My roomate asked me this question at about 9 in the morning when we spontaneously decided to take off our clothes and jump into the Indian Ocean off the Wild Coast in Eastern Cape, South Africa. We were playing in the water and I looked out at the waves and felt how nice the water felt against my skin and saw how the sun glittered against the clear blue and said "This is the best day of my life!" Alex then looks over at me and says, "What does it say about your life when everyday is the best day of your life?" I thought back and realized that I make that same exlamation (This is the best day of my life!) very often here, almost everyday. Days just get better and better, so yes, everyday is the best day of my life. What does that say about my life? Than I am extremely blessed.
As usual I havent blogged in forever, and I doubt if anyone even reads these things anymore. Mpho always jokes to me and says "out of sight, out of mind". I complain about how my roomates talk to thier families all the time and their parents call them almost everyday and stuff and she says that everyone has probably just forgotten about me; out of sight, out of mind. but its just a joke. Im different than my roomates anyways. Im very independent and even when I'm in the states I dont talk to or see my family much. Im pretty used to it actually. Its good because I think thats why I dont get homesick or get really upset because I miss my family so much or anything like a lot of my roomates do. Being away is just something that im used to. Even before I left for school I was never really home. Im always on the run somewhere. Thats just my personality. And I dont really know where I would get homesick for. I dont really know where "home" for me is. I dont really think about "home" as a place because I've moved around so much. I think of Atlanta as home because I spent most of my life that I remember there, but I think of home more as a feeling. I guess "home" for me is the feeling I get when I'm around my family and I havent seen them in a while. I feel at "home" when mommy does motherly things for me like cook and stuff when Ive been away at school for a long time. I feel at "home" when I listen to Kiara and Kaprisha argue when I go to my dad's. I feel at "home" when my YEA friends and I are all chillin somewhere laughing at like 3 in the morning. I feel at "home" when Tasha, Danielle, Laurita and I are actually all in the same space for once and Tasha is yelling and cursing everybody out lol, and we're all telling stories and talking about the past. All these things happen in Atlanta so I guess Atlanta is home. Its familiar. I have memories there. Home is a place that I have memories from long long ago I guess. I guess thats why I dont feel at home in philly even though I live there. I think of philly as a place where I live temporarily until I go back home or elsewhere...... but the wierd thing is I feel so "at home" here in Cape Town.
I just got back from a crazy road trip to the Transkei on Saturday. Three of my roomates and I drove across the Souther part of the country to the Wild Coast. There is a place in the Wild Coast called Bulungula. That was our final destination. It took over 16 hours to get there! I usually hate long road trips like that, but I actually really enjoyed this one. There was so much to look at. We drove through every kind of enviornment you can ever think of. I took lots of pics. We drove through mountainous regions, plateau, jungle, desert, etc etc. I couldnt sleep much on the trip because I couldnt stop looking out of the window. I didnt want to miss anything! Cape Townians call the area of the Eastern Cape we drove through the "homelands". Imnot positive, but I'm pretty sure its because that is where the Xhosa people (the prodominat black culture in Cape Town) originated. I think the "homelands" is a perfect name for it because if we've decided that home is a place where you have memories from long long ago, then the homeland is definately that, home land. In Bulungula particularly, people live the way they lived long ago. The land is completely unspoilt. The people have not been too strongly corrupted by western culture. It was like living on a huge African farm. Number one, there were animals EVERYWHERE, but ill get back to that in a min. Number two, the people live completely off the land. There are no cars or tvs or anything like that. There are no paved roads or stores. There are just huts, the river, the animals, the ocean, the forest, and the people.There was very little electricity. We lit everything by candle light. The people of the village cook over a fire. They didnt have stoves or microwaves or anything. I did a lot of peeing in the bush. The lodge we stayed in actually had toilets, probably because they know tourists come through a lot. But, to get to the toilets you had to walk outside no matter how dark it was or how many ANIMALS followed you there, and pee. The toilets also didnt flush. I forget what they call these kind of toilets, but you pee in the front section and poop in the back. If you poop yu take two cups of soil and put it over your deposit and close the lid... the end.
There was also a hut that had showers in it at the lodge we were staying in. The people of the village dont have bathrooms so they obviously dont have showers. It took me a while to understand this, but people: toilets and showers are a luxury, not a neccessity. The showers in the bathing hut were what they called rocket showers. They had running water (also a luxury, not a neccessity) but you had to pour parrafin into this little compartment in the pipe and then put a little piece of toilet paper on top. You then light the toilet paper on fire and its starts a small fire in the pipe which warms the water for your shower. That gives you about 7 minutes of hot water so showering was done very quickly!
