Some Things Will Always Be The Same

After all the moving around and changes in my life the last several weeks, I can't help but reflect on some things. I've just learned today that I'll be living in White River permanently rather than moving to the smaller village of Sabie. I'll be living in a flat with running water, a bathtub, large bedroom, carpet, closets, kitchen etc. It could not be more different than the situation I was just removed from. My safety will be much higher and life itself I suppose will be so much "easier."

As I'm driving around seeing things here, I realize that some things really aren't that different from home. Movie theaters, shops, music, restaurants. Last weekend I had a burger with a friend here while they played Avril Lavigne and displayed rugby on a wide screen tv. Looking around, there was not a single thing that said, Hey, you're in Africa! Today, I drove to Nelspruit for work something or other and they have car dealership after dealership, just like McLoughlin back home. Mazda, Chevrolet, Nissan, Buick, BMW, Toyota on and on...

There are parks, clean roads, smaller kiosks, and MALLS! The malls here drive me absolutely mad. In Nelspruit, 10 minutes from my flat, there is Riverside Mall. A giant Casino where people gamble their money away. They have every store you can think of, including Toys R Us. It's the typical stucco type building material and shaped exactly like any mall in America. In Pretoria, I went with Greg to Menlin Mall which is out of control. Ice cream shops, three floors adn reminds me of huge malls I saw in Chicago. They have a drive in theater on the roof, an ice rink, skate park and playground deal all outside on the roof of the mall. Mug and Bean which is like a fancy version of Starbucks and Prada! Yes, Prada. There is a music hall, a bird sanctuary and gilatto palaces all inside. More shoes and bags than I could fathom and all the while, I just forgot I live in South Africa. Escalators, elevators and even McDonalds! Truly America.

The children in my village all laugh when they burp, fart or see any naked body! The boys stick their hands in their armpits and make farting noises and the girls gossip and keep secrets just like any child in America would. Stepping out of village life into this new one I'm living now, I realize it's not so new! Many things seem the same. Road rage, people in a hurry, people struggling to live and survive. Even the marked difference in poverty here is similar to that which you can see in America. It's certainly different in many ways, but sometimes I realize that we really are not that different. People cover poverty, they hide it and brush it aside. There is never enough money for schools, people need pay raises and the government tends to sit back and do not much. Money comes in and money goes out, nobody really can say where it went. There is red tape and beurocratic bullshit along the way, all similar to America. I find it hard sometimes to articulate the differences in poverty between here and home. They are there. I just can't think of how to describe it all sometimes.

Clearly, all I felt in the rural village was how different things were. Here, in mini America, White River, things are easier and my attention seems to be more on my surroundings rather than on living. That may be case in point! Though there are westernized areas with wealth and resources, most of this country is living without it, without their basic needs being met, but can see it around the corner. Merging these worlds, these resources seem to be the key factor missing in the strength this country could display. If I could pick up my village and move it to America with me, show them my life and how I live, I wonder how the impact would show? Perhaps one day...they will see for themselves.