"How was your trip?"

Such a sincerely posed question, those four little words can be so difficult to hear and even harder to answer. And I mean no harm in trying to explain my frustration, I simply want to communicate my experiences to the truest, to the fullest, so that you too may understand and feel what I experienced. But I have come to realize throughout my travels that there is just something about words on a page (or in this case, on a screen) that leave the reader disconnected from the emotions and senses that one gains from being in a particular place - observing the sights, listening to the sounds and smelling the air. So this is where I pause to think, when asked "how was your trip?", about just where I will start and how I will convey the past two months of my life. At what moment do I begin to tell my story - arriving in Cape Town with laughter and fatigue; poppin' the popcorn with Morne; meeting our host families in Khayelitsha (and me being nervous, imagine that?!); the VC (volunteer centre) and Sector Projet guys; walking with Skeezo to and from placement and listening to his perspective on life in SA; Nani playing with my hair and singing to me; the little girl I met at the hip hop event who I will never forget; recognizing the strength and perserverance of the youth at Velokhaya - how amazing their spirit is; visiting places like Robben Island, District 6 and Slave Lodge and having the most uncomfortable feeling just being exposed to the former apartheid system; climbing Table Mountain in the rain and mist and not being able to see just how spectacular it really is; getting caught up in Cape Town and loving life, trying to understand what direction I would be headed in when I got home; the conversations had in Chintsa with David, the revolutionist, anarchist, feminist (wow) who had an entirely refreshing perspective on apartheid and life in South Africa; or meeting Emma, the fellow anthropologist born and raised in SA!; being at one with myself on the beach in Chintsa, at peace with my life thus far, content with everything I have been blessed with; jam sesh in Coffee Bay with drums, guitar and Bob, of course!; arriving back in Botswana - absolutely surreal; reconnecting with Sebaga, tears running down my cheeks as I read her facial expressions and saw that she remembered me!; returning back to Cape Town for one last hoorah; meeting Magda on the plane ride home - she really solidified my experiences, my happiness.

Wow, so I guess that's a start? There is so much in between, so many emotions and so many more stories. But that's life, and it's only just the beginning my friends..



Above: Skeezo, such a great mentor and positive male role model to the youth at Velokhaya





Left: David, in Chintsa

Right: Reconnecting with Sebaga at SOS

Some Reflecting...

My experience in South Africa was (so far) beyond words - I say "so far" because I am freshly back in Canada and still processing the past two months. I have been sitting in bed all day listening to music and going through photos really reflecting on my experience and trying to understand it's impact. South Africa grabbed me and swept me away - such an unbelievably beautiful country with beautiful people, despite its deep and dark past. While in Khayelitsha for the first month I lived with a host family who took me under their wing and showed me (in the brief time I stayed with them) what it was like to live in a township outside Cape Town. Once I actually went to Cape Town and saw it's wealth and beauty, I couldn't believe the disparity in lifestyles between the township and metropolis. The understanding I gained in my short time in South Africa on the apartheid system overwhelmed me. How does anyone justify such brutal systematic racism? It is still something I am grappling with and need to learn more about.



The last two months were filled with so many experiences, of all natures - meeting locals from the township and participating in local community projects, working with NGO's and youth, learning about apartheid from all perspectives - black, white and everything in between, as well as visiting museums like District 6 and Slave Lodge. And then breaking away from team programs and projects to become an independent traveler and put to use the lens I had gained from the program. Meeting other travelers and locals at each backpackers and hearing their perspective on the historical and current political climate in the country, as well as letting loose and just having fun, conversing about life in general and gaining perspective from everyones stories. It was such a whirlwind and I would do it all over again, in fact I really hope to get back to South Africa some day, there's just something about the spirit there...

Oh, the Places You Will Go!

Love and hugs from Botswana - I can't believe I'm back! Crazy the way things work out. I am having such an unreal experience in southern Africa and falling in love with this part of the world.
After saying farewell (but really, "see you later") to our friends and family in Khayelitsha, Dominica, Christina and I spent a week in Cape Town (that place is dangerously addictive!) before hopping on the Baz Bus to travel the coast of South Africa. We stopped in Knysna and Port Elizabeth on the Garden Route, before making our way to the Eastern Cape where we fell in love with the Wild Coast. We spent three nights at a backpackers called 'Buccaneers' in Chintsa and met some absolutely amazing folks. It was paradise and we did some soul searching on the beautiful beach that stretched for miles. We spent our nights meeting locals and other travellers who taught us lots about South Africa and life in general. The conversations we had in Chintsa will stick with me forever - I will tell you all about them when I get back.













Left: Birds of paradise
Right: Our South African friends, Vicky: "fun is fun!"

After Chintsa we headed to a place called Coffee Bay and stayed in a backpackers called 'Coffee Shack' - this place was wild! We met people from all over the world and had a ton of laughs. We walked the hills (and I mean HILLS) of the town, along the beach to get to a place called "hole in the wall", a massive rock in the ocean with a large gap in the middle. When I get back I will tell you more about the town of Coffee Bay - tourism has had some interesting effects on the land and the people. It's really interesting to come in as a tourist after spending time in Khayelitsha doing a community project with locals. The two approaches to travel come with completely different perspectives and emotions, ones that I am sure I will be reflecting on for days to come.











Left: The mighty hills of Coffee Bay
Right: Final Destination "Hole in the Wall"

Once our time in Coffee Bay was up we took a couple buses to get to Botswana. We are staying at the WUSC house (where I stayed last summer) and are on our way to visit the kids and teachers at SOS! I'm beyond excited and can't wait to see Sebaga and all the others. It seems so surreal to me that I am back in this beautiful country, returning to those smiling faces at SOS. It makes me happy to know that I can always come back...