When I first arrived in Cape Town, I
expected to be empowered, fulfilled, engaged, and excited at every waking
moment.
In reality, my experience here has
strayed far from that expectation. Upon reflection, this has made it far more
meaningful.
The thing about studying abroad that
many people don’t realize is that your life continues to happen. You continue
to feel stress, anxiety, and fear. Sometimes this is exacerbated by the fact
that everything around you is unfamiliar. Sometimes you feel guilty because you
needed to spend a few hours alone in your room instead of out exploring. That’s
okay.
But what has been so profoundly
transformative is understanding how, by living my life through these
challenges, I have changed. I am more confident in communicating my opinion. I
have a more complex understanding of culture, identity, and the complex systems
that are created by these collective and individual environments.
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| Becca & Emily |
I am so sad, but I am comforted in
my knowing that this is not the last time I will be here. I will leave a piece
of my heart in Cape Town. I was explaining to my mom, who’s visiting me, that
it didn’t feel like I was leaving after our travels. It felt like I would
return to my job, my house, my daily rituals and habits. And, in the words of
Winnie the Pooh, “How lucky am I to have known some[place that] was so hard to
say goodbye to”.
Ultimately, I know that I will need
more time and distance to fully comprehend how my experience in Cape Town has
impacted me. Right now I’m just struggling to grapple with the fact that in a
few short hours I will be in Connecticut—the place that I have always
identified as my home, but now, being here, feels intangible and unfamiliar.
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