Ryan's first impressions and one he'll never forget

Ryan applying his musical talents
by learning to play the Khoisan bow

Before this trip I had never been off the continent before. I had been to Canada once after graduating high school but that was the only time I had ever left the United States. So while flying, I was not sure what to except. I remember desperately searching out the window for any sign of solid ground, which did not start appearing through the clouds until early Tuesday morning. The first thing I could see was a road. Just an ordinary dirt road. But because it was so alien to me, it filled me with so much excitement. I was in total awe of the landscape when we first landed. I had seen so many picture of Table Mountain and Devils’ Peak but seeing them in person was something no picture could truly capture.

But my first experience with the people of Africa was much more lasting than my first encounter with the continent itself. While walking through the city of Cape Town I noticed how people do not have a problem with staring at strangers and it was amazing how easily they could pick us out from the locals. Maybe it was our clothes or our sunburns that gave it away. But everywhere we walked when I made accidental eye contact with someone instead of giving me a dirty look like I was used to, I would be met with a wave or a nod, just some kind of acknowledgement.

The real friendliness of the people became apparent to me while I was in the train station. The whole day beggars approached our group because of how easily we stood out while walking around. I had left our group for a brief second to buy a bottle of water from a store in the train station. When I came out of the store I realized I was alone and that my group had left me behind. Suddenly beggars started to surround me because they saw I had change from my purchase and that I was alone. At this point I was starting to get a little freaked out. Then one beggar came directly up to me. I had already spoken to him earlier so I was kind of worried. He came up to me and said “Hey, your group went that way” and pointed me in the right direction. I thanked him profusely and followed his guidance and sure enough I found my group. This man had asked me for change and I turned him away. But when he saw that I needed help he still helped me out and I will never forget that.