Jenna's first impressions

Snigdha & Jenna enjoying a warm day at Chapman's Peak

My first impression? It seems so simple a question yet I’ve been procrastinating this post for a couple of days now. How can I make everything look and sound and smell and taste and feel so real through a couple paragraphs of typed words? How can I describe this place without simply saying, “it’s amazing”?

Dare I say I broke my fear of flying from the 16 hour plane ride here? Whenever we hit turbulence I gripped the hand rests until my knuckles were white, closed my eyes, and prayed like I’ve never prayed before. But by the end of the flight I was able to ignore it and continue on with my movie without disturbing those around me with my once heavy breathing and rapidly beating heart. Change number 1 and I hadn’t even landed yet.

From the moment we all stepped out of the airport in Cape Town, SA, even the air smelt so differently. It was refreshing and welcoming oh and it wasn't -15 degrees. It’s summer here so it’s odd getting pictures from people back home of a blizzard and getting email notifications from UConn saying classes are cancelled while we’re here sweating at the beach.

We’ve been here for almost 9 days now and I’ve loved every minute of it. We’ve gone to a football game (what we call soccer), toured the District Six Museum, adventured around the peninsula, participated in a Baptist Church service, went to a summer concert at Kirstenbosch Gardens, visited the Slave Lodge, walked around Robben Island and saw the cell Mandela was held in, and went wine tasting at a beautiful family owned vineyard. We’ve seen penguins, zebras, seals, baboons, and even wild cats. I was never a picky eater at home but I have tried more foods here than I ever thought I would. From Thai to Ethiopian to African, it’s all been so extremely tasteful and I am happy that I’m stepping outside of my comfort zone and trying new things. We still have 6 more days of orientation and while I am still looking forward to what’s to come (like beach day on Sunday!!) I think I am anticipating the start of internships even more. Everyone we have met has been so genuinely nice that I want to get to the clinic and be able to give back.

I’ve been noticing that people here seem much happier and we all know happiness is contagious. While I’ll admit I’ve found myself missing certain things back home, all it takes is for me to look around to realize how lucky I am to get to be experiencing everything that I am. I’m falling in love with this place more and more as the days go on and I can only imagine what’s still to come.