african journey

africa was incredible, absolutely amazing. being able to be there with dani and being able to finally go and see the people there was, in many ways, a life changing experience. it was great to be with dani for obvious reasons. being away from her for this past year, on and off, has been really hard and trying at times, and it is always good to see her again for the first time.
when i met her at the airport in p.e., i was so excited and also just felt a feeling of comfort, a feeling of stability, a feeling of peace, and a feeling of rightness. in fact, that is much of what makes me so comfortable around dani. she has become a life companion and i am just so grateful to know her and be able to share my life with her. however, this is also what makes it so hard being away from her for so long... anyways, being able to be there with her for two weeks was just incredible. looking back on the trip, we had so many great times and so many new experiences together.

1. amasango. finally getting in to grahamstown after about 24 hours of traveling, dani and i went out for a few drinks with tiff and elizabeth (her friends there from b.c.) to this place called the rat and the parrot (the rat). it was an english-esque pub and we had a pretty good time. however, i was really tired so dani and i ended up going back to the hostel fairly early to head to bed. speaking of which, the place we were staying was not dani's room. since she lives in a res (dorm) with uber strict rules, i was by no means allowed to stay there and thus, we had to get a hostel. the main and really only hostel in grahamstown is called the old gaol (old jail in xhosa). the reason is because it literally is an old jail and the double rooms are old prison cells. anyways, it is also a big party hangout with a happening bar, and thus because of the open air windows, we didn't get to sleep until late...moreover, the best part of this was that dani volunteers on mondays and thursdays, and i got in on a wednesday night. consequently, we woke up early thursday morning and on little to no sleep, i went with her to volunteer. the place she volunteers at is called amasango, and it's a school for street children from about 1st to 9th grade. all of the kids live in extreme poverty and many of them are without families, living in an orphanage or sometimes even off the streets. the school itself has a strong mission and the woman who runs the place (“mama jane”) is really committed to fighting for these kids and helping them break out of the cycles of violence and poverty that have dominated many of their lives. however, the facilities are still unimaginable and the standard of education that these kids are afforded is disheartening and deeply saddening. being there with dani for just a day was not much time at all and was also overwhelming in some ways, but i am grateful to have had that experience and to have seen God in the face of these kids that dani spends her time with every week. i spent most of my time that day working on math problems with sinetemba and a few other 3rd graders (they also taught me a thing or two in xhosa, which was super cool), and for the most part everything went well that day with the exception of a few minor mishaps…when i was playing/messing around with some of the kids during their lunch break, i was wearing sandals and i hit my leg accidentally on the barbed wire that surrounded the school. i got a pretty big cut in my foot and it started bleeding pretty badly. the worst part was that i started freaking out and then from seeing all the blood, i ended up fainting and was unconscious for a few minutes (or so dani tells me). all i remember is feeling nauseous, and then waking up uber hot and sweaty and not knowing where i was for a minute. it was pretty freaky and i didn't feel well the rest of the day, but it wasn't so bad as i ended up being fine...other than that though, my time at amasango was eye-opening, and despite the sadness and the despair, it was strangely encouraging...

