with a bit of food and a cup of coffee. I sewed all the patches from my last trip onto my yoga mat bag and wrapped the small container of my friend David's ashes into a necklace so he can see the world with me. In the evenings as it cools down I do yoga out in the yard and then spend time with Josh and Tots before calling it a night, generally fairly early though there have been a few nights Tots and I have stayed up late into the night talking about life.

It has been wonderful spending time with my family, relaxing and seeing friends. Next leg of the journey begins now. I am waiting on my flight which stops in Abu Dabi, Saudi Arabia, then to Bangkok, for a total of 24 hours of travel before landing in Chiang Mai, Thailand, my next destination.

P.S. Sorry about the lack of photos, can't get them to upload but will try again later

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