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.

One year ago...

*Note: several of my next posts including this are being posted a few days later than originally written. WiFi in rural South Africa can be hard to find, and when you do finally find it, it comes at a price.*

As I sat on the beach today, I reflected on the fluidity of life with a good friend. We took some time out to realize that we are actually in Africa - a continent neither one of us had ever thought we'd venture to; and we are so incredibly blessed to be in the positions that we are currently in.

I feel more than lucky to be able to have journeyed through the route that fate has lighted for me so far. And I am thankful to have sight of the incredible opportunities that I have ahead. Your life truly does become what you choose to make of it.

One year ago, I had decided to take a leap of faith. It was a very difficult decision for me to leave the comforts of my home, all that was familiar, and give up the ten-year-timeline (you know, like the corner office, marriage, kids, etc.) that I had planned out for myself. Leaping to New York, which was just a passing thought several years before, became a mini-dream-series come true. Letting go a little, has helped me gain so much. I realize that it is one thing to internalize a mantra, but it is a completely different thing to live it. Happiness is a journey, not a destination.

Thank you for helping make my journey an incredibly humbling and wonderful experience.