I SALUTE U MINIBUS

                                                     

                                 

I have been judgmental. In fact i don't know if i have completely removed all judgment from within me but i do know that i am trying.

The amazing thing about growing up..is 'growing' and understanding that u are part of something bigger than you realize or could ever imagine.

I watched a cartoon once and heard the words 'THE BIGGEST ILLUSION IN THE WORLD IS THAT WE ARE SEPARATE' and I finally understood what this meant when i left home for the first time.

Being away from home in one of the most beautiful cities in the world, Cape Town, made me step outside of myself for a moment and made me do as the local 'Cape Townians' do... use the 'notorious' South African public transport system.

Now, before I moved I heard the stories about how reckless taxi-drivers in South Africa generally are, how dangerous the whole public transport system is especially if you were a woman. Boy... did i quickly learn that sometimes you shouldn't always believe what you hear. That being said the transport  system in Cape Town is not something one can easily describe it is something that has to be experienced.

I can tell you this though.. public transport is almost like a gateway into the heart of a city..at least through its people. Cramped up in those minibuses, I encountered all types of people, young folks, old folks, different races, different nationalities you name it and I came to find we are all searching for something, we are all hoping to do better, to be better,  we all just want happiness, love ....a 'good life'. And that sometimes  the difference between a stranger and a friend is a simple smile and hello...

In fact what separates us really? is it our skin color, our backgrounds or is it pure ignorance we all exercise at some point in our lives?

I was afraid to leave home to live in a strange place but I think that's the purpose of traveling sometimes or living differently to what you have always been used to. It teaches you lessons, makes you braver than you thought you could ever be., humbles you, but most importantly it allows you to encounter people you would normally never associate with and these people teach you new languages, new beliefs, challenge your thought process, help break you out of your shell and allow you to feel and i mean really feel like you have a place in this world..and like you could be better, less judgmental, more accepting and more open to a universal experience.

We are no different from each other really, everyone has a story in which we hope for similar things.

There's a bigger story in those taxi that connects different people and its incredible being a part of it.

Wow, I was part of a story i never thought i would be part of and it happened in the most unlikely place...and for that I salute you 'minibus taxis'...