As a long overdue response, I am
still missing Cape Town everyday. I miss the energy, the horns of the minibus,
the constant opportunity that a city holds. Coming home was strange at first,
everything was so familiar. As much as I wanted to arrive in the US with things
being different, new people to meet in my small hometown, and all that jazz- I
was painfully disappointed when I got to JFK and everything seemed the exact
same. Coming back to Southbury, everything was the exact same- with the
exception of the construction of a new ugly movie theater. Things are the same,
but I am not the same.
I found the questions of “How was
Africa?” to be pressing and quite annoying to be honest. I didn’t feel like
explaining how I think I changed because it made my desire to return even
stronger. I realized that when asked what my favorite part of my experience
was, I changed my answer each time. Many people seemed to be quite disappointed
when I told them that one of the best parts of Cape Town was the classes that I
took.
With that being said, I have managed
to have myself quite the adventurous summer- traveling to Montreal, Block
Island, California & Philadelphia to visit friends that I hadn’t seen for
months. It was nice to reunite, pleasing to know that many of my friends are on
the same page as I am regarding social change, education & equality.
Although I have become quite bitter to some of the insensitive side comments
that I have experienced in meeting new people this summer.
I’m trying not to let my 4 months in
Cape Town seem like a dream. I found myself upset some days… it took hours for
me to pinpoint the reason that I felt this empty feeling. Then I realized the
answer was easy; I miss South Africa, hard.
With that being said, I’m ready to
take on a new adventure… possibly to South East Asia or South America after I
graduate in May. But I can’t forget to enjoy the present time. I landed a
position as a public affairs intern for the UConn radio station (WHUS) that I
am quite excited about- I will be exploring activism and social issues at UConn
(and might even be able to score my own talk show!!!!). I have mixed emotions
with returning to the student body of UConn but I am trying to stay positive, I
hope people respond as warmly as Capetonians did when I struck up a
conversation while walking to work. I’m also excited to become more active in
new groups & events at UConn, I am going to continue the concept of
constantly trying new things. Although I cannot lie, I am absolutely thrilled
to return to an environment with my co-educators to talk about how we feel,
what we’ve learned, and further reflections on our Cape Town experience now
that we have returned to the US.
