Another Stunning View of Jozi

18 March 2012

I know I’m starting to sound like a broken record. But this city has an unbelievable number of striking vantage points. Yesterday I visited another one and I think it was the best view I’ve seen yet.

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How Did I Get Here?

06 March 2012

Five years ago today, I came to Africa for the first time.

Over the last few days I’ve been thinking a lot about this impending anniversary, pondering what to say about it on my blog. I have many thoughts on the subject, but one thought keeps recurring: I can’t believe this all started just five years ago. That day – March 6, 2007 – feels like five lifetimes ago.

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I Went Crafty in Swaziland

23 February 2012

I’ve never been a big shopper, and my inclination to shop has dropped even lower since I left the United States. But I do enjoy one type of shopping in Africa: craft-shopping. Especially craft-shopping in Swaziland.

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Traditional African Culture in a Modern African City

20 February 2012

Johannesburg is filled with contrasts, contradictions, and colliding worlds. East and west. Rags and riches. Black and white. Life and death.

The area around Diagonal Street, a busy commercial district in the Joburg city centre, is a good illustration of worlds colliding. Stand in the middle of Diagonal Street and look up, and you’ll see this:

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Beauty, Poverty, and Joy Under the Baking Swazi Sun

16 February 2012

Last week I went to Swaziland for a freelance assignment. The assignment was with Samaritan’s Purse UK, a charitable organization that does disaster relief and community development projects around the world. I went to Swaziland to take photos and write stories about the work Samaritan’s Purse is doing in a remote mountain community called Kaphunga.

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Return to the Swazi Mountaintop

12 February 2012

There was a time when I didn’t believe in fate. I used to think life was one big coincidence. Then I came to Africa and changed my tune.

Five years ago, if I had visited a psychic and she had predicted where I would be today, I would have laughed in her face and walked out without paying. The life I’m leading now is so extraordinary – so utterly impossible – that I don’t believe it could be a coincidence. There must be some reason, some explanation. There must be some plan, of which I’m not yet aware.

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