2. renting a car together and driving down the garden route with brian, tiff, and elizabeth was totally a blast. even just being in the car, getting to know each other, making jokes, listening to music, stopping at shady places to eat (and spilling mustard all over myself) with brown tap water (tsitsikama), and almost running out of gas. then being in capetown itself was awesome. the city was so cool, situated on the ocean with nice beaches and at the base of table mountain. totally gorgeous. from the cool and friendly backpackers we stayed at (ashanti and long street) to the food we ate (margaritas at mexican kitchen and ostrich and crocodile at mama africa), it was a great weekend. the beach at camps bay was really nice, and it didn’t hurt that it was about 80 and sunny. it was also really interesting to get to go out to robben island (the prison where political prisoners were sent during the apartheid) and have a tour led by a former prisoner (also we saw some tropical penguins, which was pretty sweet)…driving out to the cape, just to get caught in the rain, was a great time. what seemed like a bad situation ended up turning into some wine and cheese on the beach and a beer in africa's smallest pub…the street festival was a good time (even though i almost got pick-pocketed), and going up to the top of table mountain was pretty spectacular, even though it was uber cloudy and kind of rainy. even with lousy weather, it was still some of the most gorgeous views i have ever seen, and the cable car was on par with the one from lucerne...even the drive back was a great time. the girls slept a lot the first day and brian and i chatted philosophy. i told him what i thought about nietzsche and ziggy bauman and we spoke about our ideas of moral responsibility. that night we stayed over night along the garden route, in knyzna. we had a nice dinner for pretty cheap on the water and then went to bed fairly early because we were setting out the next morning for tsitsikama. this area is a forest along the storms river (a well sized area along the garden route), and from here several adventure sports and activities originate. anyways, that day we decided to do a canopy tour in the morning and the five us went together with a nice couple from england (rob and his wife). the tour consisted of ten zip lines from one tree to another that were about 30m off the ground, way up in the canopy of the forest. also during this whole time, we were with a guide who explained and taught us things about the trees, the birds, and other things in the forest when we were at the top of each tree. all in all it was a great experience, really fun and really cool! after lunch we parted ways with our newly formed english friends and headed off to the bloukrans river bridge for one of the most feared experiences of my life- bungee jumping! i had never had any desire to bungee jump, just wasn't really interested and was also really scared. furthermore, this is no ordinary bungee jump. it is the highest commercial bungee jump in the world, from the four highest commercial bridge in the world, at 216m above the boukrans river! it is something that all study abroad students in south africa know about and many decide to do. consequently, dani and her friends were all planning on doing this at some point in the semester and thought well, why not do it this weekend? and when all was said and done, before i knew it we were all standing out on the bridge, listening to some pump up rap music, hanging out with our guide (muchello), and getting ready to jump. brian, the fearless one of the group, went first and he actually ended up going backwards. this was good because i had someone else to watch and a little extra time to prepare myself. i was next up and i didn't think i was ready at all. however, i didn't seem to have much of a choice and all of sudden i found myself looking over the edge, six hundred feet down. the guys counted down from five, and even though i'm not really sure how, when they got to zero i jumped off the ledge head first. i free fell for about five full seconds and that was probably the five most terrifying seconds of my life because at that exact moment my life was completely out of my hands. i was scared because in many ways, it was a realization and feeling of helplessness and insignificance, but at the same time i felt a sense of peace because this was the most tangible expression, probably throughout my entire life, showing me (even more cleary now as i reflect back on this) that at that exact moment (and every other moment, whether i realize it or not), my life was and is completely and entirely in God's hands. and in many ways, that is a feeling of liberation…also, after the first fall, when i came back up, there were still two more free falls- a two second fall of 116m and a one second fall of 70m. after coming up from the first fall and realizing that the cord had caught me, i let all worry go and just enjoyed the rest of the jump. in many ways, this was one of the most peaceful experiences i have ever had. just hanging there by myself, in total silence, 100m above the river, in the gorge by myself was pretty amazing. i just sat back and took in the scenery. i was overwhelmed by God's glory, His beauty, His majesty, and His peace. on the whole, what seemed like an ordinarily frightening but pretty straightforward experience, turned out to be a pretty peaceful and spiritual time for me. while i will never forget how scared i was, i am also so glad i decided to go through with it in the end...the rest of the drive back that night went well and our last stop along the garden route was in jeffrey's bay. we ate dinner there and walked around the sand dunes on the beach. after getting back late that night, dani snuck me into her res and we ended up crashing early because we wanted to wake up early the next day to go to the beach.

3. spending some time in grahamstown. after returning from capetown, dani had to go to class for a few days and we wanted to hang around grahamstown before leaving again the next weekend for hogsback...the first morning back we still had the rental car until 4:00 that afternoon, so we decided to go to the beach at port alfred. however, the problem with that was neither dani nor i really knew how to get there. so we just decided to drive around grahamstown and find the sign for the right highway (it was about 45 minutes away), but in the midst of all the confusion, i accidentally reversed at a stoplight when i should have driven forward and as it turns out, there was another car right behind me. thus, i had crashed a rental car in a foreign country. wow, just wow. however, as it turns out the people in the other car were really nice and were in about the same situation as us (it was a couple, the girl was from capetown and the guy was visiting from canada). also, there was actually no major damage to either car and they ended up being really cool about the whole situation. basically, i messed up and got frickking lucky...anyways, i got out of the driver's seat and dani ended up driving us to the beach. we got there in one piece and because it was a tuesday, there was absolutely no one there. we ate lunch at a cute little cafe and literally had the beach to ourselves. after laying in the hot, hot sun (around 90) for a few hours, we headed back to drop off the car and have a relaxing night, maybe go to dinner and a movie...when we got back to the jail, we found paul (the guy we crashed into earlier) in the bar and he and his girlfriend were staying there that night as well. furthermore, his girlfriend had a dinner with some friends from rhodes uni that night and he had nothing to do. so, dani, being the socialable person she is, promptly asked him to join us for dinner and a movie and needless to say, paul was an interesting character, and it was kind of funny to hang out with him that night…dinner was pretty tasty and we saw the movie tsotsi (and it was particularly interesting seeing it in south africa)...the next two days were a little more laid back around grahamstown as dani went to a few classes, and then thursday afternoon we left again...

