Whenever I need to be put at ease, or need ample head space to think, I usually find a corner of the world that I can be alone with nature. This doesn't always mean that I am completely alone, because usually I find a bird, insect, or small mammal to observe but it brings solitude. Initially, I was unsure how I would like the safari. Would it be loud and chaotic, or a form of animal exhibition? Well, I was pleasantly surprised by how respectful and knowledgable our guide Adrian was about the bush and it's inhabitants.
When we were driving and slowing down for the turtles crossing the street, the rhinos checking us out, and the elephants that were protecting their own, I felt the awe of nature. It was magical and brought me in. It was a new experience that I was unsure about but was able to embrace. While I was sitting there, I just thought of others people that I would love to share these moments with, because I knew it would touch their hearts. During those moments I felt like a small child excited by how a bunny hops. The animals and the landscape were new and unfamiliar and I wanted to soak it all in.
However, I wasn't very good at spotting animals. Jamie, Dante, and Onikah definitely get the prizes for pin-pointing them. To me, it was like playing where's Waldo when driving.... Not easy.
Wishing that I could post my pictures,
Crys
Monday, February 25, 2013
Friday, February 22, 2013
Robben Island
This blog is a little late, but its hard to kept day by day updates on our travel schedule, so here is my belated post about the trip to Robben Island. I find it hard to transcribe all of my thoughts, especially when in a new country with so many profound experiences, so I am going to focus on one aspect of the tour.
Despite being in such a beautiful place, Robben Island and the cells on the island are barren. Unlike the rest of South Africa, the cells are void of color, and its difficult to see the ocean over the dry tree line. From most of the cells it is even difficult to see the sun. What is so amazing is that despite the barren nature on the island, some of the political prisoners remained vibrant a, giving individuals. They were resilient and believed in cause bigger than themselves. One example of this is a story that we were told about the lime quarry.
The lime quarry was where some of the prisoners worked during the day. Long days were spent in the hot sand under direct sunlight. To go tithe restroom the prisoners needed to ask for permission. Although the conditions were hard, prisoners found a way to educate themselves. They wrote lessons in the sand as they worked. Many of the political prisoners were teachers, doctors, and men of high educational attainment and wished to share that with their comrades. One man entered the prison with an education certificate for 8th grade and he left with two college degrees.
Furthermore, the prisoners do not only share their skills amongst each other. They taught their wardens too. However, as higher officials heard of this they rotated wardens and even removed wardens from the island that they thought were sympathetic to the prisoners. Yet this did not stop the process of learning.
It's amazing how humans can cultivate the human spirit amongst the conditions of a prison. No man is an island, put if you put a man on an island, he will find a way to connect.
And to top it all off, we had a tour guide that was a former political prisoner there and he said to us, " it's all about introspection....check yourself."
In solidarity,
Crys
Despite being in such a beautiful place, Robben Island and the cells on the island are barren. Unlike the rest of South Africa, the cells are void of color, and its difficult to see the ocean over the dry tree line. From most of the cells it is even difficult to see the sun. What is so amazing is that despite the barren nature on the island, some of the political prisoners remained vibrant a, giving individuals. They were resilient and believed in cause bigger than themselves. One example of this is a story that we were told about the lime quarry.
The lime quarry was where some of the prisoners worked during the day. Long days were spent in the hot sand under direct sunlight. To go tithe restroom the prisoners needed to ask for permission. Although the conditions were hard, prisoners found a way to educate themselves. They wrote lessons in the sand as they worked. Many of the political prisoners were teachers, doctors, and men of high educational attainment and wished to share that with their comrades. One man entered the prison with an education certificate for 8th grade and he left with two college degrees.
Furthermore, the prisoners do not only share their skills amongst each other. They taught their wardens too. However, as higher officials heard of this they rotated wardens and even removed wardens from the island that they thought were sympathetic to the prisoners. Yet this did not stop the process of learning.
It's amazing how humans can cultivate the human spirit amongst the conditions of a prison. No man is an island, put if you put a man on an island, he will find a way to connect.
And to top it all off, we had a tour guide that was a former political prisoner there and he said to us, " it's all about introspection....check yourself."
In solidarity,
Crys
Thursday, February 21, 2013
Re-purposing the Trash Can
“Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear. The brave may not live forever, but the cautious do not live at all. From now on you'll be traveling the road between who you think you are and who you can be. The key is to allow yourself to make the journey.”- Meg Cabot
When we were walking back to our hostel tonight after some delicious Greek food, I saw a shorter version of this quote on a trash can. Lately, I've been thinking a lot about courage and what it means to be of courageous mind and character. Courage is the ability to recognize that you may have fear about something, but you decide to work through that fear for a bigger purpose. And this message was on a trash can.
Seeing this quote reminded me of a young lady who gave us a tour at the African Leadership Academy. She was from Ghana and someone asked her how she found out about ALA. Timidly, she expressed that she was embarrassed to tell us that she had found the application on a trash can. Finding that application changed the course of her life. If her eyes weren't open to the world around her, even the trash cans, she would have missed it.
