By Julie Murugen
Lakehill Preparatory School, English Department Chair, K-7
We bought our tickets in June, dreaming for the rest of the year. We would visit Durban, South Africa, my husband’s birthplace and home for forty years. To my surprise, this trip of a lifetime was so much more than sightseeing–it changed the way I see myself.
Durban is a hilly coastal town, where December means summer. The undulant Indian Ocean impresses by day or night, as does the breathtaking Valley of 1,000 Hills on the road to Pietermaritzburg. I especially love the lush tropical vegetation at the Botanic Gardens and elsewhere, especially the red-flowered poinciana, nicknamed the “flamboyant” tree.
But our main purpose was a family visit. We would meet most of them at a big gathering of fifty people or more, aged infant to 84. I expected cordiality, but they opened their arms, hearts, and homes to us with unrestrained enthusiasm and generosity, and I loved them just as instantly and completely. My husband is “marma,” “thatha,” and “nana” while I am “auntie,” “aya,” or “nani” to adult nieces and nephews as well as great and great-great darlings.
In the past, I have avoided having my picture taken, always finding something about my appearance to criticize, but in the many photos the family have shared with us, what I first notice are the big smiles on our faces, especially mine. Where before I saw flaws, now I see only the beauty of happiness.
I can hardly wait to go back again.
