It was Easter Break of 2009, when I was at JFK Airport feeling beyond excited that I’m finally going to the homeland that is Africa, South Africa to be exact. I don’t think anyone was as excited as me (except the other black students that went). The flight was super long, but I love airplanes, for some odd reason. I guess it’s because it’s a huge part of travel life.
Our first stop was in Dakar, and at that point, I was excited to be in Africa. Some hours later, we finally land in Johannesburg. I couldn’t take it. I was finally here. The first observation I noticed when I immediately landed were the people. They were incredibly nice, it threw me off in a way. I was greeted with: Hello! and How are you my sistah? They seemed thankful and excited that I took the time to visit their country. They’re also BEAUTIFUL!
For two days, we went to a local youth center. For me, I was very curious to learn about their interests, and their everyday lives. I enjoyed being with them, and they enjoyed me. Their joy was extremely contagious. They created an amazing environment. As a teenager, I couldn’t help but notice how happy they were. There was no such thing as negativity. And they loved taking pictures.
I know I’m not the only person that thought of this. But why is it that the people of “developing countries” tend to be more happy than Western countries? I still don’t have an answer yet to this day.
Anyway, my first trip to South Africa had exposed me to the kind, unselfish, friendly people that I dreamed of meeting. That trip was just the beginning, then led me to other places where there were more kind, wonderful people. I was finally in the world that I dreamed of living on.
Loray’s Journeys 