4. hogsback. this time, dani decided she would take me to this little place in the mountains, called hogsback. it is a really tiny town, consisting of almost nothing but a few places to stay, and it is situated right in the rainforest and in the mountains. it is known all over as being one of the most peaceful and beautiful places in the country. there is one main backpackers (hostel) there, "away with the fairies," and it is often thought of as the coolest backpackers in the whole of south africa...anyways, brian (the guy that runs the old jail in gtown) arranged for his driver- maudy- to take us up to hogsback on thursday evening. it was a pretty nice drive and as we got close, the weather got really strange and eerie and uber, uber foggy. we couldn't see more than five feet in front of the car, and there was mist everywhere. although this was kind of scary to drive in, it was also kind of cool because it made the place sort of mystical...we checked into our room (which was absolutely sweet! a private double room with our own fireplace and view overlooking a valley, all for about 15usd each) and then went to the bar/restaurant where they serve dinner every night. away with the faires, in addition to being amazing and uber cool, is a really small backpackers and only holds around 25 people, so there is a strong feeling of community. everyone there is really friendly and really outgoing; in the mornings, everyone sits around this big table and has breakfast together and then at night, we all had dinner together. consequently, it's pretty easy to get to know people pretty quickly...at dinner our first night, dani and i sat next to a couple from namibia (robert and daniella) who were really, really nice. we had a few drinks with them and chatted it up all night...the only things there really are to do in hogsback are go hiking in the forest, exploring the many waterfalls and basically just spending time outside in the great outdoors. so, dani and i had decided that we wanted to do this all day hike that went to three major waterfalls and the namibians had also decided to do the same thing. they asked if we might want to go with them and spend the day together. of course we accepted and of course we had a great time together. the four of us had a really good time and saw some really beautiful forest/waterfalls/mountains that day, and one even added bonus was that we had three dogs come along with us. the guys that run the hostel (dan and rob) have two beagles and a dalmatian that just roam around all day and that day they decided to come hiking with us! anyways, we had a great day and got back to away with the fairies, tired but content, in the late afternoon. before dinner we saw the only real "sights" in town, as we went to a labyrinth and had tea with the namibians. also, we went to this lookout point, called the "edge" and the views were pretty spectacular, not to mention the fact that we saw baboons just chilling about 100m away from us...dinner that night was spectacular (sirloin steak in a delicious cajun sauce with a really good greek salad) and we partied in the bar with everyone for a few hours before retiring for the night back in our romantic room, by the fireplace...the next morning we slept in a little and then had to head back to g-town. speaking of, up until friday night we had no idea of how we were getting back on saturday afternoon (public transportation is nonexistent in south africa and brian had not yet arranged us a ride). but, as it turns out robert and daniella were also leaving hogsback that day and were about to head down the garden route towards capetown. and as it also turns out, grahamstown is located right on the way between hogsback and the garden route. so, the robert and daniella being the super nice people they are, offered us a ride. the drive back was pretty quick and by midday we were back at dani's res...overall, our time in hogsback was pretty short, but it was really, really peaceful and relaxing.

