I have arrived...

Just to let everyone know that I arrived safely to South Africa. The flight was long but I got bumped to first class for the first half. The second half I had four seats to my self - no complaints!!!!! I will update soon. Peace.

Time to go

Ka mosso, ke a tsamaya.














Tommrow, I leave.



For the Republic of South Afrika














Rephaboliki ya Afrika-Borwa



And the townships of Johannesburg,















Stay tuned and I will update you all when I arrive.

on the ordinary and extraordinary

I have been thinking about this subject of ordinary vs. extraordinary again as I prepare to return to Africa. Over the new year in 2004 I got to go on my first Peace Corps vacation. Some friends of mine wanted to go up to Victoria Falls so I joined in. It was fabulous. We went white water rafting (as pictured here) below the falls down the zambezi. It was the most exhilarating experiences of my life. During the kombi (minivan) ride back to the hotel I chatted with our guide. For him it was another day on the job. Nothing special. I started thinking about my Peace Corps experience. To those at home it was extraordinary to an incomprehensive level. And it was for me at first as well. But the extraordinary has a way of slowly turning into ordinary. I suppose familiarity and repetition turn the extraordinary into routine. But, interestingly it doesn't diminish the profundity of an experience. Perhaps the ordinary can expand upon the profound by bringing it down to a level in which we can more easily comprehend.

I imagine that the job of president of the United States would make the perfect case study. They must make world altering decisions daily as a matter of course. Extraordinary by our count. But at the same time we expect our president to be able to handle hundreds of domestic/international issues daily as a matter of routine. The country would collapse if the president could not perform his tasks with the ease that the ordinary brings. At the same time the profundity of the decisions is never far away. Compare a first term and last term picture of any president who has been in office for eight years. They look 20 years older from the weight.

I digress.

This trip to Africa is far from routine, but there is nothing extraordinary about it. Its not a matter of "Wow, look at the woman with the sticks piled on her head". That's infatuation with something extraordinary. Its a matter of the warmth of something real. Just a guy returning once more to a land he loves. Hope you enjoy the reports that come out.