Tag Archives: Travel

Day 480

Everything is part of a bigger plan…nothing happens at random – that’s what I learned today 🙂

it’s 7: 52 PM on day 480 of my journey towards independence and I’ve managed to watch TV, brush my teeth, drink pineapple juice – from a glass – by myself, try to add a custom header on this blog made for me by my friend, Margot – I gave her the wrong size by mistake and now it doesn’t fit – prepare and publish my Disability of the Day feature, feed myself rice and curry for lunch and read Love That Max, Chasing Rainbow and Bird on the Street.

Today I looked back on my twenty five days in India and realized that going to a country where there is so much stigma around disabled people and having to say to people there’s nothing wrong with me every time they pitied me has made me more confident than ever in myself. Do you walk in faith believing that everything that happens is for the best or question every experience?

Are we connecting on Twitter? If not, say hi at http://twitter.com/Nisha360

If you’ve given to my cause or you can’t give now, please help me by sharing my cause with others. You can tweet about it like my friend Stan Faryna. This is the tweet he uses: @Nisha360 is a brave, smart young woman trying to make a better world for us all. Please help her do an amazing thing. http://bit.ly/hC7vOu

Stan’s very sweet for saying so, but feel free to write what reflects you best.

Thanks to all my friends out there who are helping me make my dream come true: to make a better world for all of us!

Day 450

Day 355

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Be careful what you wish for
cause you just might get it all
you just might get it all and then some you don’t want. – Chris Daughtry

It’s 7: 12 PM on day 355 of my journey towards independence and I’ve managed to brush my teeth, feed myself toast, chicken nuggets and scrambled eggs for breakfast, tweet about my Clean Water For All Campaign – no luck – listen to music, feed myself rice and curry for lunch, go with my father to drop my mother, brother and sister at different places, cry for a while– my mom asked my dad to carry something for her into the building that she was going into, he said no, she said if any other woman had asked you would do it and before I knew it he was lunging at her (Note to mom and dad: mommy if you have problems go see a psychiatrist I can’t be your confidant and dad I will no longer go above and beyond to protect your reputation if you choose to behave in this manner you have to be willing to deal with the consequences) – go with my father to fetch my mother, brother and sister from different places, tweet about my campaign some more–still no luck I tweeted facts about water to achieve objective #2 of my campaign to highlight the plight of those who don’t have easy access to water– feed myself an avocado sandwich for dinner and brush my teeth once more.

Last summer I wanted so badly to go to India for my cousin’s wedding and now that it’s been decided that we are going this summer I don’t know what to feel because I know that it’s going to be hard for me when I get there not just in terms of accessibility but also in terms of my father and just people in general – my father rarely takes me anywhere here in South Africa where people are exposed to and educated about disabilities I wonder how he’s going to act when we get to his home state of Kerala where people have little or no exposure to people who are different. Have you ever wished for something and got it only to wish that you had never wished for it in the first place?

Are we connecting on Twitter? If not, say hi at http://twitter.com/Nisha360

Stan’s very sweet for saying so, but feel free to write what reflects you best.

Thanks to all my friends out there who are helping me make my dream come true: to make a better world for all of us!

Day 225

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The bible is my saving grace – that’s what I learned today 🙂

It’s 8: 42 PM on day 225 of my journey towards independence and I’ve managed to brush my teeth, feed myself a sweet potato with a chilli, onion and yoghurt dip for breakfast, tweet about my Clean Water For All Campaign for a few hours – @morsemusings (Dawn) made another donation – thanks Dawn you are truly awesome 🙂 – feed myself rice and curry for lunch, watch TV, tweet about my campaign some more – no further luck – feed myself rice and curry for dinner and continue to tweet about my campaign – still no further luck.

Today we were meant to get our passports renewed for our trip to India this summer but it didn’t occur to my father that he would actually have to be seen with me for that to happen since my mother had to stay at home with my grandma so he called off the whole thing and decided to go get my wheelchair’s belt fixed with my sister which was totally fine with me only my mother wasn’t having any of it and said she –referring to my sister – stays I’ll go with you to which my father responded in anger saying you’re not going come ‘on Nisha let’s go and as I sat in the car looking at him in the garden feeling hurt that he was taking me out grudgingly I remembered a verse in the bible and thought bless and do not curse. Do you use the bible as a weapon or a shield?

Day 204

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Words are like bullets: when well aimed, they have a pretty hard effect. – Unknown

It’s 4: 25 PM on day 204 of my journey towards independence and I’ve managed to survive a five hour road trip back to East London – the place I call home.

Yesterday our hometown of Lusikisiki was plunged into darkness so we started talking and Kevin – my ten-year-old brother – said with tears in his eyes you’re the reason I’m fat every time I eat something I wonder what you’re going to say and because of that I don’t even want to eat anymore and in that moment I saw life thought his eyes and couldn’t hold back the tears I just kept saying I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry. Are you shooting somebody in the heart every time you open your mouth?

Day 203

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Being in a family is all about compromise – that’s what I learned today 🙂

It’s 6: 11 PM on day 203 of my journey towards independence and I’ve managed to go visit my dad’s cousin and dad’s cousin and aunt in Port Edward and come back to Lusikisiki.

After visiting my dad’s cousin and aunt we went to the arcade in the Wild Coast Casino (see pictures below) and although I would rather have shot myself than be there as we went to buy Ice-cream I realized that my wants and needs weren’t the only ones that mattered so I tried my best to enjoy the experience. Are your familial relationships in taters because you are unable to compromise?

My brother - Kevin - playing Deal or No Deal

Me watching my brother play Deal or No Deal

Day 202

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You should do what you know is right regardless of what anybody else says – that’s what I learned today 🙂

It’s 3: 10 PM on day 202 of my journey towards independence and I’ve managed to brush my teeth, feed myself a banana for breakfast, survive a five hour road trip back to my hometown of Lusikisiki (see picture of our journey below) and eat rice and curry for lunch – I let my mother feed me just this once because I didn’t want to make a mess in my aunt’s living room.

Today when I was in the car on our road trip a friend of mine send me a text via my sister’s cell phone and my father overheard me saying to my sister tell her I got the bread and he asked what’s this about bread so I reluctantly told him that my friend and I were approaching bakeries to see if they’d be willing to donate bread to enable me to make more sandwiches for my housekeeper’s community (if you have no idea what I’m talking about refer to ‘Day 184’) and all he could think to say was I will buy the bread otherwise people will think we are eating the donated bread and in that moment I came to a maddening realization that all my father cared about was his reputation. Are you guided by other people’s opinions or your own intuition?

My 16-year old sister - Neethu - and 10-year-old brother - Kevin - in the backseat of our car

The security area of Nelson Mandela's house in Qunu - his hometown

Day 190

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The whole is more than the sum of its parts. – Aristotle

It’s 10: 31 PM on day 190 of my journey towards independence and I’ve managed to brush my teeth, tweet about my Clean Water For All Campaign for a few hours – no luck – feed myself rice and curry for lunch, tweet about my campaign some more – still no luck 🙁 – feed myself Chapati – an unleavened flatbread – filled with salad and mutton gravy and watch TV.

Several people – my mother included – have told me that I am wise beyond my years and although that this is true to a certain extent I think that they have forgotten that I am just a nineteen soon-to-be twenty-year-old girl trying to find my place in the world with that said I would like to take this moment to introduce you to all aspects of me – from my favourite music, movies and books to my greatest hopes, fears and future travel destinations – like me or leave me I don’t mind either way 🙂

Nisha: The Human Being