Ubuntu: I am because we are

I’ve been trying to write a blog reflecting on the past three months but I’m having a hard time putting an experience like this into words, let alone a simple blog post. I’ve written one, started over with another, and done that once more. Here is my best attempt.

This trip has been everything I hoped it would be and at the same time nothing like I ever thought it would be. I have learned more about the world and a way thousands if not millions of people live than I ever could have imagined. The relationships I have built over the past three and a half months have literally changed my life. From my internship at City Mission Educational Service, where the group of students was challenging yet the conversations I had with them opened my eyes to a life I could never imagine. They were some of the most real, down to earth kids I have ever met. Working with the Firefighters FC had the same effect on me. I was in a “dangerous” township, yet I still managed to always feel safe and at home. I am proud to say I am a Firefighter. I had the most fun doing the “nontraditional” stuff, the kind of things I never could have done had I done a normal student exchange to an international university. I got to hang out in townships with local people, which is the only way to truly get to know a place. In addition to all this work I also got to be a tourist. I climbed beautiful mountains and went on safaris; I visited vineyards and countless shops; I toured museums and ate at amazing restaurants; I learned how to surf and jumped off a bridge. All of this shouldn’t be taken for granted or taken lightly, without it my experience in Cape Town would be incomplete. Through my classes I learned about the history of South Africa, allowing me to engage in meaningful conversations with locals; I learned the ins and outs of NGOs, connecting the lessons with my work at CMES; and I had my previous teachings and ideas challenged, which isn’t always comfortable.

In addition to all of this, two aspects of Cape Town were the most meaningful: my relationship with Bongi and my student. The effect these two individuals had on me I cannot even begin to articulate. They each inspired me in their own ways and saying goodbye to them was the hardest. I will miss them more than I can imagine and everything they have taught me will affect how I live my life until the day I die.

Ubuntu is an African proverb that is very prevalent here. The rough translation is “I am because we are.” I think it relates my trip perfectly. I couldn’t have had the experience I did without the people I traveled with and the people who I met here. South Africa is a beautiful country, but it doesn’t even compare to how beautiful its people are. As heavy of a heart that I have to leave, I’m also incredibly excited to go home and be reunited with my family, girlfriend, and friends whom I left behind that rainy January morning. I’ll do another, final blog post later in this week after I get myself settled in at home.