Sanibonani

What is the meaning of life? That is a question I´ve spent a lot of time reflecting on during the last year and the answer I´ve found so far could be expressed in one word: experiences. Getting new perspectives and meeting new people is extremely beautiful and so rewarding. That’s the reason why I’m looking so much forward to diving straight into a completely different culture in the most southern country of Africa.

My name is August Nilsson, and I’m a 19-year-old world citizen born and raised in Uppsala. Since I graduated secondary school last year I’ve spent one autumn and first part of spring in the Mekka of my other “religion”, the home city of my favourite football team Helsingborgs IF; the second part of spring studying Italian by the beautiful hills of Toscana in Florence; and finally I’ve travelled across Europe. And now I’m aiming towards the greatest adventure of my life so far in the city of Polokwane in the northeast of South Africa.

Even though I’m from Uppsala, I’ll travel for the diocese of Västerås. Firstly because the diocese of Uppsala isn’t a part of the program, but mainly because my home in the church and the roots of my belief in God lie in the magical love I’ve met in the buildings close to the beautiful shore of Siljan at Stiftsgården in Rättvik, which is a part of the diocese of Västerås.

Stiftsgården in Rättvik

It’s so powerful with meetings and new perspectives because it smashes prejudices and unnecessary silly thinking of other cultures and humans. Of what I’ve experienced of this wonderful life so far, it’s that we are all humans and we are basically very similar. We all have the same basic needs but it’s expressed in different ways, because we’ve different opportunities to express them. On a human level we’re all very alike, and there is no big difference between a poor farmer in Namibia and me.

A little philosophic presentation of a young optimistic man who’s sure that we can make our staying on this planet a little bit better than it is today.

Do everything in love.

Hamba kahle. Ci sentiamo. Vi hörs. 🙂

/August