Cape Town – Munich – Nuernberg – Berlin – Frankfurt – Somerville – Raleigh – Santa Fe are only some of the touch down points on my travel just started. And so often while sitting in the plane to reach the first destination there is always this nagging question of whom do I meet or does it work out if and when I meet strangers being the first time exposed to the HOPE Cape Town family and its work. In our days there can be added worries about lost luggage, missed connections due to delays, broken rental cars, not functioning credit cards – the list is endless and to summarize it: if you travel you most times leave your comfort zone and especially traveling alone it is a challenge to conquer new territory and the hearts of new people passing by – often seen only once in a lifetime and still be remembered.
Of course there is also that moment you meet friends and family again – highlights similar to those when it immediately clicks with new faces and time flies by and a new friend and / or ambassador of HOPE is found.
Travel, as we all know, also broadens the horizon of thinking – habits thought to be normal around the world are suddenly questioned, new ways of seeing the world and understanding the smaller and bigger universe of people and societies arise out of the many encounters. But this obviously makes one more lonely on the long-term: coming home means that the old ways of thinking are expected of you – it remains difficult to bring home the newly acquired values and skills and worlds of thoughts.
Traveling between Africa, Europe and America shows that the global village is still an abstract – we use the same words and we mean completely different things. So the traveler becomes also a bridge to understand each other – a translator of the many meanings a word and a world can have on our planet.
And with this also an NGO like HOPE Cape Town is transformed into a catalyst for understanding and tolerance besides all the social work it is doing on the tip of Africa.
Filed under: General, HOPE Cape Town Trust, HOPE Cape Town USA, Networking, Politics and Society, Reflection, Society and living environment, Uncategorized, adventure, Africa, America, cape town, europe, HOPE Cape Town Association & Trust, stranger, travel, usa
God, AIDS, Africa & HOPE 