The Long Way Round

January 16, 2013 marked one year since I arrived here in South Africa. I am, admittedly, a month late, but in this last year, traveling from one side of the planet to the other, I've tried to document as much as possible on video, and I've cut all those snippets of my travel together here. 

My travels took me from the economic powerhouse of Africa in Johannesburg to the red sand dunes of Sossusvlei in Namibia; deep in the jungles of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (jungles which, two weeks after we left, would be invaded by rebels) and over the undulating canyons carved into the plains of Zambia by the mighty Zambezi, terminating (for now) at the Smoke that Thunders, Victoria Falls; on the beaches of Mauritius, in the middle of the Indian Ocean or Hawaii in the Pacific; and into the wonderful jumble of past, present and future in the land of the rising sun. And I made a quick jaunt to the three other places I've called home so far in my life, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and New York.

Sometimes it's better to take the shortest route to a destination, but then sometimes I prefer to revel in the journey, to be surprised by the people, the places, the mishaps, and the unexpected encounters that breathe vigor into life from taking the long way round. It's a great, big, beautiful world out there.

It's a Mall World After All

When I first learned that I would be transferred to South Africa, I really only had a vague idea of what to expect, most of which was informed by multiple viewings of District 9, and although I do not doubt the authenticity of its depictions of Johannesburg and its residents, I also wanted to get a second opinion.

Shantytowns and Electric Fences

As I was flying to South Africa, I watched a short program describing the township of Soweto, on the outskirts of Johannesburg. Soweto was established shortly after World War II as a place where Africans evicted by the ruling white National Party from designated white areas in Johannesburg were relocated. This was the beginnings of apartheid. But Sowetans became instrumental in the fight against apartheid. In 1976, the government’s attempt to enforce the teaching of Afrikaans, the language of the white ruling class, in schools led to an uprising in Soweto. Hundreds were killed by the government, but the bloodshed brought the horrors of apartheid to the fore, both within Johannesburg and internationally.  It was the beginning of the final stage in the fight to end apartheid.

Impressions of Jo'burg

Last Saturday, I hopped onto a South African Airways A340-600 in New York, and 15 hours later, a more tired, sweatier, more irritable version of me stepped off the plane and into Johannesburg, South Africa, where I will live for the next six months.  I haven't had much time yet to explore the city, but I'll share with you my early impressions anyhow.

Astronaut applications

This is something I wrote for a scholarship application while I was just finishing up film school (we got scholarships for after we matriculated.  I know, it didn't make much sense to me then, either).  Anyway, I found this on my computer, and it's something that helps to remind me that, no matter how difficult the path may be or how discouraging it might get, there is only one thing that I can imagine myself doing for the rest of my life.

Perspective

I took a cab to my friend's apartment the other day, and I had no idea what address to give to the cab driver (I never do.  It's one of the side effects of the Age of Smartphones: forgetting addresses, forgetting phone numbers and brain cancer).  He was clearly agitated with me until we finally figured out where I needed to go, and then he apologized.

"It's one of those days," he said.  It was an oddly defeated note to escape this large, stocky, bald-headed man in his 40s, a man who looked like he could probably bend a steel girder by merely glaring at it.

love is love

If, by one simple act, you could bring happiness and celebration to millions of people at no cost to yourself, would you do it?