Sunglasses, sugarcane, and smiles

Random memories:

- I broke both of my pairs of sunglasses on the way over here. Thank goodness for fake market ones. Gucci sells for only 30 rand here (appx $3.50)

- The Valley of a 1000 Hills is beautiful. Lots of rolling grass, small cottages, and friendly people.

- It's nice to be reminded sometimes that a glass can be both - half empty and half full. You don't have to pick just one side.

- A few of the great things about being in a graduate study abroad course (as compared to an undergraduate one): Less drama; being able to share wider and wiser perspectives; and having wine with your professors almost every night.

- Fresh sugarcane is even better with a little bit of lime (just like tequila).

- The sunsets here are beautiful, actually somewhat reminiscent of Arizona.

- And a thought about connections: 

Being in a foreign country can make you feel like an outsider peering into someone else's world - exactly the nature of the description: a foreigner. But here in Africa, especial

ly in the rural areas such as Kwazulu-Natal, you are only as foreign as you choose to be. Of course there are several differences that distinguish us as foreigners vs. native people - like the color of our skin, our hair, our accents, and some of our mannerisms. We bring our learned cultures and traditions with us, yet if we choose to bring down the psychological walls that make us different - we can realize the opportunity to see that we are all much similar than we think. And we all have different wealths of knowledge that we can share with one another, if we choose to venture outside the fishbowl.

Of course, the wealth of health connects us universally, but my favorite link is actually an invisible one. The relationships that we crave as human beings are the building blocks of life. From parental connections to friendships to acquaintances, relationships shape the world that we choose to see and take part in. The thirst for a balance between interaction and compassion, with the solitude of independence, evolves with every person, every mood, every passing year. It is one of the most interesting things I love to observe, as all relationships also have a universal denominator: a genuine smile.