I never thought I was an emotional
person but seeing everyone leave Cape Town a month ago, made me cry my eyes
out. It was so hard to believe that our three and a half months was up. While I
was sad to see everyone leave, I was also excited to stay the next week and
show my parents Cape Town. My parents definitely had high expectations because
of how highly I spoke of my experiences! When I met my parents at the airport
after their week in Kruger, I could already see that they loved South Africa!
The week absolutely flew by and my parents and I were not ready to leave. I
hope that my entire family and I will be back soon.
One of my favorite things I did with
my parents was show them Eros School. When I came on this trip, I thought I
wanted to be a Speech Language Pathologist but I really was not sure. My
experiences at Eros really confirmed that this is the career I want and it even
showed me what I want to specialize in! Although we visited Eros quickly, my
parents noticed how special this school is and how incredible the staff is! I
can go on forever about how much I loved my time at Eros and how much I miss
it. However, in short, I am very grateful for the opportunities I had at Eros.
While it confirmed and influenced my long-term goals, it also helped me short
term! I loved my time with the learners at Eros so much that I wished I could
have had more time with them. So, when I got home I researched residential
summer camps for children with special needs. I’ve never attended camp and I
never saw myself working with kids 24/7, but I am so excited for this
opportunity. A lot of the kids at the camp I’m working at are non-verbal and I
am so excited to utilize the skills I developed during my time at Eros. I know
it will be an amazing summer and this experience will also help me with my
future endeavors.
Coming back home has been a bit of
an adjustment. One thing I have struggled with is talking and dealing with
people who are blatantly racist or ignorant.
One of my first weekends back I visited a friend in New York City. I met
one of her new friends who happened to be dating a guy from South Africa. She
tried talking to me about a lot of the issues in South Africa, and while it was
cool at first, I could see that she had a very particular view (and one that I
did not agree with). It is interesting because before these issues would never
have crossed my mind! It is crazy that in the three and a half months I learned
so much about the world around me and myself. These are lessons I will carry
with me the rest of my life and I will continually build upon them. This
definitely would not have happened if I stayed in Storrs, CT and I am forever
grateful for this opportunity.
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| Taylor with her parents sunset cruise in Cape Town |
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