Oh hello! I am a 19 year old Canadian woman with a taste for spices and new experiences. In addition to following my passion for art by studying at the Alberta College of Art and Design, I fill my free time (if there is any, let's be real) by playing instruments and singing a tune. Although I am very passionate about art and music, nothing trumps the latter like my love of adventure and the human race. I know that as a Canadian I have been given what many people in the world do not have: peace, stability, economic freedom, political freedom, rights and more. Even more than that, when you have only known this kind of life, it is very easy to be ignorantly comfortable about the realities that face our world today. The realities that seem simple: like clean water and steady electricity, or even the fact that I live above a grocery store and I do not have to walk ten kilometers to make sure that I don't starve. I am not subject to civil wars or an extensively corrupt government (although some would argue that this is not true, given the recent findings of government spying uncovered by Edward Snowden), I do not fear for my life when walking down the street. I am educated - not only this, but I am educated in the arts, which typically are better funded in a good economy (comparatively). Although my country is facing its own pressing issues that should not be ignored, I know that I, as a Canadian, am extremely fortunate.
So what prompted me to leave? Why would I even dream of going to somewhere as foreign and potentially dangerous as Africa?
Let me make this easier to understand. 
In my first year at ACAD, we were required to take a humanities course that centered largely around philosophies and concepts of the great minds of history. Examples: Darwin, Thoreau, Plato, Marx. Something that has always stuck with me is Plato's allegory of the cave. Plato compares having only knowledge of living in a cave and the firelight that plays against the wall, with someone who has bravely emerged from the mouth of the cave and experienced daylight in the context of the knowledge of darkness. Essentially, you cannot know what true darkness is if you haven't experienced light. Choosing to be ignorant to either light or dark means that you can never grow, you can never truly understand anything. I am in the cave, the rest of the world is the light. We grow as a species by sharing, collaborating and respecting each other, and I want to spend the whole of my life being a positive part of humanity.


 Which brings me to explain what I will be trying to accomplish while there (in no particular order):

1. Help the people - Michelle, Denise and I are all assigned to childcare with the volunteer organization IVHQ. This role entails educating and playing with young children who have come from unfortunate circumstances.
2. Learn the language(s). South Africa is even more culturally diverse than Canada, and has twelve official languages. I thought that learning french was hard... bring it on! 
3. Immerse myself in the culture - try everything! 
4. Experience the landscape and the hidden treasures within it. You never know what you can find if you look hard enough... Or don't look at all; serendipity is a mysterious force. 
5. Maintain my safety. There are many pickpockets and other more serious offenses that could occur (Hint: this is one of the reasons that I am keeping this blog; I need to let people know that I am in fact alright). 
6. Embrace everything
7. Learn
8. Grow
9. Love

In my next post, I will talk more about the trip itself  and its itinerary.


Until next time,
Jenn