Two years ago, when I visited Madaba, Jordan on a weekend trip from Amman, I stumbled across something that left me speechless. I saw a young Jordanian boy walking down the streets of the city with a South Eugene Axemen T-shirt–the T-shirt of my very own high school in Eugene, Oregon.

I clearly recall the feelings of astonishment that consumed me as I processed what I had just witnessed. I remember gaping in amazement as I repeated over and over “I can’t believe it. That is my high school T-shirt! My high school T-shirt!.” And I can vividly picture jumble of emotions that followed and the voices of my friends as they called out “are you sure?”

What I don’t remember clearly are the seconds leading up to the moment that I  found myself in the middle of the street, hugging the boy and asking if he would take a picture with me. The only person more startled than me at that moment, was likely the young boy who all of a sudden found himself standing in the middle of the street, hugging an American girl as she kept repeating in broken Arabic “I can’t believe it! Your shirt!”

The discovery of my high school T-shirt in Madaba happened at an interesting point in my life–at a point when I began to think a lot about the type of life I hope to live and the career path I would like to follow. It was at a period of time that I was beginning to discover my desire to do something meaningful, something that would have an impact on the lives of others around the globe. It was also, coincidentally, around the time that I had just finished reading a book by Jacqueline Novogratz called The Blue Sweater. 

In her book, Novogratz speaks of the challenges and rewards of working in international development and the series of events in her life leading up to her position as the founder of the Acumen Fund. She begins her memoir with an anecdote about a sweater that she had received from her uncle as a Christmas gift when she was a child and recounts the pain of parting with her favorite article of clothing when she eventually donates it to Goodwill. It was not until years later, in the streets of Kigali, Rwanda, that Novogratz would reunite with her sweater.

While on a work assignment in the capital of the tiny, landlocked nation, she saw a young boy wearing her beloved sweater. This discovery would begin to make her realize the complex web of connections between people around the globe and fueled her desire to act as a catalyst of change.

During the past few months in Africa, as I have lived, worked and traveled overseas, I have kept thinking about Novogratz’s story as a young woman with dreams and aspirations and I see how her own life is reflected in mine.

Yet, it is not only my job here in Namibia that has led me to think about the trajectory of her life. It is also the fact that wherever I go, I am constantly reminded of how connected we all are–of how the degrees of separation between people around the world are, in fact quite small and that one seemingly unimportant decision or action can have repercussions in the most unexpected places.

Never in my life have I been more aware of the interconnectivity of our world than during the month-long jaunt around southern Africa that I took with my friends between school terms.

Throughout our journey, strange coincidences seemed to follow me at every destination. Wherever I went, I would meet people who knew friends or acquaintances of mine from America. My travel companions even ceased to be surprised when I told them that I had yet again spoken to someone who knew one of my friends from home.

And then, in the middle of a crowded arts festival in Harare, Zimbabwe, I unexpectedly ran into a fellow American I knew from University in the Midwest. I was stunned. In the middle of a festival in Harare, I saw someone from my tiny college campus, thousands of miles away.

The feeling of seeing a familiar face in such an unfamiliar location is quite surreal, but it was not the first time I have had such an unexpected encounter in my travels. In fact, situations like this seem to pop up everywhere I go. A few years ago, when I was visiting the ancient city of Kairouan, in Central Tunisia, I even happened to see a girl from my college Arabic class. I remember how startled we both were as we stood there, staring at each other and shrieking, in the middle of one of the world’s holiest mosques.

And in Malawi, merely three days after my encounter in Zimbabwe, I was taking a walk along the beach, when I saw someone wearing a familiar article of clothing.

I had gotten up early for a short walk and was enjoying the frenzy of activity along the lake shore. Cape Maclear is a beehive of activity and the waters of the lake are a gathering point for locals going about their daily activities. I walked slowly on the waters edge, stopping periodically to play with children,  snap pictures of lake and greet the women washing their clothes in the water.

