It’s been a while since I’ve blogged. My experience in South Africa has brought me back home with so much more appreciation than when I left. Did you know in South Africa they drive on the opposite side of the street than they do here? And that 86 % of people over age 15 can read and write?
In my life-changing perspective as a tourist I learned a lot about life and what it means to be peaceful. Along with my Gandhi legacy tour group, I visited a nursing home in Johannesburg which displayed what a nonviolent household looks like. They gave us a tour of the house and a lesson on what child abuse was and all forms of abuse, and how it can affect your natural thought process. There are many people working in child development and there is a lot of focus surrounding agriculture. The cultivation of food is very popular in most parts of South Africa we visited. There is an non-profit farmer down there who uses what is on the street to make beds for the gardens, using things like tires and boards.
The voices of the people make my heart sing with joy. I went to a church service where the pastor spoke on loving one another in order to live forever. As I thought about that sermon it made me realize that they put more thought in loving one another than I do. Now I feel that we need to spread the message of peace to one another if we are to thrive. My knowledge on what I thought Africa was has totally changed.The people there are civilized and just like America they have parts that are rough and some that aren’t. In Cape Town I got to sit and have tea with arch bishop Desmond tutu and meet his youngest daughter Mpho. Just like arch bishop tutu, we are activists Him telling his stories of social activism inspired me to do more for my people as he did his. I do Spoken word poetry and I got to perform two of my best pieces for Ela Gandhi’s birthday, the granddaughter of Gandhi. There I also had a blast enjoying delicious Indian style food with many peppers and spices. I learned that there is a language for the county of South Africa and I also learned that S.A is home of some of the first discovered humans. There are different types of animals that make up South Africa like elephants, jackass penguins, baboons and giraffes, but the most outrageous up close sight for me was the ostrich. I always thought of them as a joke, but they are very shy animals who don’t like to be seen. My biggest fear of South Africa was to leave without bringing back something natural but I guess I did leave with something natural and that is the thought of bettering my surroundings, knowing it could be a better place with just a little of what it means to be one with the land.
by Hoody Miller