Trash cans are normally utilized merely for the disposal of trash, however in South Africa I've found and heard stories of how they provided opportunity and food for thought. What a great use of a communal space and changing the connotation of a common communal object.
Saturday, February 16, 2013
My taxi valentine
5 am and I'm laying in the hostel bed thinking about the variety of experiences that I have had so far. I'm not sure that I could make the claim that this has changed me, but it definitely is reminding me of parts of myself that I have left behind, either in my mind or in my spirit. It's as if I'm meetings an old friend to do something new.
My major point of growth for the day was helping our driver find his way to the Eastgate mall, ALA, and back. Eastgate was merely a stop to exchange money. This was our driver's first day driving foreigners, specifically white foreigners. He is used to driving groups from Soweto. He missed a turn and you could tell that he was so nervous. So I got up and moved to the front seat next to him, at that moment we became a time. His nervousness made him utterly lost in terms of directional capability, but he remained a safe driver. I became the navigator. We had an unspoken bond, and no one in the back knew quite how bad it was, but although a bit stressful for me I was thankful for it. I say stressful because I didn't have a map, just vague directions and a vague sense of direction in a city and country that I have only been in for one day and where they drive in the opposite side of the road. The experienced stretched me, I made wrong choices of guidance but we fixed those choices together, secretly, some not so secretly. Our vulnerability created warmth and humor. And in the end, we got where we needed to go and I got to interact with a couple people on the street, I was even asked to be someone's Valentine. And offered anything I want in the world. :)
My major point of growth for the day was helping our driver find his way to the Eastgate mall, ALA, and back. Eastgate was merely a stop to exchange money. This was our driver's first day driving foreigners, specifically white foreigners. He is used to driving groups from Soweto. He missed a turn and you could tell that he was so nervous. So I got up and moved to the front seat next to him, at that moment we became a time. His nervousness made him utterly lost in terms of directional capability, but he remained a safe driver. I became the navigator. We had an unspoken bond, and no one in the back knew quite how bad it was, but although a bit stressful for me I was thankful for it. I say stressful because I didn't have a map, just vague directions and a vague sense of direction in a city and country that I have only been in for one day and where they drive in the opposite side of the road. The experienced stretched me, I made wrong choices of guidance but we fixed those choices together, secretly, some not so secretly. Our vulnerability created warmth and humor. And in the end, we got where we needed to go and I got to interact with a couple people on the street, I was even asked to be someone's Valentine. And offered anything I want in the world. :)
Friday, February 15, 2013
Day 1
We landed at 7am local time in Johannesburg. I met some great characters on the flight including a South African/Portuguese journalist and a Canadian who married her husband while they were both working the carnival. From the airport we headed right to our hostel. The summer weather was giving us shining beams and we headed off to a tour of downtown Johannesburg and Soweto.
We ventured off to see homeopathic healing beliefs and townships. As well was Nelson Mandela's house and the Apartheid Museum. I feel I like I have a lot to process, but I'm not sure I can try to articulate on such little sleep. I wouldn't do it justice.
One of the most touching things that happened to me was as I was walking through the neighborhood of Kliptown in the township of Soweto, a woman came up and started walking next to me. In a low voice she whispered how she was struggling. The toddler strapped on her back looked at me with this deep, wise eyes. The expression in his eyes was different then I seen in young children. It was like he was already wise about the troubles of the world, and knowingly telling me that I was too small to solve them.
We ventured off to see homeopathic healing beliefs and townships. As well was Nelson Mandela's house and the Apartheid Museum. I feel I like I have a lot to process, but I'm not sure I can try to articulate on such little sleep. I wouldn't do it justice.
One of the most touching things that happened to me was as I was walking through the neighborhood of Kliptown in the township of Soweto, a woman came up and started walking next to me. In a low voice she whispered how she was struggling. The toddler strapped on her back looked at me with this deep, wise eyes. The expression in his eyes was different then I seen in young children. It was like he was already wise about the troubles of the world, and knowingly telling me that I was too small to solve them.
Thursday, February 14, 2013
London
Happy Valentine's Day from London! Tis the first that I am spending abroad, and with an authentic German candy bar the size of my head. In other news, on the flight here we had twos people dressed as Scooby Doo and the Honey Monster do laps inside the plane mid-flight. British people have the silliest kind of humor. I felt like I was on the U-Bahn at midnight in Berlin.
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Butterflies in the stomach
This trip has me so excited, I am getting butterflies realizing the reality. I had an interesting night packing and finishing coursework for an entrepreneur class that I'm taking. The morning quickly rolled around and I had sleep maybe 2 hours, to be on the generous side. Then I shoved everything into my backpack and started the drive from Sacramento to San Francisco. It went by without a hitch. I rolled up to a friend's house took an hour nap in her driveway and then ate some dark chocolate with her to try to bring me back to a non-sleepy state.
The first part of my journey....
And my first leg of the flight. To London for Valentine's Day!!!!!!!!!!
Wow, I am so lucky to be alive. <3
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