There is nothing sweeter in the world of existence than

The title of this post comes from a quote from the Baha’i writings written by Abdu’l-Baha, the eldest son of the founder of the Baha’i Faith, Baha’u’llah, and His successor after His passing. Abdu’l-Baha says “There is nothing sweeter in the world of existence than prayer.” It was in the shower at a friend’s place that this quote came to mind. As I was enjoying the force of the water against my back, the temperature exactly where I wanted it, hot enough to make you sweat but at that point where you can just tolerate it, I thought to myself how much I enjoyed showering. Now this may come across as an odd or insignificant thought to have and even writing about it now I feel almost silly to have had such passionate feelings about a shower but for the past 4 months that I have been living in Port Elizabeth I have been showerless. The family that I live with has a shower but it happens to be broken and so they use the bath. Doesn’t sound like that big a deal right? Both were designed to provide the same outcome and both utilise water in the achievement of that outcome so bath/shower what does it matter? Yeah, that’s what I thought the first night I arrived at my new home. We went through the general list of queries that we had for each other; Is there anything I can’t eat? How do we schedule who does the housework? Where is the washing machine? Then I got hit with this question... “When do you prefer to bath?” I replied “I like to shower at night” and then the revelation that would alter a vital part of my existence for the next 4 months... “Our shower is not working so we use the bath” BOM BOM BOOOMMMMM!!!!!

Towel in hand, geezer switched on, water running I locked the bathroom door in preparation for my first bath. Yes of course I have had a bath before, when I was a kid my parents would put me and my sister in the bathtub with lots of bubble bath and we would put the foam on our faces and heads and pretend to be old men but in my adult life I have never taken a bath with the intention of getting clean afterwards. Baths have been a once a year occurrence. Buy some bath oils, light some candles, enjoy 20minutes of nothing while almost dosing off as the steam of the hot water fogs up the bathroom mirror. That was my fond, tranquil, relaxing memory of bath time pre South Africa but now... I filled up the bath tub and got in, ok so far so good. The same pattern as having a shower I got my body scrub and scrubbed my body. Once I was finished with that process I began to notice something that disturbed me. I was sitting in a bath of water filled with the stuff I had just washed off of myself. Hmmmmm, strange, I had always thought the purpose of a bath was to get clean, how can you get clean if you’re stuck in the stuff you just washed off? I left that bath feeling less hygienic than I did before I got in. Even when I have my relaxing baths at home I still shower before and after the bath to wash everything off. I was faced with the prospect of having to endure this horrific process every day for the next 4 months and I did. There have been times where I have wanted to hire a hotel room just to use the shower. Anytime I go to visit a friend who has a shower I always come prepared with shampoo and conditioner in hand ready to take advantage of the opportunity to really feel clean. So as I stood at my friends house, under the shower, my first shower in just over a week a thought came to my head..”There is nothing sweeter in the world of existence than a shower” I began to think about the other things that I have learnt to appreciate since being away from home, since moving away from a first world western society to a third world developing country.

I have covered one of those things and now plan to reveal some more of them to you...

Hugo

Hugo is the name of my 1993 Honda Civic who is sitting at home waiting for my return. And no it’s not so much my particular car that I miss but just having a car. The independence that it offers, the freedom, the comfort and convenience. Yes having a car means your wallet drains much faster than it usually would as petrol and maintenance eat all your money but still all the traffic in the world is still better than relying on public transport.

When I get home, it doesn’t matter how many trees suffer as a result of it, I am driving everywhere. At least for the first couple of weeks then I’m sure I’ll go back to my beloved CityRail.

Mum’s Cooking

It’s true, no one can cook better than your mum and my mum is an amazing cook. I think that when I get home I will gain so much weight as I eat enough to compensate for a year without her food. Speaking of food though I have definitely improved my cooking skills. I have to say they’ve gone from a -5 to around a 3. I learnt how to..wait for it.. boil and fry an egg AND I made lasagne AND I have cooked meals using whatever there is in the house and it actually tasted good. Pretty impressive I know.

Food in General

The following are foods that South Africa is deprived of and I can't wait to go home and eat them all...

Seafood Laksa

Hungry Jacks Whopper

Starbucks

Boost Juice

All work and no play

I actually miss having a job, the kind that you earn money from. There's a certain comfort in knowing you have a consistent stream of money coming in. Also I've really come to realise how easy it is in Australia to find work and to make money. Working as a casual at Woolworths Supermarket I was earning $22 an hour. In South Africa the same job would earn you R14 an hour, that's less than $3. Things are usually relative, you live in a country where you earn $2 a day but that $2 can buy you a whole week of groceries but South Africa isn't like that. A loaf of bread costs about R8 or a taxi ride from your house to the shops costs R5. Minimum wage here is not relative to the cost of living which although is much lower than what it is in Australia it is still too expensive for the people living here. So as much as I complained about going to work before I am really grateful that I can go home and earn money so that I can continue to gallivant around the world.

Family

This one is pretty standard and I think very much expected. You really never realise how great your life is until you leave it behind. I miss home and my family and my friends. Not to say that there aren't families in Australia who neglect their kids or have issues but really seeing some of the things I've seen here, the way kids are raised, I am so grateful for my parents and what they offered me in life.

When I was home all I wanted to do was get out and travel and now that I've been gone for a while I am having huge cravings to be home again. I want my bed and my backyard my kitchen, all those things back. I miss hearing my little brother laughing to himself as he replays Youtube videos in his head. I miss the way my mum smiles when I see her. I miss my dad's awesome jokes and how he's always the first and sometimes the only one to laugh at them. I miss my big fat cat Chicky and the way her belly wobbles when she runs to the kitchen at the sound of food.

It's hard sometimes being so far from the people who support you, who know you and who you can turn to whenever you may need them. I have so many stories for my family and friends at home and sometimes I want time to go faster so that I can finally get home and tell them all.

The last thing on my list is the one that Abdu'l-Baha wrote Himself

There is nothing sweeter in the world of existence than prayer

Really I have learnt so much about prayer while I've been on this trip and although I always knew its importance and always used it now I have found another connection with prayer. Like I said before it can be really difficult to be so far from your support group but in those times when you feel all alone, completely isolated and helpless there is one channel of communication that is always open. A support system that never closes down and that is through prayer. I think sometimes we forget that we aren't really ever alone and I am starting to remember that more and more.

I have learned a whole lot about myself and still have 6 more months of learning left. You can only imagine how much wiser I am going to become! :)

My next block of learning will come from some service I am going to do in Malawi. I will be there for about 3 weeks helping with teaching activities, junior youth groups and children's classes as I wait to see what my plans will be in South Africa in the new year.