Allie approaching final week in Cape Town

Over the past few weeks, the rule has been not to talk about leaving South Africa. Anyone who mentioned the dwindling number of days here was immediately shushed, as if avoiding the subject could prolong our time here. However, we’ve finally reached the point where it’s impossible to deny our departure; in one week from tomorrow, we are leaving Cape Town. It honestly hasn’t hit me yet, and I don’t think it’s going to until the first morning I wake up in Fairfield, CT. I’m obviously excited that I’m going to get to see my family and friends again; I was lucky enough to have my dad visit for the week before excursion, and that sort of reminded me how much I miss them. But I’m still not ready to go. I feel like there are so many things I didn’t get the chance to do and that Cape Town still has so much to offer. I’m going to miss so much about this city: the colors, the people, the energy- everything.

It’s also going to be strange to no longer call the house we have lived in home. After spending four months here with all my housemates, it’s going to be weird to not see them every day. Considering we didn’t know each other a few months ago, we have become incredibly close- sort of like a big, dysfunctional family. For me, this has definitely been one of the rewarding parts of the trip, and I think that when I look back on my time in South Africa, I’m going to most clearly remember the people I spent it with.

Okay, I’m regretting writing about this now- too sad! I’m just going to try and enjoy my last week here in Cape Town. Luckily, we’ve got a lot to look forward to. I’m hoping to revisit some of my favorite spots around the city- Lions Head, Old Biscuit Mill, St. George’s Mall, etc. 

Quotes on wall in Nyanga school library

But what I’m most excited about is finishing the library in Nyanga; we were there today, and it looks amazing! We finished painting the quotes on the walls, Sharon put up her beautiful mural, and we were even able to put some books on the shelves. I’m so thrilled that we were able to actually accomplish what we set out to do, and I just hope that it can make a difference in the lives on some of these deserving students. 

Sharon's mural hung on wall in library