I can’t believe that the best
semester I’ve had has finally come to an end, and cannot wait to find a way
back to Cape Town eventually. There are so many things I will miss about this
amazing place.
I am going to miss living with so
many people and always having these friends to talk, explore or eat with. My
co-educators are amazing in that they are so intellectually curious and willing
to discuss anything and everything. We have had conversations about so many
social and political issues through the course of the semester and it will be
strange going home to such an intense political climate. It has been
interesting getting to hear the opinions of everyone on the trip, as well as
the opinions of so many Uber drivers who are interested in the upcoming elections
in the US.
I am going to miss being in a place
full of so many differences in such a close proximity to each other. Going from
mountain to oceans in twenty minutes provides so many opportunities. Seeing
extreme wealth and extreme poverty in a different twenty minute drive was even
more shocking. It was eye-opening and really made us recognize the class divide
that has been left by the apartheid system; it’s something that is very
difficult to ignore, even if one tried because you drive by townships, people
are begging on popular city streets, and so many people can be found sleeping
on the parade and in the shade. It is something that is indescribable if you
haven’t seen it for yourself and really makes you more aware of these
inequalities that are well hidden in the US.
I am going to miss the wide variety
of people, places and activities that city has. We were busy every day of the
week between internships, classes, projects and activities to the point that I
can’t remember what it’s like to just relax in my house for an entire day. I
will miss how friendly people are and how they actually want to know when they
ask how you are and love to tell you about their entire lives when you ask how
they are. We have met so many different people with so many different qualities
that it will be strange to go back to a university where everyone is our age
and most are from the same state. I’ll miss being able to wake up and hike a
mountain, surf, explore art galleries and eat a huge variety of food.
I am going to miss classes and
internships and the way that they work together to combine knowledge
acquisition with context. I have enjoyed learning about the history and
politics of South Africa alongside learning about race, class and gender, as
well as learning about NGOs and helping organizations because it shows how they
all effect and are affected by each other. I’m especially going to miss the
children at Maitland Cottage and how they loved to teach me new games that they
learned and have me read to them.
I am going to miss the discussions
that we have in Cape Town; there aren’t too many taboo topics like there seem
to be in the US. If you’re being respectful about it then Capetonians seem to
have no problem discussing topics of controversy like politics and the
president, topics of importance such as race, class and gender, and topics of
opinion, such as interests and beliefs. There have been so many discussions
between our co-educators about our value systems and the way we’d like to live
our lives, which I believe will turn out to be productive for our futures and
the way we view the world.
I am going to miss being with people
who are sharing this experience with me, because that makes it easier to think
about and process. It is such a difficult experience to describe to anyone,
even if I could find someone with an attention span long enough to listen to me
talk about my entire semester. Journaling seems to have been important for many
of us on this trip and I hope that it’s something we all continue doing over
the summer, as well as communicating with each other for support.
I’m going to miss Cape Town so much.
No comments:
Post a Comment