It seems I can’t quit on this South Africa trip…I have put together another YouTube video with some of the safari highlights, including Chadner Navarro doing his best roaring-pawing lion imitation. Watch for it!
I learned many things on this trip, but one thing in particular struck me enough to make my travel announcement list (if you’ve been on my site before you will know that I feel a trip is not truly complete unless I’ve come up with a takeaway lesson from each journey).
After watching lions grunting and tearing their way through a ripped-red warthog you might think I learned about the whole Darwinian kill-or-be-killed-schtick. There IS that.
Or maybe it’s that I learned that drinking champagne at 8:15 a.m. (after a jaw-dropping sunrise hot-air balloon ride) is a very very fine idea.
Or maybe it’s seeing people living with so little yet smiling so large.
These are all good things.
But what actually made my announcement list is that I’ve decided to sing more! My inspiration is none other than the aforementioned lion-imitator.
Chadner burst into song at the slightest provacation. In fact, more often then not, there was no obvious impetus at all. He was particularly fond of Disney animated-movie soundtracks and sang from Pocohontas, Little Mermaid, and of course, The Lion King.
It was particularly soothing when I saw the balloon altimeter read 3900 feet and knew we were still climbing. Mama Earth looked ominously remote. Isoul Harris joined him in a riveting number from Dreamgirls. Their combined harmony provided a calming respite from my dismay.
The two of them then proceeded to have a spirited discussion on why Sister Act 2 had a much better soundtrack than the original Sister Act. As Jaime Curtis said, “I can honestly say that I would never otherwise have had this conversation.”
Chadner told us that no day was complete unless he had started it by singing his heart out in the shower. He also (God bless him) sang on the shuttle from the plane to the terminal. It made people smile and confirmed what he had said to me earlier that day…
“Isn’t singing such a joy-filled activity?”
Yes, it is.
I think I’ll start by watching The Lion King and memorizing a couple of numbers.
Showering is never going to be the same. Thank you Chadner.
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Singing is good for your health! So is looking at cute pictures of cats, I’ve heard, and it doesn’t get any sweeter than the mother lion grooming her young ones. Loved this.
Lesley, I agree on both counts 🙂 I took so much video of that mother and her progeny. They were rolling around on each other and so comfortable and playful. It was truly joyful to watch.
I remember the first time I went to West Africa (aged 18) I couldn’t help noticing the children – always happy, smiling, singing, dancing (they have a natural talent for it); today when I hear African music I am back in the country of my birth. I love it.
These children had nothing but played with anything that they could find (car tyres, tin cans, sticks….) It was a lesson for me; to be satisfied with what I’ve got. Children in the West have everything and they always look so dissatisfied!
Catherine, that’s the conclusion I came to as well “…to be satisfied with what I’ve got.” It is a really great perspective adjustment on how much ‘stuff’ one needs to be happy. Turns out? Not so much!
I think it’s not just the children in the west that look so dissatisfied, but the adults too. I can easily fall into that trap too.
There are a couple of statistics that I find interesting in the U.S & Canada; 1) one of the world’s wealthiest nations with crazy amounts of material wealth and ‘stuff’ and 2), one of the highest rates of depression. Hmmm…
LOVED this!
Hey Judy…you might not be quite as thrilled with the after-effects of this post (by that I mean, when you hear me sing!!).