Choreography and Conversation

Just when I thought services at Hillsong Church couldn't get any more hip and cool, they broke out the secret weapon- the YMCA. As the pastor began his message on Sunday, he started discussing the importance of "atmosphere" in a given situation. To illustrate how powerful atmosphere is, he suddenly had the YMCA song blasted from the speakers while two women dressed in glaringly bright orange jumpsuits appeared onstage and led all 1,500 of us in the auditorium in a healthy amount of YMCA-ing. It was probably the most dramatic change in atmosphere I've ever witnessed. It was so fun and absolutely hilarious. The following sermon, though of a high quality, had trouble living up to the originality and energy of its introductory act.

The remainder of our Sunday was made up of internet cafes, grocery runs, and Wimbledon watching. Monday brought yet another week of work, and we tried to face it with bravery. The past couple days at work have been made up of the usual website editing and report writing, but with a new round of work surrounding the events of the church planting students' return. Starting on Monday night, the teams from Zimbabwe, Zambia, Lesotho, and South Africa have been arriving back at Africa House, taking up residence and helping out with the renovations. It's been a nice breath of fresh, but hectic, air. I've been slowly meeting all of them (there are about 40) and they seem to be great people. The students originate from Oregon, Michigan, Indiana, Ghana, Zambia, Germany, Holland, and Zimbabwe.

From what I've heard, they have all had really powerful experience, though not without their fair share of mishaps. The Zambia team, for example, had many of their belongings stolen on their way then were almost stoned to death by the villagers they were trying to befriend. They were saved, thankfully, by some concerned policemen who took it upon themselves to offer protection. Miraculously, the villagers were on jovial terms with the team by the time they started back to South Africa. Amazing, right?

On Tuesday I was pleasantly surprised to be invited to lunch with Floyd. We headed over to a cafe across the street and, after ordering cheese burgers to make up for the pitiful performance on July 4th, we spent an hour and half talking about all manner of things. He is one of the wisest people I've met, and extremely approachable too. In addition to things like Palin's resignation and old memories of my grandparents, we talked about how he manages to motivate the people in his nonprofit organization (he doesn't - the vision does) and how to find out what our life's design is supposed to be (use the natural tensions of adolescence and the 20's to shape your identity and goals). I was thrilled to get the chance to just chat with him, and I can't wait to have lunch with both him and his wife on Saturday.

I woke up early on Wednesday to return once again to US soil at the American Embassy. This time instead of getting a visa for a weekend trip Toukam is applying for his student visa to be able to study at Northwestern. As I sat outside the building for the hour and half that it took the bureaucracy to swallow and subsequently spit out Toukam I had a rather interesting conversation with a fellow American. I'm not sure what his name was, but he had recently married a South African while working as a nuclear engineer in Cape Town. Apparently it isn't so easy to get an American visa for most people, evidenced by her multiple rejections. The man is currently working at a nuclear plant in New Mexico, which meant he was taking only 10 days to visit his wife in South Africa. From what I could gather from our conversation, he lives quite the globetrotting lifestyle- he claims to have lived in 15 states. His reaction to my road trip, however, was far from encouraging. I'm confident, though, that his reservations were based solely on false perceptions of Namibia and Botswana, as all the South Africans I have spoken with don't find it at all dangerous or unwise for me to be attempting such a trip.

Not wanting to look like a wayward city boy with britches too big wandering through the African wilderness, I decided to get my haircut on Wednesday. I hopped across the street and went to a barber shop I pass every time I get groceries and requested that they buzz my head with an 8-length trimmer. For some reason, the ladies at the shop were highly reluctant to do so, apparently boggled that someone with such luxurious locks would want to lob them off. I quickly assured them that I was indeed in my right mind, and the hairdresser reluctantly applied the small machine to my scalp. I'm happy with the result, and I now no longer have to worry about my hair during the trip. Hopefully the city boy look has morphed into the hardened traveler style.

Speaking of the trip, I'm leaving in a little more than a week! I've pretty much worked out the itinerary, and I am now reserving places at camp sites and hostels. Our current hang-up has to do with Toukam's visa-getting privileges. I've come to realize that being a US citizen has serious perks. For example, I have not had to visit a single embassy to gain access to South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Lesotho, or Swaziland. All I have to do is show up at the border without any firearms or visible maleficence and I gain access. In Toukam's case, being a citizen of Cameroon, he's pretty much subject to the whims of embassy staff for any country he wishes to visit. That being said, in order to join me as I drive through Lesotho and Swaziland, he need to get a visa beforehand. This wouldn't be an issue, however there aren't any embassies for those countries in Cape Town- they are all in Pretoria. Since this is the 21st century, one would think that Toukam would be able to mail his passport and get the visas stamped quickly and at a relatively low cost. Not so, apparently it requires a courier, and that courier apparently costs 100 dollars each way! We're trying to figure out a solution, but it goes without saying that 200 dollars is way too much money for two daylong trips.

If worse comes to worse, these two countries are small enough that they can be seen in one day, so maybe I'll drop Toukam off at the border or a nearby town in South Africa while I explore the country for the day. It's quite unfortunate for Toukam, but Old School Adventures don't wait on anyone. Another issue we're hoping will run smoothly is Toukam's bus to Upington. It's an overnight one, so hopefully there won't be traffic/accident problems but if there are and there's even one day of delay, that spells major cutbacks on the journey. There are no spare days on the back end of the trip, so a day lost means two days of driving crammed into one- not good, especially since it looks like Toukam won't be able to procure even a driving permit, leaving me with 4 weeks of driving. God help me. [Editor's note: Realizing that this last comment may alarm some of my more concerned readers, rest assured that those 4 weeks will be of days that on average will have only 3 hours of driving.]

Despite these (potential) setbacks, I am itching to get started! I long to be on the open road, exploring the African back country, and allowing myself to wallow in that nectar of the gods- Travel. Oh, to be untethered and roaming in lands unknown! My appetite for such divine substance will be satiated soon, Reader, which spells more good stories for you. I hope your weeks is proving to be productive and fulfilling. Thanks for reading.