Sawubona!
Hallo!
Hello, from South Africa!
It has officially been three days! The week has consisted of getting settled into my new home, becoming familiar with the Crossroads office, and making friends with jet lag (yay for waking up at 5am!!).
Although I officially arrived in Durban just over 72 hours ago, the adventure really began on Friday, January 23rd.
Friday was FULL!
Friday was full of time with my parents. At 10am we loaded the car (well, Mike Jansma loaded the car – he’s really good at that) and trekked to LA. We made good time and parked ourselves at PF Changs for the afternoon. We ate a delicious meal and talked about really important things – like the Patriots cheating again and Modern Family. It was perfect.
Friday was full of surprises. While my parents and I sat at PF Changs, somewhere in the middle of dissecting one of Modern Family’s thickening and oh-so-complex plot lines, two little blond heads popped out behind a wall that I was facing. To my surprise and absolute delight, Ellie Kaiser and Charlotte Kroeger made their way to our table! These two hooligans had taken time out of their busy day in Orange County to drive up to LA for a good-bye surprise! Schemers.
Friday was full of ‘see you soon’. The afternoon was over in a flash, and before we knew it, it was time to head to the airport. After checking in and doing some luggage shifting, my parents walked with me as far as they could.
‘See you soon’ is a jerk.
Walking towards security, I looked back and waved until I turned the corner and couldn’t see them any longer.
And then, the full weight of things hit me – shuffling through a crowd of people, past security and towards the gate – I felt alone.
But not for long…
Just as I arrived at my gate a woman walked towards me, and with a heavy accent she asked, “May I please borrow your phone?”
I don’t know about you, but these days, if a stranger asks to borrow a phone, my first reaction is: annoyed, with a generous dash of suspicion. But, rather than awkwardly decline the request, I said, “sure” and stood close by while she made the call.
When the person on the other line answered, the woman began speaking in a beautiful language. She hung up and said, “Thank you,” and explained she wanted to let her husband know she had made it to the gate.
Through the course of conversation, I found out that her name was Salluah, and the language she was speaking was Arabic. When Salluah and her husband moved to California from Egypt five years ago, they were a young couple, alone in a foreign country and expecting their first child. When their son was born, they named him Immanuel, “God with us”, to acknowledge that they were, in fact, not alone.
In a moment where I could feel the ‘aloneness’ creeping in, I was reminded that I, too, am not alone, and Another walks with me. I was able to enjoy the journey (as much as you can enjoy a total of 24 hours in a flying metal tube), and landed safely a new country.
And since the moment I arrived in South Africa, I’ve experienced tangible reminders that I am not alone. From Mahendra and Lynette who picked me up at the airport and treated me to a Chocolate Peanut Butter Bliss, to the Maduray family who is hosting me, and has already made me feel like one of their own.
Immanuel.
It’s summertime here in South Africa, so things pretty much shut down for the months of December & January. School (which has been out for summer break) is just restarting, and Crossroads will soon be running full steam ahead!
Looking forward to sharing pictures of my new home at the Maduray’s, stories about the schools and communities Cross Roads’ works with, and the experiences of being an awkward American in a new place! Whoohoo!
where the road meets the trees. 