I never really considered myself the adventurous type- as a child I certainly didn't conform to this as standard- I would never have imagined having the experiences I have now had- I guess I grew into things and landed myself in incredible situations without ever having really laid them out as a plan. I never took a gap year and I never really wanted to until a little later- I suppose after I started travelling I got bitten by the bug and this opened my horizons.
Today I spoke to a lady in her 60's who made me smile- she was planning to visit the last place on her bucket list and I really got to thinking- is a bucket list finite or do we keep adding things the more we accomplish? She was sure this was the only really substantial thing left for her to surmount. I find myself wondering if I want to make it to this stage or does that mean the dreaming is over- surely as long as your mind is wandering you are adding to the list.
I don't have a bucket list in a very literal sense- I have a varied array of things I would like to accomplish, mostly travel related but personal goals as well- and I'd like to think that I will reach most of these. In terms of travel though I feel that there is so many places to see and so much to experience that I will perhaps never be satisfied with one last destination, I'll keep adding for as long as I can.
I'm heading out to put one huge tick on the list at Victoria Falls later this week- I'm living my life and not harbouring any regrets and I am proud, if not feeling a little corny about the soppiness of this entire posting!
Monday, 17 June 2013
Monday, 10 June 2013
Always time for Africa
It's by no means a secret that I love Africa, I remember someone telling me before my first trip that you either love it or hate it...I'm not sure if it is quite so clear cut as a marmite moment however. I am yet to find any definite haters and I would have some serious issues to raise if I did, but I genuinely can't get enough of this vast continent and I have met many others who share in these initial feelings of awe and amazement. I simply bask in the daily pleasures that life here can bring.
Today I was thinking about what keeps bringing me back and I realised that there are so many reasons, so many traits that I simply adore. In Ghana I found humour in almost every moment- there were so many reasons to smile and laugh. In Kenya I got many comments regarding the smile that rarely left my face! There is so much enjoyment to be found in the small things- maybe they are present back home too but I am too accustomed to the day to day to appreciate these moments, or perhaps I simply appreciate life a little more when I am roughing it in a village with filthy feet and greasy hair!! Regardless, it is time to show appreciation for the laughter and smiles that Africa provokes.
There are of course the obvious life-enhancing moments of small children grasping at your hands and being welcomed into communities which have had little previous contact with the western world, but I am not for the obvious- today I am considering the alternative! I always think back to stories of goats travelling on my tro-tro (Ghanaian name for a minibus taxi), getting stranded on a hillside because my taxi's run out of petrol, singing along to 90's pop-songs whilst being driven home in the back of a pick-up! These simple happenings, can, if viewed correctly provide amusement in conventionally drab situations!
But are any of these occurrences more general, continent-wide traits? The obvious, striking answer is the time factor- lateness and a general lack of speed has caused me to double over with laughter on may occasions during my travels. Don't get me wrong, I am not complaining or criticising, I enjoy this trait, and I enjoy the laidback pace of life, but when you wait for someone for several hours to be told that they are 'on the way coming' throughout- you realised that this phrase can mean anything from them just getting out of bed to get ready to then make the 4 hour journey, to them actually being in some form of transit. The stage of the journey is never specified...but they will usually arrive in the end! In South Africa the term is now- I'll call you now, generally seems to mean I will call you at the next convenient opportunity, whether this be in an hour or two or perhaps on a lengthier scale! I'm yet to completely decipher the now, now-now, and just-now distinctions, but I am working on it!!
I do have to wonder from even this small trait whether these things which make Africa unique and special are actually impacting upon it's development. This is a consideration which I have been undertaking for some time now. Is it possible to run a full-scale successful businesses when nothing runs to a schedule? Do we even need a schedule in life, if things happen eventually is this soon enough? Perhaps it is merely the pace that needs to be quickened- this would speed work and increase efficiency and thus impact upon income generation and productivity and thus development on a nation-wide scale? Is it this important that Africa picks up the pace? Is this even possible or is the culture so deeply embedded that children are growing up with teachers and role-models who shine this trait throughout their lives and merely reiterate it throughout generations? I fear that something I have grown to love (in most circumstances) may actually be hindering the goals that I have been working towards.
Today I was thinking about what keeps bringing me back and I realised that there are so many reasons, so many traits that I simply adore. In Ghana I found humour in almost every moment- there were so many reasons to smile and laugh. In Kenya I got many comments regarding the smile that rarely left my face! There is so much enjoyment to be found in the small things- maybe they are present back home too but I am too accustomed to the day to day to appreciate these moments, or perhaps I simply appreciate life a little more when I am roughing it in a village with filthy feet and greasy hair!! Regardless, it is time to show appreciation for the laughter and smiles that Africa provokes.
There are of course the obvious life-enhancing moments of small children grasping at your hands and being welcomed into communities which have had little previous contact with the western world, but I am not for the obvious- today I am considering the alternative! I always think back to stories of goats travelling on my tro-tro (Ghanaian name for a minibus taxi), getting stranded on a hillside because my taxi's run out of petrol, singing along to 90's pop-songs whilst being driven home in the back of a pick-up! These simple happenings, can, if viewed correctly provide amusement in conventionally drab situations!
But are any of these occurrences more general, continent-wide traits? The obvious, striking answer is the time factor- lateness and a general lack of speed has caused me to double over with laughter on may occasions during my travels. Don't get me wrong, I am not complaining or criticising, I enjoy this trait, and I enjoy the laidback pace of life, but when you wait for someone for several hours to be told that they are 'on the way coming' throughout- you realised that this phrase can mean anything from them just getting out of bed to get ready to then make the 4 hour journey, to them actually being in some form of transit. The stage of the journey is never specified...but they will usually arrive in the end! In South Africa the term is now- I'll call you now, generally seems to mean I will call you at the next convenient opportunity, whether this be in an hour or two or perhaps on a lengthier scale! I'm yet to completely decipher the now, now-now, and just-now distinctions, but I am working on it!!
