New Perspectives

I read an article in National Geographic or some such thing when I was about 12. A husband wrote of the bridge in New Zealand, and his trip towards being brave enough to bungee it with his beloved wife. 3-2-1-Bungee - lean out - fall out- open your eyes - shut them - scream - stop screaming - hang dangling like two bats together over the earth. He wrote of gaining a new perspective, opening his eyes there dangling bat-like, of the world, of life - a physical to match the mental and heart perspective that had been changing in him during his travels.

Being near the only bungee spot here in Africa, and having my perspective, as a person, entirely changed while being here, I decided it was time to change my perspective of Africa - physically - like in an upside-down kind of way.

So we went yesterday - and Marlee and I hung - bat like - out over the Nile. I forgot to think of new perspectives and New Zealand while holding onto the yellow bar, bringing my feet to the edge of the platform and asking the jump master weakly, "why in the world am i doing this?" to which he replied - "cause you're crazy. and you'll love it." I almost cried when they let go of the jump cords and I felt a tug on my feet, was told to let go and grab onto Marlee - tilt out - and scream. Well, they didn't tell me to scream. But they didn't need to. I opened my eyes on our second bounce up and saw the Nile - from somewhere on the 145 feet I had jumped - far beneath me - stretched out and flowing backwards from my upside down position - glistening in the sun - saw my friends on the deck - the cows - screamed again and shut my eyes - I opened and shut - laughed histerically - screamed - laughed againi - Marlee laughed almost the entire time and I could feel her gasping for air against my body as I laughed and screamed and yelled at her that I'd kill her if she let go.

I saw Africa from the perspective of few - and I walked on air the rest of the day - feeling adventurous, brave and satisfied - as I ate an entire pint of ice cream myself. Less brave as the children begged me for money outside the grocery store, and their rags fell off their shoulders as they squealed at the coins I gave them and threw their arms out - and then came back five minutes later - empty again. Africa truly has changed my entire perspective - and I'm waiting, in a little bit of a limbo - for the world to stop spinning, things to make sense again, the raft to pull me in, someone to hold out something solid for me to grab onto, saying: "you did it - now how do you feel?"