Today two patients really impressed
me at the clinic. Somehow we started talking about politics, which I’ve
realized is not an unusual conversation here in South Africa. These two
gentleman knew more about American politics than some people I know who live in
the country. They both said they follow American news each morning, and have
been following the primary elections. Both despised Donald Trump, which didn’t
surprise me at all. Afterwards I questioned this conversation. Why do people
who live so far away care about American politics? What made America so
influential? I’m embarrassed to admit that before coming here I knew absolutely
nothing about South Africa’s politics, or any other country’s for that matter.
I had never paid much attention to countries outside of the US. Since coming
here I have started to appreciate other countries besides America (especially
South Africa) which I think has been really important for me in becoming more
aware of the world.
Another thing that really impressed
me at the clinic today were the group of people in the Club (diabetics and
hypertensive patients) who I gave my health talk to. I basically presented them
with information on which foods to eat and which ones to avoid, gave them tips
on how to live a healthy life style and keep their blood pressure down to avoid
heart attacks or strokes, and encouraged them to exercise. There were some
people who didn’t pay much attention but most of the group was very engaged and
even asked for a brochure on the topic. I loved how empowered they became with
this new information. Once they realized that they could control their life,
their health, and their choices, they smiled at the idea of their newfound
autonomy. I loved being the person to deliver the information. It was a cool
feeling and I gave two more talks after that.
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Switching gears to this past
weekend, it was the best weekend of my life. A bunch of us drove along the
Garden Route which held the most incredible scenic views. My favorite feeling
was driving through all this open land with my headphones in listening to John
Mayer (my favorite) and not concentrating on anything except the view. What a
release. As the sun set it cast a red blanket on the mountains behind the miles
of open land and farm animals. I remember turning around to Meg and pointing
out how cool it looked. She then explained to me how it reminded her of places
she’s seen back home, out west. And then it hit me—the world is so universal.
At one point on the Garden Route the hills were so green and vast it almost
felt like we could have been in Ireland. With slight variations among each
place, there’s still the same mountain formations, the same open farm lands,
the same developed cities across all the different places in the world. There
are more similarities than differences among all these places.
The first adventure was the Cango
Caves, which were such a fun time. Kayla, Drew and I held up the caboose and at
one point we got separated from the rest of the group and had to make a
decision at an intersection. It was so funny because we all semi freaked out at
the idea of being lost in a million year old underground cave but Drew’s
comment ‘It’s been a good life…nice knowing ya’ made me laugh too hard to be
nervous. We rejoined the group in a few seconds and lived to tell the tale!
The next day was the coolest day
ever. It started off with a nice morning walk with elephants. I’ll let Maria
post the details about this one because I’ve never seen someone more excited
than she was in that moment. I will say, though, that I was amazed by how
quietly the elephants walked for being such huge animals. They were very
graceful and took up less space than we did on the narrow pathway.
The most exciting part of the day,
for me, was the bungee jump off of Boulkran’s Bridge. 216m jump and I did it.
Absolutely insane. I was very proud of myself.
Then we went on a game drive and
saw all the cute animals. The giraffes and lions and were my favorite. Also the
springbok were so cute it made me feel guilty for eating them.
As I’m writing this I’m wondering
how many people who live here actually get to experience all that I’ve
experienced. Some people probably live here their whole lives without doing any
of the things that I’ve done in just one weekend. I don’t think this is unusual
anywhere you travel. Even myself personally, I haven’t seen and experienced all
the wonderful places in America. Boston is only a few hours away from me and
I’ve never been. I think we take our homes for granted sometimes. We all want
to travel, travel, travel, but there’s so much to see and do nearby! This blog
entry will serve as documentation for my vow to road trip cross country when I
get home.
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