This weekend we had the pleasure of being invited to one of
Vernon’s friend’s house for a braai. Only being the second braai I have been to
since being here I’ve already picked up on some practices. Firstly, you eat
before the braai. Though the event may start at 4, the main food will not be
out for a few hours later. Secondly, there is an absurd amount of food. Before
all the meat and fish is prepared to serve, there are samosas, crackers, chips,
fruit, spreads, and more and more. Once you think you’ve filled yourself up on
finger food there is beef, lamb, snoek, and chicken to come!
We have been so blessed to be welcomed into the homes of
amazing people who want nothing more than to help us, make us feel at home, and
of course feed us. Everywhere we go we are met with love and genuine kindness
of the people around us, a reaction that I absolutely love and am so grateful
for! While I am still falling in love
with the people and the town I’m starting the lamenting process as I come to
terms with this encroaching departure date.
The scariest question I heard this week was ‘When are you
leaving?’ because the answer is something I think I’m starting to try to
repress. When first arriving in January I had no problem answering ‘The end of
April’. But now, the end of April only gives me about a month of time left, 39
days to be precise.
I know a lot of people are starting to feel the same and
it’s incredibly frightening. I wrote briefly about this before but the
countdown is only getting more and more stressful! Something we talked about in
the pre-departure class is coming to terms with the fact that we wouldn’t be
able to do everything we would want to. I didn’t think I had an issue with
this, but as the time for leaving comes closer I find myself fighting harder
and harder to admit this might be true.
Looking at how I have to plan out my remaining time I have
concocted a rather ambitious schedule. Activities like hiking Table Mountain,
paragliding off of Lion’s Head, continuing to teach myself how to surf, sports
games, museum (and planetarium) exploring, and volunteering opportunities are
all things that I refuse to give up. Sleep is going to have to wait for a while
because I just simply don’t have time for that anymore. There’s just too much
to do and not nearly enough time!
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