In case you’re wondering what the title translates to: “Goodbye, stay well! I’ll see you later South Africa!”
I’ve been back in the suburbs of Chicago for a little more than 2 weeks now, and all I can say is that I miss South Africa so much. I’ve had so much reverse culture shock the first few days back that it’s been jarring. First, there are no mountains-just flat strips of land. Second, I became terrified being driven in a car because I thought we would crash into a different car coming in the opposite direction (SA drives opposite of us). There’s so much more that I’ve been experiencing, but since you all have heard us talk about South Africa so much, I’ll try to keep it short.
A breathtaking view of Table Mountain
In the last two weeks on the program, many of my friends back home have asked me that same question, “Are you excited to come back home?” My response to them has been “I am, but I’m not.”
My hesitation lay with the question: How am I supposed to say goodbye to the place that has radically changed my perspective on the world and life and has become my home? There are so many incredible things that I’ve been able to experience here in South Africa. I’ve met wonderful people, learned about the complexity of South Africa, had so many adventures, and much more. I celebrated my 21st birthday with old and new friends. In South Africa, I learned to be adventurous and to step outside of my comfort zone. I learned how to actually deal with peer pressure and how to voice my thoughts.
Though it wasn’t always easy at times to immerse myself in South Africa, I found that I’ve gradually fallen in love with the place, nation, and entity that is South Africa.
Honestly, it felt extremely surreal that last day in Stellenbosch. We went out for lunch as usual, got on the bus to go to the airport and hopped on a plane. It didn’t really hit me that in less than 48 hours, I’d be back in my warm and comfy home separated from the country that I’ve learned to treat as my second home. Only, when I got home, it didn’t feel right.
Even though I’ve been back and have talked to people about my experience in SA, I’m still hesitant to answer questions like, “What was your favorite part? What did you do there? Tell me about your fun adventures!”. Yes, I want to tell you about my fun adventures and such, but I also want to give you more than a surface level perspective of South Africa, since it’s changed me so much. I also want to tell you about unending plight of the quadruple burden of disease or politics or poverty. The list goes on.
Though I’m still wrestling with how I’m going to answer these questions, I know one thing for certain. I’ll be heading back to South Africa again. So really, I’m not saying goodbye to South Africa, but rather departing with a “see you later” mentality.
All 20 of us at the Cape of Good Hope