I have been on the road (so to speak) for a little over 7 weeks now and I am already gaining different perspectives on myself and the world.
The first thing that I came to realise, even before I left for my trip is that “Everything will be ok”. I added this affirmation to a page of affirmations I wrote before I left in an effort co-create a positive, safe and fruitful experience for myself. What’s funny about this last addition is that it negates all the other affirmations that I wrote. You see – the first pile of affirmations came from a fear that things might and could go wrong. This was a mistake, because if I’d had faith in myself and the great abundance of love that exists in the universe, I wouldn’t have needed to affirm such things.
For example, one of those original affirmations was “Abundance flows effortlessly and I use it as I feel to create beauty, health and more abundance!”. This comes from a fear of being inadequate, not having enough, being caught in ugly/difficult situations, and, of not being healthy... and in my life thus far these fears still play a dominant role in my decision making. So today – I wish publicly renounce those fears! This trip is about stripping back the layers of myself – THIS is one of those layers!!!
The second realisation stems from the first – EVERYTHING IS OK! In fact- it’s more than ok – everything is amazing, wondrous and inspiring! In 7 weeks with only me and my heavy pile of crap that I’ve been dragging around I’ve seen a lot, I’m surviving in foreign places and there hasn’t been any disastrous things going wrong. You might think that considering the fact that I uprooted my very stable existence, my job, my house, and my garden – that I might feel a little bit strange or out of sorts without my things? Well, this was another one of my fears you see.
Well, the fact of the matter is that I have felt completely normal and safe the whole time. I know that there is a greater power looking after me and I am also doing a great job of looking after me. Admittedly I have been a little bit sick with various ailments for the last month as I’ve been adjusting to various diets, allergens, foods and climates – but I think this also stems from a failure of mine to be more proactive in the process of co-creation of my trip. So how do I do that? I get up in the morning and I tell myself that “Today is going to be fantastically awesome” – and- I thank the universe in advance for the amazing opportunities that I have been given, the freedom that I have, the food I shall eat and for the love that is all around me.
So with that out of my system – let me tell you about my visit to Cape Town.
The number one reason for me to go to South Africa was for me to meet my Grandmother (or “Ma” as she is known by my cousins and I) in person. See the picture above. She will be 95 years young this July, yet at age 32, I had not seen her since I was a baby. All of this changed when, within a couple of hours after stepping off the plane from KL, I walked into her house and gave her a hug. She said “Who’s this?” My Aunty reminded her “This is your grandson, Howard!” . Ma just laughed and came for another hug. She was a little startled and surprised – but I think she likes me!
Now – you might think it amazing that I hadn’t met my grandmother before (in fact she is the only grandparent that I have ever met), and there is a long story that goes with this. The abridged version is this. When I was born in 1978, Apartheid (basically a racial separatist law) was rife in South Africa. Being born to a coloured mother and a white father was frowned upon. My Aunty Ann tells me that I was a love child. Marriage between two different racial castes was also impossible. So my mother and father left South Africa to migrate to Australia with me so that they could be married as so that I could have the upbringing that I am very thankful for. With that said – when we left South Africa for Australia there was a whole lot of other family members that we left behind on both my mother and my father’s side.
Me with my cousins atop the Lions Head
Me with my Aunty Anne
My cousins Delon and Craig and I having a brandy and coke on the eve of the World Cup.
My brother Pete and I
My sister Sally and I with her husband Paul and her two daughters Melody and Lara
My Uncle James and I
Uncle Keith, myself, cousin-in-law Viv and Aunty Maureen outside Cango Caves
Cousins and I enjoying a drink while we watch the opening match of the World Cup 2010
You can find more photo's of my family and I in the links below
After all this time with so many relatives to meet I had a lot of catching up to do, so I was very busy in South Africa meeting relatives, hanging out and doing the stuff that they do, eating lots of yummy family favourites, going out dancing, eating some more, visiting more family....
...so did I get to see anything else besides family? Hell yes! I won’t go into great detail here, but among the places I visited, I saw Table Mountain, Robben Island, Cango Caves, Hout Bay, Knysna, Khayelitsha, Cape Point, the wine route, the Lions Head, Franschhoek, Chapman’s Peak and Hermanus. Cape Town is full of contrasts. Mountains make up a dominant geological feature of South Africa: they are huge, grand and steep and make an impressive backdrop to everything you do and see. In some places the mountains contrast against the suburban sprawl, graffiti, expressways, expired power plants, barbed wire, etc.... but in other places they contrast against the blue ocean, green parks and valleys, vineyards, amazing sculpture, high-rise buildings. Some days there is a perfect blue sky with no wind, the next day there are clouds hanging about and drizzly rain keeping everything moist and cold.
While apartheid is over, there is still a dramatic difference to the way people live in different parts of Cape Town. The townships (ghetto’s/slums) are the boldest contrast against the rest of Cape Town. They are like another place altogether. There are many of them and they go on for kilometres – houses built of corrugated iron, scrap metal, plastic, recycled timber and tarpaulins... decorated with graffiti and clothes hanging outside by the street to dry. The crime rates, literacy rates and standards of living in these areas are alarming. You can try to get a picture by looking at my photo’s of Khayelitsha and also by watching this video that I took. I also recommend looking at the following article in Wikipedia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_South_Africa
Also here is a video I took while touring the wine route – as a contrast!
You can see all the details in all of the 6 albums that I posted to facebook. There are about 800 photo’s here... so if you’ve got the time have a look through. I chose the best from 1200 photo’s to go up. I don’t expect you to look at them all, though my family like to see as much as possible. Please excuse the drunken photo’s that made the cut – and many photo’s I’ve yet to tag.
The links are below.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=188638&id=682976605&l=64fab6df52 – Cape Town Part 3
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=188703&id=682976605&l=224dfacc9d – Cape Town Part 4
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=188815&id=682976605&l=671630f3a1 – Khayelitsha and Kirstenbosch
As I write this blog I am in 30+ degree heat and high humidity on the north eastern beaches of Penang. I’m in Malaysia briefly again before I transit to Thailand next week. Malaysia sort of feels like home now after coming back here again after South Africa! There’s a familiarity to the place; I’m starting to pick up a bit of the lingo, I’m acclimatising to the heat and I’m enjoying the food!
Anyhow – until next time here’s one last video for you. It’s Kylie Minogue with Akshay Kumar singing Chiggy Wiggy from the Bollywood movie “Blue”. I watched the movie in full as I flew from KL to Dubai over the sparkling lights of India. It won’t be long now until I reach India. I fly into Chennai on July 23 for a 10 week stay in India!!!
