So I meant to add something else to the crime train of thought...
I feel it's so important to not be scared of things here, even though crime is such a huge issue. It's something that I learned way way back in my days in school in Pietermaritzburg, SA. There was an incident that happened there (not a negative one where we were robbed or anything) where I was struck w/how stupid it was to be scared. Stupid to be scared of something you can't control. Stupid to be scared of something if you aren't going to act as smart as you can to try to keep that stuff away from you. I was with these girls who were really freaked out about crime (as we walked at night thru big bad downtown Pietermaritzburg) but didn't act smart. We walked down the street, dressed up to party, talking loudly (w/our fabulously noticeable American/Canadian accents) and not sticking together. I stopped everyone after a few minutes, shut us up, gathered us together into a more cohesive group, and we carried on. After this night I just felt I couldn't be scared in any situation. I just have to be smart and in a situation where I want to be scared...just keep my wits about me. Trust. I can't promise it will always save me, but it's the best I can do. I've used it many times in my travels around the world (gosh I'm soooo cosmopolitan...) and it's worked good for me. And believe me, I've been in some hairy spots!
So that's how I feel here. I don't want you all who haven't experienced SA to get the wrong impression. There's still a lot of living to do here...even if some dude might be waiting around the corner to rob you. I just feel like operating in fear isn't for me. Fear places too much power in someone else's hands and that pisses me off. It's the same deal w/this whole terrorism debacle. Fearing terrorists and their actions just puts power into their hands. It allows terrorism to exist. Yeah, bad stuff happens, but life isn't always the most wonderful candy shop in town, ya know? I think for Americans this is very very hard to accept because we are insulated to these types of situations that are happening all over the world every day, hour, minute.
So maybe you think I'm crazy...or naive...but it's working for me. And if I got shot tomorrow...I had a good run! Don't get me wrong, I value my life...which is why I have this philosophy in the first place. Try it sometime and let me know how it works for you. Not being scared of stuff I'm supposed to be scared of (according to people "in the know") has actually allowed me to experience a lot of things that I would have been to "scared" to do in the first place. And that is rad.
Fear of the unknown is something that keeps us apart...and that's not cool. That's not what I'm here to do. I'm here to be in it. Here to experience everything.
So that's my 2 more cents on crime in the city...
And I added more photos on another website to try this one out. I'm still putting up photos I write this...so they might not all be up until later.
Later
Love Lynsee
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