Out of Africa

Hello Seattle.

On Friday, just as Bafana Bafana scored their goal against Mexico and the airport erupted in wild cheers and the trumpeting of vuvuzelas, I boarded my plane to come home after what I would call the best and most rewarding experience of my life. My travels took me from Joburg to Dakar to DC, and 27 (mostly sleepless) hours after my initial departure, I looked out the window to see snowy mountains, evergreen forests, and sparkling expanses of water. That could only mean one thing: I had arrived home, in (my humble opinion) the most beautiful city in America. Goodbye Okavango, hello Puget Sound.

My last few days in Joburg, spent with my cousin-twice-removed (I think) Vivienne and her 18-year old daughter Alissa, passed wonderfully. We hit the museum circuit (the Cradle of Humankind, where a majority of hominid fossils have been discovered, and the Apartheid Museum), saw the Soccer City World Cup stadium, and enjoyed home-cooked family dinners every night. Our most exciting excursion was to the Rhino & Lion Nature Reserve in Gauteng, a private game park where I saw my first rhinos in Africa (they're not common in Botswana), as well as buffalo, gemsbok, eland, and other good stuff. Most of the predators are kept in their own enclosures, so not "wild," but I still saw a leopard there to complete my Big 5 sightings. Then, there were 2 adorable lion cubs named Lilo & Stitch, and for a meager R30 they allowed you into the enclosure to play with them! Alissa and I both went in and got 5 mins of quality lion time. For the record, lion cubs are the cutest and softest animals I have ever encountered. Lilo quite enjoyed biting my fingers and arm, but luckily he's still a little guy without the capacity to break skin.

After playing with the cubs, we went to watch a cheetah running demonstration on the lawn. A retractable line was criscrossed around the lawn with bait at the end, so that the cheetah would chase it when it started to move and thus show off his speed skills. The trainer began the demonstration by asking for 3 volunteers, who were then assigned to race the cheetah when it started to run. This was too cool, so when the first 3 had lost badly and the trainer asked for 3 more volunteers, I was the first out onto the pitch. So yes - I raced the cheetah. I held almost level with it for maybe 10 meters or so, but as soon as the line turned the cheetah cut the corner and I was left in the dust. Cheater. (Or should I say, Cheat-ah?) Basically I had the time of my life surrounded by animals that afternoon, which allowed me to be in denial that I was leaving the following day. But leave I did.

Now that I'm immersed in a land of freeways and free wi-fi, it's hard to reflect on life in a place that seems worlds away. American city life feels so normal to me again - I did spend 20+ years in this setting - but I'm also vaguely unsettled by it, since it's no longer the only way I've experienced. Maybe this will all become clearer to me in the coming weeks and months. In the meantime, though, I can come up with a short list of things that Africa has given me a better appreciation of:

1. Cooking meals
2. Communication
3. Family
4. Patience
5. Clouds


I've chosen quite a busy time to come back home. (Side note: what does "home" even mean? I haven't lived in any one place for much more than a month this year, but I've called them all "home.") My cousin graduated from college the day I got back, the next day was Talia's last concert with the Garfield Jazz Band, and now she has her graduation on Wednesday. Then we're taking a celebratory trip up to Vancouver BC for a couple days (also for my parents' anniversary). And pretty soon I'll be shipping out again - I'll be spending the rest of the summer as a camp counselor at YMCA Camp Orkila (in the San Juan Islands). For a couple of the weeks I get to teach marine biology, which is exciting. And that takes me all the way up to mid-August, when I'll go back to Pomona to lead an orientation camping trip and then write my thesis fall semester and then enjoy being a second-semester senior and then graduate and then... let's not go that far into the future. Anyhow, one thing at a time. Currently that thing is unpacking and uploading my thousands of pictures from Botswana, which will go up on Facebook soon-ish.

Thank you all for sticking with me through these rambling stories of my time in Africa, and I hope I'll get to talk to you all soon (and listen to your stories!) in person. Since I'm closing the book on this adventure while I open many others, that's gonna be it for my first foray into the blogosphere. Hope you've all enjoyed it as much as I have! Of course, I'm sure I'll be right back here soon enough, because if there's one thing I'm positive of right now it's that I'll find a way to make it back to Africa. (And any or all of you are invited, too. You've really got to see it to know what it's all about.)

So, wherever you're reading this from, go siame! Adios! Sayonara! Shalom! Shapo! (That last one is a Setswana-fied version of the English word 'sharp,' and can mean anything from 'OK' to 'I'm full' to 'goodbye.' In this case, it could mean any of the above.) Bye!!!