5. safaris. finally, after we came back from hogsback on saturday afternoon, we had two days until i left on monday morning and one of the major experiences that i was hoping for which had not yet happened was going on a day safari and getting to see some of the animals in their natural habitats. up until this point we still had seen several animals just driving around, from kudus on the side of the road, to baboons and goats blocking the road (on the way back from hogsback), to monkeys in the rainforest and penguins on the beach. nevertheless, we had not yet seen any of the big 5 (lion, cheetah, rhino, elephant, and buffalo), or as i created myself, the big 8 (with the addition of giraffe, hippo, and zebra)...before we left for hogsback, we had brian from the jail arrange for us to go on a couple of these safaris, or game drives as their often called…on saturday night and sunday night we had twilight drives planned (a drive in the late afternoon for at least two hours around sunset, followed by dinner, and another drive after dinner to see night animals), and then a day drive planned for the whole of sunday morning and early sunday afternoon...saturday afternoon we left at about 430 and went to lalibela game reserve. the place was super nice and the people were very welcoming. also, shortly after we got there, we found that we had our own private drive, just dani and i, maudy, and a guide from lalibela. while the drive started out slow and the vehicle (open air land rover) broke down and we had to wait for another one, it wasn't so bad. as we were waiting around we watched some gemsbok and some other antelope grazing, and then all of sudden we saw a giant rhino and her baby cross the hill about 20m in front of us. pretty unbelievable! the rest of the drive was really cool, and we ended up seeing many of my favorite animals. we saw an entire herd of rhinos (even though our guide hadn't seen one in a week), about eight in total, a giraffe, some zebras, and several different species of antelope. after the sunset, we went in for some dinner, which was delicious, and then we went back out for a night drive. before dinner, during sunset, we spent a good portion of time through and in the woods, searching for lions, but unfortunately we didn't have any luck. anyways, during dinner our guide asked what we wanted to do after and because it was just us we were able to do pretty much whatever we wanted. i said that i had really wanted to see a hippo and consequently we spent about an hour or so looking for hippos (hippos are easiest to see at night. because they have really sensitive skin they spend the entire day soaking in the water and then come out at night to graze. additionally they are really loud when they eat, so it is possible to hear them from fairly far away). and this time, we had better luck. after some time searching we found about three hippos grazing. we even got within about five feet of them, which was pretty amazing. actually it was kind of scary because they are incredibly massive and if they feel threatened, they will charge at any moment and at a pace of up to 40km/hr. all in all lalibela was an amazing experience! after the night drive, dani and i headed back to the old jail exhausted and hoping to get some sleep, seeing as we were waking up again at 7 the next morning. however, that weekend there happened to be a music festival (mini fest) at the jail, so when we got back at 11pm the party was just getting started. there were movies playing outside and all kinds of live music. actually it was a good time, but the only unfortunate part was that whenever we got tired and wanted to leave and go to bed, we couldn't. the music was literally blasting in our room, and the festivities didn't really wind down until about 2:30am...anyways, after a short night's sleep, we woke up bright and early and headed out to addo elephant national park with maudy again but also this time with brian (from georgia). maudy was our guide at addo and the four of us spent the morning and early afternoon driving around there. again we had a great time and saw several different kinds of animals. we saw many antelope again, zebra, wildebeest, red hartebeest, tons of warthogs, and even two of the big five! we saw tons and tons of elephants and we even saw some buffalo (which is super rare)! one of the guides we talked to has been to addo about 200 times and only seen buffalo 5 times). again we got super close to all the animals and it was really wild because they were just carrying on as it we weren't there at all. pretty surreal! after lunch, we headed over to scotia, the game reserve where we were doing a twilight drive on sunday night. scotia is similar to other game reserves in many ways, but what differentiates it is that they have a heard of 8 lions! after some tea and coffee, we set out on our drive and again like at lalibela, we were with a guide in an open air land rover. however, this time there were four other people with us and the guide wasn't quite as friendly as the one at lalibela. anyways, the drive went really well and we saw a ton of animals. again we saw all the antelope (even springboks!), the hartebeest, the wildebeest, etc. we also saw the only rhino at scotia, and we even saw two hippos and a crocodile in the water. what was really cool was that we saw about 7 giraffes and one of the them was a baby that was only one day old (however still not that small because giraffes can weigh up to 100kg at birth)! also, we got to see giraffes run and get up from being in a laying position. pretty awkward. most of all we actually saw some lions! we saw a young male and a mom with her cubs from pretty far away (35m), but we also got see two adult males really close up. in fact, the alpha male got up after a few minutes and walked towards our vehicle, laying down literally about five feet away from us! actually, it was pretty scary but at the same time exciting! after our drive, we had dinner again and it was pretty delicious. there was a sweet bonfire, free drinks, and good food, and really friendly people. after dinner, we went back out for the night drive and had quite good luck. we saw many night animals and also saw a few hippos grazing again...on the whole, scotia was really cool and we saw so many animals that it was crazy, but there was something that was a little off about the whole experience. there were almost too many animals and oftentimes it was almost too easy to spot them. the whole thing felt a little more like a zoo at times, whereas our time at lalibela felt like we were really among the animals in the wild. nonetheless, all of the safaris were amazing and i am so grateful to have been able to have that experience! after the drive on sunday night, dani and i just chilled and unfortunately i had to leave the next morning. even though i was leaving there only to begin three and half weeks through europe, i was still so sad to leave. it was so hard to leave dani, knowing that i wouldn't see her again for four months, and it was also really sad to leave africa. in just two weeks, i had fallen in love with the dark continent and her people and i was finding that God was breaking my heart for the african people in a way i never expected...