I was in the middle of greeting one woman when, all of a sudden, I froze. I could not believe my eyes when I saw what the woman was wearing. The embroidery on her purple and black tank top was unmistakable. She was wearing the uniform of the South Eugene high school rowing team. My rowing team. The one I had participated in for four years.

My mind raced back to my encounter with the Jordanian boy a few years prior and I was overcome with emotions, including an overwhelming sense of déjà vu.

The feeling of seeing someone wearing my crew team racing uniform is impossible to describe.

I am still not sure what these strange encounters and coincidences mean, or if they mean anything at all.

In my mind, however, they have come to symbolize a reaffirmation that what I have been doing for the past six months in Africa is, indeed, what I have been meant to do. Living, traveling and working abroad is what I am destined to do with my life.

For, no matter where in the world I am, home always has a way of finding me.

The post The Purple T-Shirt Revisited appeared first on Erika's Travels .

Lake Malawi has long been described as a sort of travelers black hole. It is a place where itineraries change and plans are forgotten as tourists become seduced by the beauty and tranquility of the water. During our few short days in Monkey Bay and Cape Maclear, my friends and I met some of these people who—after having traveled for months on end—visited Malawi and never found the desire or motivation to leave.

And from the moment I set foot on the lakeshore, I could immediately see why. The place has a remarkable power of stealing your heart, of drawing you in, and of begging you to stay.

I think that, if we’d had the choice, my friends and I would all have sunk into Lake Malawi’s black hole and never left.

Travel in Malawi: The Warm Heart of Africa

Malawi won me over from the moment my eyes met the brilliant waters of the lake. When I finally reached Malawi after two long days of travel, I had a sense that my friends and I had set foot in paradise. The small vertical country in southeastern Africa is truly an off the beaten path that packs a lot of punch. The country boasts sandy beaches, crystalline waters, lush vegetation, unforgettable snorkeling, brilliant sunshine and welcoming people.

Though Malawi is one of the poorest countries in the world, it is a safe and welcoming place to visit. Its nascent tourism industry centers around Lake Malawi—Africa‘s third largest lake and Malawi’s undeniable beating heart.

Reaching Lake Malawi

Our journey from Harare to Lake Malawi proved to be a grueling and tiring two days of travel. The bus from Harare to Lusaka took roughly ten hours, including border crossings.

From Lusaka, we took a 4am bus to the Chipata—a city 30km from the Zambia/Malawi border.

From there, we negotiated with various cab drivers and payed someone a few dollars to drive us to the border town of Mchinji. Finally, in Mchinji, we found a minibus that would take us to Lilongwe.

We had expected to spend the night in Lilongwe and continue the last leg of our voyage in the morning. Yet, when we reached the central bus station, my friends and I found a minibus that was getting ready to leave for Monkey Bay. We were anxious to reach our destination and decided to continue onward with our journey.

Of course, there was a catch.

The bus dropped us off at an unmarked intersection 17km from Monkey Bay. With few options, we tracked down a flatbed truck and hitched a ride the remainder of the way.

When we finally reached Mufasa Eco Lodge—exhausted, albeit in one piece—we pitched our tent on the property and fell asleep under a canopy of stars.

Monkey Bay

The next morning I woke up at the crack of dawn. While my friends were still asleep, I decided to walk down to the beach and read a book, so I made my way from our secluded campsite, through the thicket of vines to the waterfront.

With its string of sandy beaches, Lake Malawi is a fantastic place to swim, relax, and bask in the sun. Yet the lake’s spellbinding beauty does not end with its crystal-clear waters.

On the afternoon of our first day at the lake, we walked up the hill behind the campsite, scrambling over rocks and pushing past the green thicket of trees till we reached the summit. We were all awestruck by a beautiful view surrounding us. I could see mountain peaks and rocky outcrops, as well as lush, fertile valleys that provided me the dose of greenery that I craved after half a year of living in the desert.

My friends and I sat at the top of the hill for a while, soaking up the scenery and relishing the stunning views.

After an exhausting few days of travel, we knew that our effort to reach Lake Malawi was certainly worthwhile.