Now, for the most important aspect of this trip. Let me just say that I expected this trip to be just that, a light hearted, fun filled trip. I didnt expect anything deep or anything. BUT this was much more that a trip... it was an experience and a life lesson! Ican not even begin to explain to you how much I grew from this experience. Anyone that knows me knows how afraid of animals I am and how it has followed me for as long as I remember. I have been getting a lot better though since Ive been here. BUT, PEOPLE THERE WERE ANIMALS EVERYWHERE!! All kinds of animals! In order to walk from our hut to the hut with the bathrooms I would usually encounter horse, goat, lots and lots of cows and usually a dog or two. I mean, not far away from me either. They wuld be right outside of our hut, like a lot of times only a few feet away from me. And they are free roaming animals. Its not like there was an owner to tell them to come away from you or anything, they were just there. And they are hurd animals so it wasnt just a goat and a cow. It wasy like 5 goats and 5 cows. The dogs, especially this one, just follow you. They dont have owners so they just see a person and follow. I cant really explain this animal thing n words. Im gunna have to find a way to post pictures on here, but Im telling you.... they were everywhere. It was ssssoooooo scary. But, it was exactly what I needed. Ive finally reached a place where I can feel scared, but breathe, center myself, and control my reaction the thing that is causing me fear. I did a lot of that this week!! The old me would have just stayed in my hut all week and cry. But the new me was way different!! I not only pet a horse, but I rode one!! I rode a horse on the beach and through the village. I pet a dog and took walks with plent of them following right at our feet. I pet a cat (cats are my least favorite for those of you who dont know). I walked to and from the places through herds of cows and goats. I ate lunch out on a mat where within about 10 feet of us there were about 5 dogs, 2 roosters, a bunch of chickens and chicks, and cows eating grass in the area a little further away. Its one of those situations where while its happening it you want to disappear, but once you look back on the situation you are so glad you did it. I worked so hard everyday to face my fear and learn to overcome it. I know my fear of animals seems trivial to most people, but its a huge thing for me and something Ive been trying to overcome for years. So, being able to say I did all those things is a huge milestone for me. Im so proud of myself! Its a little sad because Ive always though that if I just faced the fear and let whatever happens happen, then it would go away and I wouldnt ever be afraid of animals ever again. But, the truth is I think that everytime I see an animal Im always going to feel that fear rise inside me. The thing that I have to work on is how to control it. Im going to feel afraid. I just cannot let the fear take control and consume me. I have to stay in control. I have to just breathe and stay in control. So, that was a huge lesson learned and I am so greatful for that experience!
We did a lot of cool activities while we were there too. We spent a few hours with this woman named Nulisile. She took us through a day in the life of a woman in the village. She put stone on our faces to protect our skin from the sun and wraped our hair. We then we went down to the river and filled buckets with water. We carried the water back on out heads. It was so hard. The hardest part was trying to balance the water while walking up hill. Bulungula is full of gorgeous green hills. Once we finally got the water back to the hut we spent a little time making mud bricks for a new hut they are building. Then we went into the garden and picked spinach. Oh, and she gave us each a little lettuce to taste. It was kind of wierd because she just ripped it straight out of the ground and put it in her mouth and told us to do the same. But, my goodness, this lettuce was so delicious. I didnt know that lettuce could be delicious. I didnt know it could taste like anything! It tasted so fresh and crisp! Anyways, so we picked spinach then took it inside and washed it with some of the water we had goten from the river. We also had to grind maize... ive never felt more american than that moment lol! it was so hard!!! The corn was flying everywhere and I kept slamming the rock down onto my pinky fingers. The mama kept saying its easy its easy, but i was struuuuuglin!! After that we walked down to this forest and the the Mama turned into the hulk!! lol, i promise! She told us to fetch some wood for the fire. So we started picking up sticks off the ground, then all of a sudden, I turn around and see her ripping a little tree in half with her bare hands!!! She was breaking these huge logs and ripping these huge branches of the trees! I was in shock. I just stood there in amazement. I mean, one minute she is snapping a log in half with her knee, the next she is looking back at me with the most tender loving smile a mother can give. These women are absolutely remarkable. By the way, heres a random little bit of info. Here, when you refer to an woman older than you, old enough to be you your mother you call her mama. You call older men papa, girls your age or close to your age sisi (sister) and guys your age or close to you age bhuti (brother). It's the whole "it takes a village to raise a child" thing and also relates to the whole idea of ubuntu. Its like a sign of care and respect. Now that I think about it i never hear people refer to white people as mama or any of those. I think its because the whole family idea comes from the fact that we all come from the same ancestry. I dunno, but basically that is why we called Nolisile Mama instead of her real name or Ms. Nolisile or any of that. Anyways, so after she finished ripping tres apart and we finished picking up little twigs off the ground we went to the front of the forest. She ripped little pieces of bark off of this little green tree and used that as rope. We rapped the sticks into bundles wih the rope and carried the bundles back to the hut on our heads.
