Hope is what Africa has to offer the rest of the world. However, this hope has not come cheap. Many good people are dead becuase the hope they fought for in South Africa conflicted with the hope of their government. Apartheid tore a nation apart and threatened the integrity of South African culture as a whole. It might sound odd to say, but I imagine that there wasn't much hope for hope for many people during this oppression. Africa is a special place - the birthplace of Ubuntu. I am becuase we are.

Three weeks have gone by nearly to the day and we've seen and experienced a lot. For myself, the most powerful lessons have been those that expose my untested self. That is, the cultural dynamics at work here in South Africa are very different than our own even though they appear so similar. I am convinced that Ubuntu is at the root of it all. Here is a culture that views its own identity in terms of the identity of those within it. The people are loving, embracing, and dedicated; dedicated to "the new generation of the new South Africa" as one of the students explained to me.