Cape Maclear

After a day and a half at Monkey Bay, we made the short trek over to Cape Maclear for the next two days of our trip. At Cape Maclear, glassy waters extend as far as the eye can see and are lined with soft, sandy beaches. Cape Maclear is situated on a long stretch of uninterrupted sand beach. It juts out of the Lake Malawi National Park like a finger and is flanked by crystalline waters on all three sides.

While merely ten kilometers apart, Monkey Bay and Cape Maclear provided us with very different, albeit wonderful, experiences of the lake. Whereas Monkey Bay was the perfect destination to spend a bit of time on a secluded rocky outcrop with a good book, Cape Maclear gave us a taste of the Malawian way of life.

Cape Maclear has become a bit of a tourist resort over the last few decades, but the influx of visitors was hardly apparent as my friends and I felt immediately engrossed in the local life of the place. The beaches of Cape Maclear do not merely cater to tourists. All along the shores, we were able to witness the intimate relationship that Malawians have with the lake.

Lake Malawi is the heart of this tiny country—the place where people bathe, wash clothes, fetch water and ultimately relax with a cool beer after a long day of work.  All along the shore, the beaches buzz with activity from morning to night and the rhythm of of Malawian life unfolds with the rise and fall of the sun.

I spent a bit of time wandering down beautiful beaches and meandering through the sandy streets of the bustling village nearby. I enjoyed walking around the village, greeting the locals and playing games with the children.

On our second day at Cape Maclear, we went on an excursion to one of the islands with our hostel owner and a few friends we had met the previous night. We took a motorboat to a conical island off the shore of the cape and spent the afternoon snorkeling, eating and lounging in the sun.

Lake Malawi boasts some of the best fresh-water snorkeling on the planet. While it lacks exotic salt-water fish or a colorful reef, it does contain numerous species of freshwater fish found nowhere else in the world. Lake Malawi is home to over 600 unique species of small cichlids that come in every color of the rainbow and fill the crystalline lake with clouds of brilliant color.

We spent some time enjoying the underwater spectacle and swimming among the schools of brightly colored cichlids.

After a bit of snorkeling and sunbathing, we ate delicious fish barbecue with a side of rice, tomato relish and coleslaw. The fish was so fresh and tender that the meat practically fell off the bone and dissolved in my mouth. It was heavenly and certainly some of the best food I have had since arriving in Africa.

Before returning to the backpackers, we went out to a different point of the island in search of African fish eagles. Fish eagles are some of the largest eagles on the continent and resemble the bald eagles of North America. The lake is full of these regal birds and the off-shore islands contain important breeding sites.

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On our last evening in Malawi, my friends and I decided to enjoy the sunset at an adorable little cafe overlooking the water. We drank tea, talked a bit and watched as the fiery sun dipped below the horizon and cast a beautiful patchwork of vibrant colors over the lake.

Once again, the mesmerizing African skies left us awestruck.

From our seats at the cafe, the lake’s power became more apparent than ever. I could see just how the place has the ability of pulling people in, of enticing them to stay. We had been sucked into the black hole and were now faced with the difficult feat of getting out. If the long distances, countless buses and terrible roads leading up to that moment provided challenges in our journey, they were nothing in comparison to the difficulty of leaving the paradise we found at Lake Malawi.

As I sat with my friends and contemplated our return journey to Namibia, I looked out at the glitter that the sun cast over the lake waters and I knew exactly how Livingston must have felt when he glanced out over the lake for the first time and deemed it the Lake of Stars.

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Tips for Visiting Lake Malawi:

• Lake Malawi is beautiful, but swimming in its waters comes with the risk of contracting schistosomiasis. Also known as snail fever or bilharzia, the disease is caused by parasitic flatworms that reside in still water. As a preventative measure, travelers who intend on swimming in Lake Malawi can take Praziquantel (we found some available at the small pharmacy near Monkey Bay).

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The post Finding Paradise on the Shores of Lake Malawi appeared first on Erika's Travels .