Well friends, tomorrow marks the
two-month anniversary of our arrival in Cape Town. 59 days. How another month
has gone by so quickly I will always wonder.
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| Jenna & Katrina windy night on Lion's Head |
Sunday night we hiked Lion’s Head
again but this time for sunset. Conveniently it was one of the windiest nights
so it was interesting getting up and down the mountain to say the least.
Multiple times we were forced to stop climbing so we could hold onto rocks to
keep from being knocked over by the wind. Yes, it was frightening but it was
also extremely thrilling and I loved every second of it. We sat on the summit
and watched the sun partially set but then decided it was probably a good idea
to get a head start down before it was completely dark. By the time we reached
the bottom, the sun was finally gone and all that was left to light our path
was the city’s night skyline. We all stopped walking at one point with eyes
wide and I remember whispering, “what is life?” Yet another example of one of
those little things that has the capacity to make me so immensely happy. When
we got back to the house that night we were all so giddy and high off awe that
we started playing ‘throwbacks’, singing along, and just laughing at ourselves.
I started thinking about what I would be doing if I were back at UConn and it
was a Sunday night. Probably finishing work/studying and about to call my
parents for our weekly phone calls. Part of me would have been homesick
(even though just an hour and a half away from home) and figuring out a weekend
that I would be able to go visit home. It’s almost scary how different my life
is here as compared to back home. I miss my parents and I miss my friends
but I’m not homesick (even though a 16 hour plane ride from home). I don’t
count down the days until we go home. I’m always busy here, always trying new
things, always learning, always living to the fullest.
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| Allie, Jenna, Katrina, & Emily W at their internship |
The clinic this past week was great
as always. Monday was rather calm which was shocking because it’s usually very
hectic with patients sick from the weekend. Tuesday was super exciting
because…..drumroll……we all learned and took bloods! That’s right, I stuck a
needle in someone’s vein and didn’t pass out or hurt the patient in the
process!! But in all seriousness, as much as I want to go into the nursing
field, I was always nervous about giving injections and taking blood. I never
thought I could do it and I did. I think about all the hands on experience I’ve
had thus far and how much it has increased my self-confidence and am thankful
for that each and every day.
Tuesday night I headed to bed around
2:00am. No, I wasn’t getting home from a bar that late. Instead, Johnny,
Morgan, and I were up late talking for almost two hours. Before coming on this
trip, I knew Johnny only a little. We became much closer during our
pre-departure class and from mutual friends but being honest, before we landed
in Cape Town I couldn’t say we were really good friends or that I
knew a lot about him. I had a similar relationship with Morgan. We are both in
the same sorority at UConn but we were never close before this trip. If
anything, we would see each other around campus and say “hi” but our
conversation usually ended there. Again, we got closer during pre-departure
class and texted each other during winter break while we were getting ready for
the day we left but I couldn’t say I really knew Morgan. Since we’ve
landed in Cape Town, I’ve learned so much about them both and gotten so close
with them, as well as the other students here. We talk about serious topics
that we’ve discussed in classes and we talk about general things that we find
interesting about South Africa. We laugh at the most stupid things and poke fun
at each other probably too much but we don’t mind. I guess what I’m trying to
say is that I value conversations like these. Along with all the fun and
adventurous activities we engage in, I’m always going to remember our nightly
chats in the pool house. Morgan and Johnny are now two people I am comfortable
talking to about anything and Morg and I laugh about how we never talked much
before this trip. I’m definitely going to miss having the ‘three best friends’
so close by when we get back home but I know we’ll stay close and hang out with
everyone from the program lots next semester.
Okay time to end this before it gets
too emotional…. can’t wait to see what this next weekend/week brings!
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| Jenna & Mogan on Lion's Head |
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