6. being able to relate. one of the biggest reasons i wanted to go to s.a. in the first place and one of the reasons i am still most grateful for being able to go, was being able to witness pieces of dani's experience. over the past few years, dani and i have come to know each other in a way that is truly unexplainable. we are just dating each other and we aren't just best friends, but in a way we've become life companions. there is something that just feels right when we're together and something that just seems to be missing when we're apart. i know that we are both eternally grateful for our experiences and the opportunities we've had this year and i know that neither of us would change any of it, but even in the midst of all that, it's hard being apart. it's hard having so many life changing experiences and not being able to share them together, and no matter how hard we try and no matter how much we speak to each other about our own experiences, we have to accept that there will still be some things we will never be able to fully understand about the other's experience...with this in mind, i greatly wanted to visit dani and at least see what she's experiencing. being able to see some of the places, meet the people, and hear the stories, has enabled me to understand what she is going through on a completely different level and on a level i never would have understood if i didn't go there. i am truly grateful that i was able to visit her and consequently better relate to the experiences she is having, the people she is meeting, and the things God is teaching her.

7. the african people. finally and most importantly, what stands out most from my time in africa are the people. it was truly amazing to see how the african people live, and how God is breaking my heart for them. this is something that has profoundly affected me and the way i see the world and in many ways, it is something i can't explain. all i can say is that God has been drawing me to africa for quite sometime and i have a feeling that He will continue to bring me back. there is something about the people there that is incredible. it is almost a universal attitude of graciousness, something that far surpasses hospitality and material kindness. it is a profound generosity that reflects the love of Christ. it is an acceptance of God's will and His plan for our lives. it is a way of placing one's trust in God and His peace that surpasses all understanding...in many ways, i see the african people as the people of God. i don't mean to say that they have a priority or a favor with God above everyone else, or that God has chosen them above all other people. i don't mean to say that God loves africa more than He loves america, or india, or england, or mexico, or anywhere else. and i don't mean to say that african people are perfect and don't have their faults. i just mean to say that despite the hardships, the trials, and the tribulations that have become a routine part of everyday life for so many people who live there, an attitude continues to transcend all of this suffering- an attitude of love and peace that reflects the example of Christ. i think in many ways, africa people have a better understanding of what is means to suffer for Christ and in this suffering, what is means to continue to love- to continue to love others, to continue to love God, and to continue to love being alive.
on the whole, as i reflect back on this amazing time and all the experiences i had, i find that throughout my time in africa, there was a constant strand running through all else and that constant was a sense of peace. a peace that only comes from God. and i guess this shouldn't be surprising because in many ways i think africa is the place where God's love and God's peace are most present. it is a place where in the midst of struggle, chaos, and despair, people still find a way to love.

dear lord,
thank you giving me the opportunity to go to africa and to see your face in the people there. thank you for teaching me about love and suffering, about patience and gentleness, kindness and generosity, peace and security. lord, thank you for waking me up this morning and giving me another day. thank you for continuing to love me despite my weaknesses and my insecurities. thank you for giving me the opportunity to love and serve others in your name. thank you for loving me first, so that i may now love you. thank you for teaching me what it means to suffer and what it means to continue to love in the midst of suffering. thank you for continuing to speak to me. i pray that i would continue to listen and i pray that you would continue to draw me closer to you and pull me deeper in your love. i love you, i thank you, and i praise you.