When we came back from the forest we washed the spinach in a bin with the water we got from the river. Then she got a little black pot and put the spinach, some water, some of the maize we ground, sugar, and salt. We went to the back of the house and into this little minature hut where the cooking is done. We started a fire with the sticks we had picked from the forest and cooked the meal for about ten minutes. It turned out to be delicious! The mama was cute. She set up a little table for us with chairs for all of us to eat at. At first she was trying to make sure we ate as much as we wanted before serving her real famly, probably because we paid for this little activity. But, we insisted that the other people be seved as well. The kids were so happy and smiled as they stuffed their faces. One little girl, I cant remember her name, but she was my favorite, was so excited. She was so beautiful and kept hugging me and smiling at me. I wished I could speak her language so badly. She looked like she was about 6 years old. She had a really low harcut like lots of girls here, a little boy cut. She was realy skinny and had on a little skirt and a sweater with holes on the shoulders. I love her so much and wish I could of taken her home with me.
So, that was the "Woman Power" activity. The other activities we did were horseback riding and an herbalist tour. All the activities were ran by the people of the village. Thats a big part of why we went there. Instead of continuing to invest our money into rich white-ran business we decided to go to bulungula because all of the money we spent goes directly to the lesser privilaged people of the commmunity.
Horseback riding was absolutely terrifying. There were a few moment when I looked out at the ocean and the landscape and just enjoyed the scenery. But, for most of the two hour ride I was either terrified of falling off, frustrated that my horse wouldnt listen to me, or freaked out by all the horses I was surrounded by. But, I have to say I am very happy that I did it. I did it and I survived. There was no need to be afraid.
The last activity that where did was the tour of the forest with the herbalist. The herbalist is highly respected in the community. It is believed that he spirits speak to him and guide him to the certain plants that he uses for medicine. Most of the medicine is bark from trees. He gave us a lot of free medicine. We got medicine for luck, love, shoulder pain, leg pain, protection, gas, toothaches, hiccups and more. Mom, I dont know if you will think this is wierd but as a souvineer I got you some medicine from the forest. Learning about all the medicines and about how the spirits work was really cool, but it was also really nice just to walk through the forest. I dont think ive ever done that before. It was so peacful. I liked it a lot.
Did I mention that in order to get to Bulungula we had to drive down a dirt road filled with pot holes and huge rocks in the foggy, rainy, pitch black night? Well, we did.
So, that was my road trip experience in a nutshell. That is definately one week of my life that I will never forget. We got back to Cape Town on Saturday and I was so shocked at how happy I was to be home. It's crazy how much I love Cape Town. It just feels like home. I always knew I loved South Africa, but I didnt truely discover my love for the city of Cape Town until I left it for a week. I love this city so much!
The night we got back we all went out to Long Street and had a really crazy night. I cant believe Ive never explained long street on here. Long Street is literally a long street full of awesome clubs and bars. Ou favorite club to go to on Long Street is Jo'burg. Saturday night Alex and I started a a club called Mercury then met everyone else on long street at a bar called The Waiting Room. Then of course, we finished at Jo'burg. It was a lot of fun.
We still had our rental car (whom we named Uncle Al) the next day so we drove to Camps Bay to the beach. Its a gorgeous beach. Camps Bay is a high end part of town that we hadnt really been to yet, so we allowed ourselves to splurge and had lunh at a nice restaurant over looking the beach. I had rissoto with prawns, mussles, and hake. It was so delicious. That night we ate at a restaurant called Beluga because they had a R99 sushi special and half price cocktails. Me, Jamal, Alex, and Olga went.
Well, that was my week! It was very eventful. Today I am staying in and studying for my drama exam on Thursday. Mpho comes home today to. She went back to Limpopo for a few days because her uncle passed away. She left on Saturday and will be back today. Im excited because I havent seen her in like a week and a half. Also, MY BIRHDAY IS THIS WEEKEND!!! Im so excited! only 5 more days! I think this birthday is going to be really fun. Im having this huge birthday bash at this club called Cybar in Rodebosch. One of my friends, Vuyoo, booked the VIP area for me and 30 guests. It will be really nice because I will get to celebrate my birthday and have a last big night with all of my friends before i have to head back to the states and be a responsible adult again. Saturday is my party, but Sunday is my actual birthday. So, on Sunday my roomies have something planned for me. They wont tell me what it is, but Im sure it is probably something fun.
i cant believe we leave in three weeks. Its really unbelievable. Im doing my best not to worry and Im actually doing a really good job. Usually by now I would be having panic attacks from stress. But, Im going home with no money, with no place to live when I get there and no money to get a new place, no money to buy plane tickets to visit my family and friends, but hey, Im going back with a great experience and I wouldnt take it back for the world.
Im suppossed to go to Namibia on the 8th. I really really really want to go. It suppossed to be absolutely beautiful there. They have the biggest sand dunes in the world. But, Im really running out of money so I dont know if Ill be able to afford it. So! If my lovely family wants to give me a birthdya present please give me money so I can go to Namibia. The rand is at 11.3 to the dollar so I really only need like $200 more dollars. Thatll be enough to buy my bus ticket plus have some extra to spend.
I feel like the next time I blog will probably be right before I leave for home judging by my track record. So until then, Cheers! See you in a few wekks!
