Well leaving Cape Town was sad but
it didn’t really hit me until it was over.
I had a meaningful goodbye at
Elonwabeni Friday night when a show was planned by the kids, volunteers, and
staff for us to come watch. It was cute and meant a lot that they took the time
to say goodbye. I hope we are able to keep in touch.
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| Melanie & Manuela with folks from Elonwabeni |
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| Melanie, David & Katrina |
The morning we left I did a trail
run with Katrina and David, which was the perfect way to end the trip. Then we
scrambled to get back, shower, and pack before our goodbye meeting. Ben saying
goodbye in the house really hit me because he’s an example of someone who will
be difficult to see again. He also gave great advise about how to let our
experiences be a part of us and everything we do, rather than simply a story.
Despite being all packed up and on
our way to the airport it still didn’t hit me that we were leaving. I don’t
know how I could be so detached from it. The plane ride was not bad except that
my feet swelled up (probably a result of doing a trail run that morning). I had
to keep asking for ice from the flight attendant and when we landed I struggled
to get my shoes to fit (it was not a good scene).
Seeing my parents was exciting. My
mom was so eager that she climbed through the gate (that you’re not supposed
to) to come to me. I guess it was cute but also embarrassing J
We landed early Monday morning and I
didn’t have any plans so I ended up going to the launching of a state senate
campaign for Emily Bjornberg, a woman I’ve known for years in my church. It was
kind of a spontaneous event to go to within hours of arriving home, but ended
up being perfect. Her speech entailed a section about how her family is rooted
in service, that when her husband was in the army she took the time to go
volunteer… in South Africa! She spoke of traveling the world but ultimately
deciding to return to her home- the CT River Valley area. This event was held
at the Deep River Landing on the CT River and looking around (although I was a
bit cold) I realized South Africa is absolutely beautiful but my home-town area
is as well. And running into so many people asking about my trip made me
realize how lucky I was to grow up in such a great town. I also hope to help
Emily with her campaign in the coming months. She reminds me that inspirational
and hardworking people are everywhere (not just in South Africa).
After that ended, I stopped by my
grandparents house and then headed to UConn to see everyone. I spent time with
my boyfriend and siblings. At midnight all my friends gathered in the Union and
we all sat around telling stories from our different semesters. I was delirious
from being so overtired but I was also so happy because again I realized what
great friends I have. And UConn’s atmosphere certainly doesn’t compare to the
University of Cape Town’s, but walking around and running into everyone I felt
at home. I only meant to spend one night there but realized I didn’t have
enough time to catch up with everyone and I ended up staying until
Saturday….(borrowing everyone’s clothes and crashing on peoples couches).
After the initial euphoria of seeing
everyone for the first time died down I’ve realized coming home isn’t going to
be as easy as it seemed. I still don’t know what to say when people ask how my
trip was and I still find it hard to explain to those close to me. I feel
different but also disappointingly the same… like that how I changed and grew
in Cape Town is no longer a part of me here. So I’m consciously deciding to try
to incorporate what I’ve learned about myself into my life here too. And I’m
trying to keep myself busy and find things to look forward to; like my
internship next semester and triathlon training with Katrina! Most importantly
I’m trying to keep in touch with everyone! It worked out great that I’ll be
living with my roommate from South Africa, Lauren, and Katrina. Our room will
be decorated with most of our souvenirs J
It was probably the most amazing
three months of my life and I’m excited to see where I go from here. I’ve
realized there’s a WORLD of opportunities out there if you look in the right
places. I’ll be forever grateful for everyone who made the experiences I’ve had
possible and I hope everyone knows how much we appreciated them J
It’s funny to think how close I was
to not coming on this trip and how
much of a mistake that would have been.
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