Gap Life

the wonderful gap year. its a craze. I’m telling you. everyone's doing it!

I see my self as a relatively experienced gap-year-taker. My gap year actually turned out to be a gap 18 months. sweet huh? well. yes and no. So I decided to compile a short list of great gap year tips and things you should know when entering this endeavor. For those of you that already started your year, use this stuff. even if you’re studying but living at home... its a whole new world, and a new lifestyle.

1. connect to a local church- and stay there! this is huge. (and this applies to anyone who just started varsity too) leaving high school when everything is easy and spoon-fed by youth and youth leaders is one thing, but being on your own spiritually is a whole new one. Don’t let yourself get distracted and pull away from your church or your christian mates. Stay there! I promise you, being plugged into a church will make your year a lot easier, and will provide that accountability so that you don’t become a first year fader.

2. Get busy- Do something! I’m not talking just about your studies or job that you’ve got for your gap year, but do some new stuff. You’re going to have a lot of different spare time, and rather than sitting on facebook all day every day, do something interesting. Get a hobby. like, start a blog.(ha!) or learn a language. or get involved in something at church or in your community. Don’t just sit around. It’s the worst! You end a day or a week thinking , ‘well that was a waste!’

3a. Keep thinking about the next year. This is a big thing I learnt! Most of us take gap years because we aren’t exactly sure what we want to do or study. And that’s a great reason. However, while you’re in your gap year, you need to be thinking about the future. Try stuff and see where your passions are- look at your options for the year ahead. get little experiential jobs or things to do! be proactive . That way, you won’t get to December still having NO idea what's next...

3b. At the same time, live in the now. Don’t let the future stress you out. keep it on your mind, but just enjoy the time you have to have fun ! Stressing is for later ... 3a and 3b are a balance, but its possible to be both

4. Make the most of it . Do as much cool stuff as you can. be wise with money. save it, but also spend it on having fun. doing crazy stuff. make new friends. go places. It will just make your gap year that much more memorable at the end of it all.

5. Lastly, Be ready to grow. honestly I've seen more growing up in myself and my mates than ever. its fast and furious. And at the end of the year you'll look back and see how much you've changed.

Well, for those still in school and not sure about after-school life, I highly recommend the gap year (or 18 months... or gap life. whatever you want to call it.)
You will grow, be challenged and have exuberant amounts of fun! and at the end of it all, you will be ready to take on the school books again after a healthy 12-month rest.

what do you say?

There has been so much that I have wanted to say about this world cup.Many times I have considered updated my blog with the greatest intentions of doing so, but haven't. I apologise. It is difficult to write about something that isn't as fresh in your heart and memory, so instead of blogging about the beginning of my World cup experience, I will blog about something that happened last night.

It was (as we all know) the FIFA World Cup Final. Big hoopla, big excitement. There was no way that I was going to miss the last oppertunity to experience a truely South African world cup 'vibe', and so I decided that I would make my way to the Durban Fan Park on the beach front. I am estimating that there was close to 40 thousand people in the area. What a vibe.

I was walking from the car towards the fan park, when a man approached me. He was very 'local'. Not terribly dressed, didnt smell like acohol or sewerage, but it was quite easy to tell he wasn't an upperclass man living in Umhlanga. He greeted me, and being the friendly person I am, I turned and shook his hand. After exchanged the initail "how are you's" of any conversation, he said to me "listen my friend. I have something here. I have some very nice Marajuana for you". I must say didn't really expect that from him, although, at the same time, I wasn't completely suprised. I guess the fact that I was supporting an afro for the night made me look like a customer. I immediately turned down the offer politely. But I wanted to ask this guy about his life and find out more about his situation.
Not knowing what else to say, I asked if he knew what he was doing was bad for him and... well... illegal. He said "yes I know, but I have to feed myself somehow. And it is the only way I get money". "Why don't you find another job? Surely there is stuff around here to do?" I asked. "Boss, you give me a job then".
I continued the conversation to learn that on a 'good night' of business as a marajuana dealer, this man made between 1 and 2 thousand Rand ($130 and $230) selling his Marajuana on the beachfront. Good sum of money for someone living on the street. I wanted to express that what he was doing wasnt right, and there is a better way to live, but I didn't know what to say. I was speechless.

Millions of things ran through my mind. Do I point him out to the police. Do i try tell him about my faith. If I did tell him about my faith, what would I say when he asks, "but how do I get money for my family then? Jesus won't give me money". Do I give him some money. Do I buy him food. Do I just continue and pretend I never met him.

After asking me where I was from (expecting I would reply somewhere in Europe or the United States) I told him I was a Durban local. He was suprised, but smiled and shook my hand. He said goodbye, and as I looked back to say somthing to him, he had disappeared into the huge crowd.

I walked away from that conversation a failure. I felt it too. I didn't share with him what I believed, I didn't help him at all in his situation, I didn't even learn his name.

How can we bring a message of Hope if we are not prepared? We have to be ready for these situations at all times, not just on Sundays or when we do outreach events.

I suspect there are millions more men, women and children like this man in our cities and around the world. Don't make the mistake I made. Take every oppertunity you are given! Speak to people, seize the moment, rather than finding yourself, like me, praying for a nameless man that I will probably never see again.

this is africa

For anyone who has watched the movie "Blood Diamond" where Leonardo De Caprio takes his best shot at a South(ern) African accent (I say Southern, as technically, the character was from Rhodesia) you would have heard the phrase 'T.I.A.', meaning, 'THIS IS AFRICA'... The phrase is basically a sinical response to anything that is injust, or something that is below par in our continent, explaining that it is ok because we are in Africa. An extremely cheap example; when our local tv station completely messes up a live broadcast, people will jokingly remark "TIA right?". Emplying, its ok because in Africa, mediocrity is acceptable.

However, that statement has been completely reinvented with the extremely popular and overplayed song, "waka waka" performend by Shakira and Freshly Ground. The song quickly became the anthem of the world cup, and the anthem of Africa. It has started its own mini revolution by saying "THIS IS AFRICA" in a completely different light. It sings the sentance with pride and dignity. It is about exclaiming the beauty of Africa, and being unashamed of its downfalls or its past.

This world cup has done something for South Africa that no amount of food or forgien relief could do. It has made our people PROUD to be South African, and PROUD to be African. I think the country has woken up and realised that we are not just poor and badly treated Africa, and we cannot just settle for second best. Our government and organising comittees have proven that with a bit of hard work and determination, we can achieve greatness.

Although this has been felt accross the continent of Africa, I think the greatest impact was on the host nation, South Africa. I really hope that we as South Africans, who have become proudly African, will take some responsibility for our continent, and not rely on the West. As Africans, we can and must stick up for eachother and the greater good of our continent.

The 2010 Football World Cup has been dubbed as the greatest world cup in history. We Did it! South Africa showed the world the world its worth. No longer will TIA be a sinical comment, but rather a statement of Pride because this is our country. This is our continent. These are our people.

THIS IS AFRICA