A Trip to Remember

(Yesterday's posted below)
I came back from Guguletu and I had a hard time talking about what had happened. All I wanted to do was go back to what was "normal." I wasn't ready yet to put myself back into the township mindset. I needed to get away for a while. It took time to process what I had experienced. In fact, I'm pretty sure I haven't quite processed it fully yet even now. I mentioned a few people I met and only a few experiences I encountered while I was in Guguletu and in South Africa altogether. If you could only know everything, I feel you would understand just a little bit more what it was like.


The last week in South Africa really opened my eyes to what I was supposed to be learning in the Cape Town area. We were exposed once again to life that was comparable to life at home. We went site seeing, had transportation when needed, and could go where we wanted when we wanted, and went to whatever restaurant we desired. When we first arrived in Cape Town, NJ, one of the interstudy directors, made a comment about South Africa-how it was a third world country with first world traits. We definitely saw both worlds on our trip and lived in each. It blows my mind that these worlds can be so close together and yet so far apart.

I went into this trip excited to explore a new country, a new culture, and a new way of life. I wanted to learn more about HIV/AIDS and how people live their life with less. I have come back so far with the ability to look a my own life with a new perspective. On my way home from London, Amanda and I missed our flight and we had to stay an extra night and pay a fee to take a different plane home. To say the least, we were a little upset. After taking our luggage all the way to a friend's house on the tube and then back again in the morning, at breakfast we came to a mutual conclusion. Things could have been worse. We were lucky to have the money to pay the extra fee. We were fortunate to have the ability to afford a trip to South Africa, much less London. No matter what: WE WERE GOING HOME. We weren't sick. No one was dying. We had money to support ourselves and we had each other. After that, I really didn't feel so great about myself for getting so upset over missing the flight. People miss their flights everyday. What's one more night in London? It's just an inconvenience.

It has taken me a while, but I've begun to process what happened in Guguletu and have compared it to the rest of the trip in South Africa and also in parts of my day-to-day life. They may be little - but they're steps nonetheless. When you ask me how my trip was and I say good - know that there is so much more behind that. This trip was most definitely one to remember.

Thanks so much for reading my blogs! This assignment has really challenged me to think deeper about my experiences in South Africa and I'm glad I got the chance to share them with you. This was my last post - sorry it took so long to put up!