Ubuntu!

Well, today is my last full day in Cape Town and the end of my month long journey. I don't know how many people were actually reading this blog, but I hope that you have enjoyed reading it as much as I have been writing on it. The one good thing about this blog is that it encourages me to reflect on my trip at various points.

The ending of my trip was marked by my visit to Robben Island, the place where Nelson Mandela spent most of his imprisonment as a political dissenter. I was of the belief that the highlight of Robben Island was seeing the single cell that held Mandela for many years, however, Robben Island tells a bigger story that goes far beyond the iconic bars of cell block C.

The tour guide for my group was absolutely amazing. On the tour there had to be at least 12 different countries represented. The tour guide had a way of connecting every person and country to Robben Island. He wanted us all to feel as though our lives, no matter how far away, played an important role in the development of Robben Island/ South Africa and the ending of apartheid. He also brought to life the basic African principle of ubuntu, I am because we are. The best part about that guide is that he said he wanted to got to America to visit NASA and Graceland. If there is one thing we Americans love to do is to get in our pick up truck and take a weekend trip to Graceland.

When you finally get to the actual prison, you are guided by a former political prisoner of Robben Island. That guide made me consider a word that I have never really thought about before, reconciliation. Instead of persecuting those who persecuted them, the South Africans choose to forgive their oppressors. The prison were not a jail, but a community of freedom fighters that continued their struggle even behind the bars of the jail. The educated men that were behind bars actually took the time to teach even the white prison guards that were less educated. That is why South Africa has National Reconciliation Day.

I did take a picture of Nelson Mandela's cell, but I needed to put some context to the island.

Overall, this truly was a trip of a lifetime. I wish I could have told you all of the stories from this trip and the people that I have met, but then you would have no need to talk to me when I get back. Also, I would not be able to tell you about the freakish international obsession with David Hasselhoff and Knight Rider, or as the Italians call it "K2000".

If you have been following the blog from the beginning I did not get a chance to tell you what happen to the old lady in the Paris hostel. So, the whole time we were there she offered all of us in the room everything. She bragged that she was carrying a pharmacy with her on the trip. On the second to last day she fell ill (it was not that bad, but by the way she was acting you thought she had caught the bird flu). I asked her if she had Imodium because she had packed a pharmacy. But the Super Prepared old mother who packed a pharmacy did not pack Imodium. Well guess who did? In the African principle of ubuntu, I lent her a helping hand and gave some of my Imodium. In fact, I walked to the store and bought her some 7up. I guess that ubuntu is innate? She could not handle her sudden illness so she packed her bags, cut her trip short, and went back to the states.

Thank you for sharing in my experience with me!

Adam Hunter