Category: Service Vacations

We’ve reached South Africa and from the plane flight to this second complete day, we’ve reached and connected with so many people. During the long flights (4 hours to Atlanta, and then 20 to Cape Town), BTC was all over the plane, sitting next to strangers. Of course, by the end of the flight, we had even more friends. Mahsa was given a donation from the person sitting next to her, we inspired several folks (Hi Trevor! – My seat neighbor who I managed to talk to tears), and so many others who gave us advice and shared experiences. It was a long flight… but a good indication of the trip we had ahead of us. (By the way – we managed to get the 20 bags/boxes full of “gently used clothing, etc” with only minor questions – so thank you all, the donations are going directly to people who appreciate it!

I got this message from Stacey the day we depart for South Africa:

My favorite part of traveling is that all the parameters that define one here drop away as soon as you enter the plane, cross an invisible border and embark in a foreign land. At this point, you are defined only by your intention to explore, learn, befriend and meet whatever happens, expected or unexpected, head on, knowing that with a lot of faith and a bit of ingenuity all will be as it should; it is part of the adventure and of living in the moment, and sometimes the most unexpected detours off the predetermined route are the most enlightening. Some people say they travel to explore another place – I know I travel to find myself in every other place and human being along the way.

To find ourselves… onto South Africa.