Yesterday, January 20, 2009, Barak Hussein Obama was sworn in as the 44th president of the United States. Cheers! This also corresponded with my first and most serious mishap on my trip to Africa thus far. When checking in at the airport in Cape Town that same morning, I learned that my flight itinerary (Cape Town to Johannesburg, then Johannesburg to Kampala) involved an overnight stay in Johannesburg. Whoops! I hadn’t previously noticed. So, I took a deep breath and, upon landing in Johannesburg, prepared to find a decent hotel and settle in for the night, somewhere close-ish to the airport.

Enter the Dove’s Nest.. a two-star, but assuredly safe and clean, little B&B in Johannesburg. When I arrived, I wheeled into my little modest but cute room and flashed a big grin at the set-up, most notably the little saggy bed next to a night stand, on top of which was setting a jug of filtered water, a wilting plant, and a huge can of “Doom Extreme Crawling Insect Spray.” Now, as scary as this sounds, if you can believe it me, it was actually quite a charming little place. The receptionist, cleaning staff, and grounds keepers happily smiled, greeted me affectionately, and made me feel safe and at home. It was kind of like as if they were saying “Yes, there are bugs here, but we kill them for you, and pleased to meet you my dear friend.”

Upon check-in the receptionist told me that dinner was served from 6:30 - 9:30, and that tonight would be beef curry. Hmmm.... *smile* Anyways, at that time, I also noted a TV in the lobby, near to where the dinner table was. So, I made my tentative plan to come back at 6:30 for dinner and to leisurely enjoy my meal while watching the inauguration on TV at 7:00.

As 6:30 rolled around I made my way over to the lobby. At 7:00 I finished my last scrumptious bites of beef curry and asked if we could turn up the volume on the TV. I plopped myself onto the couch to tune in, and initially was by myself, intently focused on the swearing in of Senator Biden and the panoramic views of the National Mall. As the ceremonies progressed and President Obama came onto the screen, the hotel staff, previously milling about the lobby and restaurant, progressively, one by one, started to pay a bit more attention and turn toward the screen. As the speech went along they started to make loud exclamations, mostly in Afrikaans, and chat amongst themselves. Amidst the banter in this foreign and quite strange-sounding language, the name “Barak” came up repeatedly, with much emotion. I watched them inquisitively, wondering if they were speaking of inspiration, empowerment, humor, or simple interest at what was going on.

One particular waiter, a quite gaunt-appearing man with high cheek bones and a dignified, beautiful face, was the most tuned in. When I had come in that evening, he had noted that I carried a copy of Nelson Mandela’s book “Long Walk To Freedom” with me, and said “Ahh, you finish this book, this is a great book.” When I asked him what he thought of the inauguration, he replied “This is good, this Barak Obama. I worry about two things.. one, that he will end up like Kennedy, and two, if he can really change anything.” I was actually impressed by his skepticism, but also not surprised. The world is used to big language without much action. We talked for a bit, however, about hope, change, and about how Barak needs 8 years, not 4, to make things happen!

From thousands on the National Mall, to my classmates at Stanford, to waiters at the Dove’s Nest, to white girls from Iowa/California passing through town, the world was watching, and is now waiting. What I’m left with today, however, is that change DOES happen, and that we do move forward in equality and awareness, as brothers and sisters, even if at times the progress may seem slow. I move forward with new resolve, under the guidance of Mr. Mandela and Mr. Obama, myself inspired to press on and see what tomorrow may bring.