Emily can't express how grateful she is for this experience

It still hasn't truly set in for me that I will be leaving Cape Town in less than a week. I think part of that is denial and another part of that is pure disbelief. It feels as though we have been here for such a short time, despite 3 and a half months seeming like so long when we first got here. In order to try and make the best of that time I still have left I spent my last weekend finishing up my with my activist project and checking my last items off of my "To Do in Cape Town" list. 

On Friday a bunch of us went to Heaven's Nest in Ottery to deliver some new toys for the kids, set up swings on there swing set (where old one's had broken) and finish up the mural in their front yard. It was difficult to imagine not seeing these kids who we all now knew by name and had become very close to but good to see our efforts paying off. I hope that future students continue to seek out activist work there so that change keeps coming for Heaven's Nest.

On Saturday I finally got around to going to brunch in Bo Kapp and exploring the community. Though I wish I had gotten around to is earlier so that I would have been able to visit more than once, it was a beautiful day and I really enjoyed getting to walk about an area that Cape Town is so well known for. 

Since I arrived in Cape Town I have been saying that I was going to climb Table Mountain by myself partially because I really enjoy hiking alone and partially to prove to myself that I could do it at all. On Sunday I finally got around to it and am really glad that I did. The hike gave me a lot of time to reflect on my experiences and the change that those experiences has brought about in me and though I don't think I will ever really be ready to go, the hike helped me to be a more okay with that reality. 

Looking down and across all of Cape Town from the view at the top of Table Mountain got me very emotional. I'm not sure I'll ever be able to express how privileged I am to have had this experience and how grateful I am to everyone I've met along the way. Though I am very excited to get to see my family and friends again, I cannot imagine a future in which I do not come back to South Africa again soon. I have a feeling I'll be spending a lot of the next few years trying to find ways to make that happen.