Ubuntu Philosophy

This week is bittersweet. Saying goodbye to friends is rough. It seems like we are just getting to know each other. And the way of life. These days I am studying for my last test, on Friday. Been wrapping up all the last minute details around leaving, finances through the school, packing, clearing out the room. Man, we are getting so used to how it all goes, here. Even the slow pace of walking has caught on with me, the "Howsit?!" greetings in the hallways, the little things that make the big impressions. The time people spend with one another. There is soo much socializing. And while I think part of it is how I choose to spend MY time, as compared to Berkeley, for example, I think a big part of it is the spirit of African community. It is everywhere. Support for one another is embedded in every action, it seems. People hang out all the time. You do laundry together. You sit outside not even talking, together. You cook together. You walk each other to the store. All these actions stem from the philosophy of Ubuntu. The ideas of respect and care and value for others (aside from the issues I have previously described related to criminal violence, ironically...) add up to strong sense of community. Ubuntu is a term derived from the Bantu language. To try to summarize the concept, I have cut and pasted some words by the famous archbishop, Desmond Tutu, known especially for his anti-apartheid efforts in the 80's.
(1999):
“A person with Ubuntu is open and available to others, affirming of others, does not feel threatened that others are able and good, for he or she has a proper self-assurance that comes from knowing that he or she belongs in a greater whole and is diminished when others are humiliated or diminished, when others are tortured or oppressed.”
(2008):
“One of the sayings in our country is Ubuntu - the essence of being human. Ubuntu speaks particularly about the fact that you can't exist as a human being in isolation. It speaks about our interconnectedness. You can't be human all by yourself, and when you have this quality - Ubuntu - you are known for your generosity.
We think of ourselves far too frequently as just individuals, separated from one another, whereas you are connected and what you do affects the whole world. When you do well, it spreads out; it is for the whole of humanity."

To wrap things up: I won't be writing on the blog much more, because I will be in transit more than usual. But still checking emails.
If you were wondering, the Comrades winner this year finished in something like 5 hours 23 minutes and 26 seconds.
The exchange rate has dropped tremendously since we arrived in January. It is now under 8 rand to the dollar. We are trying to tell ourselves that we just got lucky in the beginning!
What else?!
I am excited to go off travelling, and will look forward to catching up with you in July :)