TIA

It feels like home but it’s not. I’m a stranger here. But part of the puzzle. Grateful that I’ve been given the chance to be a part of this great world of contrasts. Ups and downs. Extremes. Extreme beauty. Extreme poverty. Desperation. Joy. The hot, hot sun. the cold, freezing nights. The vast grassland and never-ending fields. The lions roaring in the night. The enormous sky. The billions of stars. The fantastic view from the top of the landrover – horizon everywhere. The smell of bush. The smell of smoke. Dust. Crazy traffic. Queing. Waiting.

More queing.

Food – tasty, aromatic food.

People – interesting, friendly, open, beautiful people.

Vibrant streets and music, rhythms. Colors. Clothes. Fashion. Luxury. Toilets that are not flushing. Envy. Guilt. Racism. Prosperity. Neat streets. Bumby roads. New, giant houses, castles. Shacks. Dogs. Giraffes. Herds of impala. The leopard walking past the car. Birds of all sizes. Water – and the lack of it. The mountains – shaped in the most amazing ways. The beach. The sand, white. Language. Misunderstanding. Conversations with strangers. Friendships. Life stories. Anger. Opportunities. Hope.

So many impressions, impulses, all at once. Thousands of them in one single day. And as different as night and day. Difficult to deal with, easy to deal with. Challenges your senses, your beliefs, your convictions, your perspectives. Makes you want to laugh, makes you want to weep. A variety, a diversity, so great that it can hardly be described. It has to be experienced. That’s why I love it here.

This is Africa.