The “Creation” - A Tale from umZansi AfriKa
The story begins with CS ofcourse...When a CS member Soulfood4U, received a request from the Burning Man to surf her couch in Muizenberg, Cape Town. Curious about his name, “What’s in the name?”, she asked, seeking an explanation. And so Soulfood4U was introduced to the concept of Burning Man, Black Rock by the CS “Burning Man” himself.
Unable to teleport herself to Burning Man 2007 in spite of her heart and soul’s burning desire to be there, imagine her delight when a message about AfriKa Burns (see www.afrikaburns.com) landed in her mailbox. Mmmm, some bad spam is good spam, she thought! And so the idea of AfriKa Burns lit Soulfood4U’s lantern promising to set her aflame …and the “Come Surf a Rainbow Wave @ AfriKa Burns”, a CS theme camp, was created by the flames and ….and Born from the ashes!!
The “Come Surf a Rainbow Wave @ AfriKa Burns” CS theme camp is inspired by Anais Nin who said that "I only believe in fire. Life. Fire. Being myself on fire I set others on fire. Never death. Fire and life. Les Jeux." And….the traditional three legged African pot.
The pot will be bubbling slowly on the days preceding the burn…flavoured with spices from the East, West, South and North of national and international borders… The intention is to cook up a melting pot of cultures to serve up on the night of the burn …everyone will soulfully savour a “Rainbow Nation” of cultures! Promising to be a sense-sational delight!
While Soulfood embraces the dream of the “Rainbow Nation” in South Africa the concept itself remains debateable in reality…It is her dream and intention to explore ways to make it possible, wherever and whenever possible building bridges or pathways that help people from all backgrounds imaginable to connect under one umbrella, creating a forest instead of the trees she sees. In South Africa the seed varieties planted by our apartheid past still divides our trees. On a social level, the different trees have still not created pathways or bridges between themselves to grow into a forest. So events like AfriKa Burns, whilst holding promise, may just turn out to be a “unicultural” tree. Under CS principles this is Not possible and/or acceptable.
The birth of the dream of a CS couch shaped into a surfboard and painted in the colours of the rainbow riding along three dimensional waves, may be one such bridge. An awsome Muizies couch! At the theme camp, local, and it is imagined international, and even virtual CSers will be welcomed by a warm umZansi Africa greeting with a generous serving of mqombothi, traditional South African homemade beer. A world map will be on display to indicate the location, along with pictures and messages from all “real” and “virtual” AfriKa Burns CS theme camp surfers. Non-CSers who drop by, will be invited to join the CS Theme Camp by completing a “membership form” committing them under oath stating in writing a way that they intend “creating a pathway” to the “Rainbow Nation”. Their message, together with a hastily created “virtual” mugshot will be posted on the world map of CS theme camp burners.
So Soulfood4U invites local and international CSers to join the camp, seeking “real” or “virtual” members to surf the ”Rainbow Nation” couch. Soulfood4U together with others promises to take turns to “tuck you in” on the couch. So quickly send your picture by snail mail (preferably) and/or email when you join the AfriKa Burns meeting, along with your message that “frees” the “Rainbow Nation” from its chains. And watch your message become one of the spices that flavour the melting pot of cultures to be served up on the night of the burn!
For now this is just a dream…one month away from the burn, participation is essential and therefore speedily invited, any help, ideas etc are encouraged and welcomed especially from seasoned burners! Let’s make this dream “bridge” a reality, together!
Join the meeting at ….. www.couchsurfing.com/meetings.html?mid=3569 and state your “real” or “virtual” status along with a mugshot of yourself, and an awe inspiring message on pathways to the “Rainbow Nation”
Soulfood4U
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