Lazy in SA

Sunday, July 14, 2008

Family is paramount. Even the kind of family that is not specifically related to you, but you still go through the trouble of explaining how you are related through marriage. I do that because my family in South Africa rocks. I am really living it up here; big bed, tons of food, and the best showers in the universe. Seriously, I feel like I am in a steaming hot downpour. They have one of those shower heads that is probably illegal in the US because it’s a foot or more in diameter and just deluges water in perfectly-sized drops.

I’ve been doing a lot here in SA besides improving my hygiene. Today we went to a game reserve and I pet lion cubs…yes, I’m a tourist. We also hang out on the trampoline, yes, TRAMPOLINE in their yard. I can almost do a back flip…will post the latest attempt. Shabbat was wonderful and full of all types of great conversation (and sushi). And, throughout it all, I have been comparing South Africa to Uganda.

South Africa is a mix of third and first world aspects that have not yet come to terms with each other. We drove down a 6 lane highway and saw huge shantytowns on the hillsides. It’s hard to explain, but there are sections of town that look like Manhattan and others that look like Kampala. Here you can really feel the tension between the “haves” and the “have nots.” There is also a lot of (violent) crime here, probably because of a lot of that tension. In Uganda, I don’t feel that tension. There is a large history of pain and separation here; I went to the Africa Museum on Friday and had a disjointed history lesson. Seriously, skip it.

Left uncompleted…