 |
| Sharon braves the mountain |
On Friday morning, 8 March, I left for the airport to pick up my
mentor from the States, Jungeun Cho. I was SO excited to see a friend from home.
Jung and I have known each other since I started high school. She was my youth
group teacher at church and she still continues to be a huge part of my life.
When I was undergoing a major change at UConn during my junior year, she
advised my efforts and I continue value her opinion and guidance on all aspects
of my life. She actually was the reason why I decided to apply for the Cape
Town South Africa study abroad program. I remember when I was in my last
semester as a senior in high school and I said goodbye to Jung when she was
departing for her own semester in Cape Town and avidly listened to her stories
when she came back from her unbelievable adventure. I was fascinated by her
experience bungee jumping, hiking Table Mountain and excursion through the
safari. However, when I look back at it now, I only remember hearing about the
sightseeing and touristy aspect of her trip. Furthermore, I distinctly remember
thinking I would never be able to go across the world for 3.5 months, away from
my family, friends and everything I am familiar with in the States. But look at
me now! I see that there is so much more to this trip than the beautiful scenic
component—the internship placement and learning about the history and culture
of South Africa are what makes this trip valuable and it is the reason why I am
here.
 |
| Sharon & her friend/mentor, Jung, enjoy a day at the beach. |
As
I continue on in this journey, many times I get worried and anxious about my
future career and plans. As a senior, I know I need to contemplate heavily on
what steps I need to take to get to where I want to be. Even amidst my apprehension,
I am reassured knowing that God has a plan for me. I have faith that in the
future, I will be doing what He called me to do. In addition, I strongly
believe it was part of his plan for me to have this experience abroad, perhaps
to prepare me. Before coming on this trip, I knew I wanted to dedicate my
future career in helping others. I want to be part of the movement in social
change, specifically for the realization of human rights everywhere. Human
rights is what I am passionate about—and I know I want it to be a huge part of
my life after graduation.
 |
| Korean food at Galbi's |
On another note---- Jung and I had
a wonderful busy weekend!! We hiked Table Mountain, went shopping in St.
Georges Mall, went to Camp’s Bay beach, and had dinner at a traditional Korean
barbeque restaurant on Long Street called Galbi (Korean term for Korean
barbeque). I literally jumped up and down in excitement when I found out that
Cape Town had Korean food so I invited my housemates along. Back at home my mom
always cooks Korean food for my family to enjoy so I have been craving it since
I have been in Africa. I am happy to inform everyone that the food was
delicious and surprisingly authentic. The experience reminded me of eating on
the streets of Seoul, Korea, allowing me to reminisce on my previous study
abroad experience at Yonsei University in South Korea. It definitely gave me a
nostalgic moment and I had flashbacks in my head of the people I met in Korea,
and then I felt so blessed to have another opportunity to be in a beautiful
country and create lasting friendships with my new cohort. So while I was
ecstatic some of my housemates got to experience grilling meat right at the
table and eating really delicious Korean cuisine, I was even more ecstatic by
the fact that I was in good company. I know that the personal relationships developing
between my housemates the past 2.5 months are not surface level friendships.
These friendships are real and meaningful and we all are connected by the fact
we are experiencing something life changing- together.
 |
| Co-educators: Patrick, Sharon, Wylie, Andrea, Savitri, Lindsay, Liz, Erica (and Dan Ratner from the CPT class of '09) |
No comments:
Post a Comment