I do have to wonder from even this small trait whether these things which make Africa unique and special are actually impacting upon it's development. This is a consideration which I have been undertaking for some time now. Is it possible to run a full-scale successful businesses when nothing runs to a schedule? Do we even need a schedule in life, if things happen eventually is this soon enough? Perhaps it is merely the pace that needs to be quickened- this would speed work and increase efficiency and thus impact upon income generation and productivity and thus development on a nation-wide scale? Is it this important that Africa picks up the pace? Is this even possible or is the culture so deeply embedded that children are growing up with teachers and role-models who shine this trait throughout their lives and merely reiterate it throughout generations? I fear that something I have grown to love (in most circumstances) may actually be hindering the goals that I have been working towards.
Sunday, 9 June 2013
Is this Africa? For real?
Writing a blog when I was researching in Ghana was something that only provoked anxiety within me, but turned out to be a wholesome experience, looking back on it (not something I do frequently) is enjoyable- I am glad to have these recordings of the time I spent and insights I made into education and development. Since then I have been fortunate enough to spend further time working in Ghana and managing a number of educational development projects as well as trying my hand at some construction and healthcare focuses- but this isn't a life story...
Now I have returned to a whole new part of Africa and an area I don't suppose I ever had huge plans to visit- yes it sounded nice and I would rarely turn down an opportunity to hit up a new destination, but it's just not been high on my bucket list! Regardless circumstances occurred and I am here, in Cape Town wondering how this can be African soil. I was fore-warned and don't get me wrong, it would be difficult not to love this incredible, vibrant metropolis. But seriously, this is Africa? TIA? One of my favourite saying's in Ghana (used in widely inappropriate circumstances e.g. my name is...cue...) "are you sure?" I have to say I wasn't entirely sure where I had landed at first- the scenery is incredible, in literally every direction from mountains to coastlines and beyond, but there is solid infrastructure and a 'Spar'- call me naïve but I really didn't expect to feel so close to my western routes.
There's literally so much I could share from my first few weeks in this new adventurous location- I have had an incredible time becoming accustomed with my surroundings and have felt that a 2 day weekend can really be a mini-break without venturing more than an hour from home. I have hiked mountains (including the table!), been wine-tasting at world-class vineyards, watched the sunset on wild beaches, eaten from amazing local markets...and enjoyed every minute- life to the full is an easy motto to fulfil round here. But don't get me wrong there's a dark side- just look around the sleepy suburb at the armed-response alarm systems, electric fences, high walls and barbed wire fencing- it's hard to ignore the amount of security even in this part of town (particularly when your jogging and almost fall into the road as an angry dog fends you away from his lair!!). There's stories of muggings and robbery's at gunpoint, and I feel obliged to succumb to certain behaviour restrictions that I would usually perhaps snub- I wont walk alone at night and I wont ride a minibus taxi- behaviours I have never given a second thought to in other potentially more dangerous locations! I'm not sure what it is but I have my guard up for now, call me what you like but I am taking things one step at a time!
So I have decided to write this blog, not to bore everyone with a day to day itinerary of my time here, but to chat about general observations, to share my thoughts and to highlight the small things that I pick up on, and perhaps some hidden delights should I come across any particularly special hide-outs and activities!
Now I have returned to a whole new part of Africa and an area I don't suppose I ever had huge plans to visit- yes it sounded nice and I would rarely turn down an opportunity to hit up a new destination, but it's just not been high on my bucket list! Regardless circumstances occurred and I am here, in Cape Town wondering how this can be African soil. I was fore-warned and don't get me wrong, it would be difficult not to love this incredible, vibrant metropolis. But seriously, this is Africa? TIA? One of my favourite saying's in Ghana (used in widely inappropriate circumstances e.g. my name is...cue...) "are you sure?" I have to say I wasn't entirely sure where I had landed at first- the scenery is incredible, in literally every direction from mountains to coastlines and beyond, but there is solid infrastructure and a 'Spar'- call me naïve but I really didn't expect to feel so close to my western routes.
There's literally so much I could share from my first few weeks in this new adventurous location- I have had an incredible time becoming accustomed with my surroundings and have felt that a 2 day weekend can really be a mini-break without venturing more than an hour from home. I have hiked mountains (including the table!), been wine-tasting at world-class vineyards, watched the sunset on wild beaches, eaten from amazing local markets...and enjoyed every minute- life to the full is an easy motto to fulfil round here. But don't get me wrong there's a dark side- just look around the sleepy suburb at the armed-response alarm systems, electric fences, high walls and barbed wire fencing- it's hard to ignore the amount of security even in this part of town (particularly when your jogging and almost fall into the road as an angry dog fends you away from his lair!!). There's stories of muggings and robbery's at gunpoint, and I feel obliged to succumb to certain behaviour restrictions that I would usually perhaps snub- I wont walk alone at night and I wont ride a minibus taxi- behaviours I have never given a second thought to in other potentially more dangerous locations! I'm not sure what it is but I have my guard up for now, call me what you like but I am taking things one step at a time!
So I have decided to write this blog, not to bore everyone with a day to day itinerary of my time here, but to chat about general observations, to share my thoughts and to highlight the small things that I pick up on, and perhaps some hidden delights should I come across any particularly special hide-outs and activities!
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