Mariko applying valuable lessons learned in Cape Town

I’ve tried to sit down and write my final blog post a number of times since I’ve gotten home and every time, I am at a loss for words. My inability to write a retrospective entry on Cape Town is not because I have adjusted perfectly back to my normal life, or because I am too busy to think about it, but rather because I can’t stop thinking about it. It’s impossible to put a seal on the experience, and say “this is what happened, the end,” considering it has continued to permeate so many aspects of my life for the past couple of weeks at home.

Mariko, Libby & Collette with folks form Melomed Hospital

Everyday, I realize how the transformed and novel parts of my character play out in familiar settings, and the simplest things constantly remind me how much I miss Cape Town. I miss going to work everyday in a pair of scrubs, knowing that I’d learn a lesson or two, whether it be from a surgeon during an operation or from the secretaries who always had a lifetime of wisdom to share during tea breaks. I miss openly questioning my ways and the ways of the world on a daily basis, and having people respond with insight, rather than jumping to defend the status quo. And while I continue to questions things, all the time, it has definitely been hardest for me to wind down from having so many exceedingly open and engaging people around me constantly. With that being said, I miss my housemates, who inspired me to be inquisitive, passionate, confident, and humble. I feel incredibly lucky to have had traits that take people a lifetime to acquire bestowed on me in 3 months by an unbelievable group of coeducators.

Falling back into a simple routine has also made me miss being busy, but I have learned that being busy at home doesn’t have to be stressful or boring. As others have stated, from the second we landed in Cape Town, there was this expectation that every moment would be filled with elation and excitement, but I soon came to realize that I wouldn’t be living some indescribable, vacation-like life the whole time. I was still grocery shopping, doing homework, trying to exercise, and confronting minor conflicts. In doing so, I learned how to live an enriched “normal life,” a lesson that is transferable to my life back at home. I came to recognize that boredom is mostly a choice, and catering your days to what stimulates you mentally and emotionally will have rewards much greater than any paycheck.

Lastly, as much as I enjoy being home with the people I love, I miss the people in Cape Town more than I even expected. They taught me that everybody has a story to share, and its never your place to assume you already know it.

Overlooking the city at sunset