"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