When we landed in JFK almost two
weeks ago today (L),
it was rainy and gray and someone swore at me when I bumped into them (Good to
be back home!!). It felt really good to walk of the tarmac and then go sleep in
my own bed. I had begun to miss my flannel sheets and orthopedically supportive
bed. It was really great to hug my dog, Lucy, and see my family.
But now it is two weeks later and I
miss doing something everyday. I miss going to work at FCRC and working with my
amazing co-workers doing something amazing everyday. Since my friends are not
home yet from school, it has been a little lonely. I miss the wonderful
conversations I had with my fellow co-educators every night about life and the
world around us. It is hard to transition from those conversations to ones that
include what will be made for dinner the next night and lists of chores to
complete.
I am working on my summer research,
which has been very interesting but hard to do something where you do not
instantly see the impact of the work, like I have been able to do in Cape Town.
It is difficult to transition from seeing a problem and then working directly
on it like in Hanover Park, whereas the research is more analyzing why these
problems exist and then completing more research on it for a few years to
publish a paper that may never get in the hands of the people most impacted.
With the conversations that we have had on privilege throughout this trip, I
feel like the ability to conduct this research in the first place and not have
to work everyday at chipping away the issue in real life is an incredibly
privileged position.
I was talking to one of the women
that I work with and she was telling me how lucky I was to live at home and
then be able to live with my aunt later on in the summer and this is when I
think I further realized that same privilege that had been afforded to me to do
research was the same one that allowed me to live with my family. This was
weird moment for me because it made just take in that my whole life has been so
privileged.
I am beginning to now further reflect
upon my experiences and understand the impact that Cape Town has left on me. Small
things, like being not as upset with my sister for taking my clothes or my
great disinterest in TV, have been because of the decreasing value I have
placed on material items since living in Cape Town. I feel like Cape Town has
really allowed for me to understand the stances that I take on world issues and
have allowed for me to comprehend why I believe in the values and thoughts I
do.
It is hard readjusting, but it is
great to take the many lessons of Cape Town with me on my new adventures.
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