Who’s to say we’re gorgeous? Who’s to say we’re beautiful? Who’s to say we can make a difference? Who’s to say we’re going somewhere?  The real question is though… Who’s to say we’re not? Who’s to say we can’t? 

I had lunch with the Captain today… Caption Jeremy Kingston.  Very entertaining British accent and a great guy.

I got asked to join a drum circle/jam session/awesome club yesterday.  It’s pretty much the sweetest thing ever! We just sit in a circle and rock out. I brought my maraca (which is much harder to play than you think!) Beyond just being awesome though, we are performing for the Ghana pre-port meeting…. We’ve practiced a piece of music that a group is going to sing to and I believe there are some dancers as well. For the performance, I am playing a finger bell… but I’m getting pretty good at the bongos, maraca, little frog thing, and all kinds of other drums!

I participated in an African Tribal Dance and Brazilian Fusion class after dinner. Our leader, Maria Luisa Carter, taught us everything there is to know about Tribal and Samba dancing. We started with the bending of the knees, and slowly worked in every body part.  It is interesting how we are used to dancing as entertainment, when Africans and Brazilians dance for life.  When they dance, it is the relief of their stress, of their troubles, and it is also a celebration at the end of the day.  We all caught on pretty quickly to put our whole selves into the dance, go all the way, not just half (as Maria said).  I’m incredibly excited to use my new dance and drum knowledge when I visit the village of Prom Prom in Ghana.  After our dance party we sat down and talked about the questions I asked before and about the possibilities and opportunities that lie ahead, which brings me to another thing I’ve been thinking about a lot: 

I have been carrying around a backpack that says, “Ubuntu, Do Life.” It was the theme of a National Youth Gathering in 2003, held in Atlanta, Georgia. So coincidence after coincidence have been happening to me with this Ubuntu thing. On the second day of this amazing adventure called “Going to college on a ship”, we were required to take a writing assessment test.  The essay question is about what the word “Ubuntu” means to you and how you have practiced this in your life.  Crazy, I know! Then I’m talking to this kid, Eric, who told me the day before that he was planning on getting the word “Ubuntu” tattooed on his side! And I have that on my backpack! 

Ubuntu is a South African phrase that means, “I am because We are.” I have been continuously contemplating this sentence for quite some time now.  Every one of us lives because others do.  We would not survive without one another.  Whether we like to admit it or not, we exist because someone else does.  We are all united, and without all, there is no individual. I ask everyone reading this to take a minute just to think about what that actually means. And keep reading my blog! It’s been real, and it’s only been 20 days!

As Kofi always tell me:
Unity is Strength
Hannah