Farewell to South Africa

Well they say Africa gets into your blood and I can certainly see how that happens. I guess it's always been a part of my blood given Dad was born there, but I certainly didn't feel more than a slight connection to the place until visiting and seeing it firsthand. I feel so privileged to have visited with Mom & Dad, though it made things tense and emotional at times as Dad went through the process of revisiting his past, confronting the changed South Africa, and recognising today's South Africa with how he remembered it.

No surprises that I cherish the memories of the game drives, and would go again, and again, and again in a heartbeat. But I am also glad to have learned more about apartheid and better understand why South Africa is the way it is today. It is such a young country, reborn in 1991 with DeKlerk's removal of apartheid policies. And it seems completely bizarre that such policies existed only 18 years ago. The country has such a long way to go to heal itself, and I'm not sure how South Africans can do that until crime, poverty, and AIDS are addressed. How a country so rich in natural beauty, and natural resources, can allow its people to live in the townships as they do is beyond me. But, I suppose SA isn't an orphan where that's concerned.

Turning my thoughts to Italy and the trip ahead, I was also incredibly nervous leaving South Africa. This marked the start of my 'real' trip - carrying my gear on my back and managing on my own (and on my own dollar...). It was exciting at the same time, as the trip I'd been musing about for 6+ months was finally about to start...