Brianna: mission accomplished even though the journey is not finished

It is April 29^th, 2013, the Monday following the return of our arrival and I surprisingly realized that today, above all emotions, I am happy. Who would have thought that after the most amazing experience that I just got home from, that I would be smiling instead of crying right now? What I have come to realize is that I am smiling because everything that I just experienced…happened. Secondly, I have realized that I can’t say that this journey is over because that would be the biggest lie I ever told.

It seems like yesterday when we all boarded the plane and took off for Cape Town. Who would have thought it would all go by so quickly? As I’m in my bedroom, typing this blog post, I am pleasantly reminded of all the amazing times I had in such a memorable place. To measure the greatness of this trip in one moment would be impossible. It is of course the most tiny moments that are sometimes even forgotten that amount to some of the best memories. Therefore, I am lucky that I am able to revisit these moments through the pictures I hold dear to my heart of all who touched my life.

Brianna with her students from City Mission Educational Services

I have realized that the mood I am in isn’t a sad one. Of course, I miss those that I left back in Cape Town and all the people who helped make my trip everything it was. But it is to my surprise that I actually stand here happy and I have realized that my happiness is because I found satisfaction in everything I was a part of and I know that as much as I have touched the lives of others, they have reciprocated the favor and for that I am forever grateful.

What I have come to realize through this trip is that although Cape Town is visually one of the most gorgeous places I have ever seen, what has made my experience was not the mountains, beaches, penguins, or safari that we all excitedly prepared for.

What made my experience were indeed the people around me. Whether this was my co-educators or everyone else I met along the way, they all contributed to my experience abroad. Our tears, smiles, laughter and good company with one another is what made this trip so memorable and unforgettable. Everything was real…every tear, every hug, as well as every ounce of laughter, but above all every smile. Our happiness was the most genuine emotion felt and it was contagious among each and every one of us.

What I have come to realize, was that deep down we all set off for this trip with a mission at hand. Some of us came to find a piece of us that was missing, while others hoped to remember a piece once forgotten.

Some of us wanted to get away from home for a bit and be independent, fully on our own in a new place that would soon become all too familiar and some of us simply wanted something new and exciting that surely remain unforgettable.

But amongst us all we were each ready and prepared to embrace a new part of our lives. We each stepped into the unknown and filled our hearts with hope for the best.

But instead of focusing on all of the differences that got us here, I am going to focus on our similarities and what unified us all. What I have discovered was that no matter what each of our agendas were and no matter how different they were from the other, we were on a mission and within each of our missions, we shared one commonality: the quest for true happiness.

The beauty of it all, is that this happiness was found in the most obvious and difficult spaces. Sometimes it was in our faces and other times we had to look harder for it but at the end of the day, we all felt it not just independently but also as a whole…together…as one. Therefore, I have realized in this very moment right now, that my happiness is from realizing our mission was accomplished even though our journey is not yet finished.

 

Brianna (far right) with all her co-educators

Tekowa filled with thankfulness for this experience

Its very weird to be writing my last blog, especially since I will not be leaving Cape Town until June. I have to say from the bottom of my heart that this program has been such a gift. I have learned so much about the world and myself from my co-educators and from everyone I have met in Cape Town.  As cliche as it may sound, I have learned the true meaning of Ubuntu here. Ubuntu has permeated my mind and my heart and that attitude of love and connectedness will follow me wherever I go. 

I cant begin to explain how lucky I feel to have been able to spend the past 3 1/2 months with such beautiful people, inside and out. The people I have met through this program have some of the biggest hearts I've come across.  I truly feel that we have become a family over the past couple months. Regardless of any ups and downs, at the end of the day we all love and care about one another, and that is something incredibly special. 

Tekowa, Marita, & Vernon

To Marita, Vernon, and Vincent: thank you so much for all you have taught and shared with us. You have had a powerful impact on all of our lives and I don't think that words can begin to express what you and this time here has meant to me. As Marita has put it: You've left your hand print on my heart. 

To the rest of my wonderful co-educators: I am so proud of all of you and what you have achieved here. I have seen every single one of us grow beyond belief and come closer to the amazing people we are meant to be. I feel privileged to have been a part of your journey, and you a part of mine. I have no doubt that you will all go on to do incredible things, as you are incredible people. You have all helped to restore my faith in humanity and I really believe that together we will change the world. This is just the beginning!

To Cape Town: You have stolen a piece of my heart and become a place that I call home. This is not good bye for I know this is not the last time I will see you. Your spirit of Ubuntu will always be with me. I have seen such pain, joy, warmth, strength, struggle, and resiliency in this beautiful city and I have to say that there is no place in the world quite like Cape Town. 

To the blog readers: Thank you for following our journey. Words can not explain what we have experienced here in Cape Town but we have done our best to share that with you. I hope that some of you will visit this beautiful place we've come to call home and I hope that through our blogs Cape Town has touched your heart too.

It is hard to accept that this experience is over, but this also the beginning of the next chapter for all of us. We are all richer in spirit because of this. Thank you Cape Town. Thank you to everyone who made this possible. 

UBUNTU: I am because we are.

Love, 

Tekowa

Avery's final day

On the last full day in Cape Town, I was a wreck. All around me was still unexplored beauty- a cityscape with stores un-shopped, a bay left un-laid out on, a mountain left un-revisited. I woke up and realizing the predicament of time running out began to cry. I needed to do something with the day that would somehow wrap up everything- tie up this trip with a beautiful bow so that I could get on the plane and look over my shoulder with peaceful content rather than heart strangled anguish in leaving. So, without too much thought involved I followed Patrick, Anna, Allie, Kelsey and Sharon to Nyanga to go officially open the Library that they have taken all semester to build.

Maria, Avery, Lindsay, Wylie, & Kelsey share in the joy of the dedication
of the library at Sithembele Matiso High in Nyanga

 When we arrived it was with the expectation that the walls would be painted, and the shelves would be built but empty, as the shipment of donated books from the USA supposedly wouldn’t arrive until after we had left. What the group found as the doors were pushed open was a library stocked with books- a donation from the Cape Town Library. Anna’s tears of joy permeated my very soul. It was like living in an episode of Extreme Make-Over Home Edition. The group of people who helped to build this beautiful place was all teary eyed and running their hands along the mystical spines of books that appeared in their library. I couldn’t help but weep. In life, we have many opportunities to empathize with someone’s pain- but the moments where we may experience another persons pure joy are much rarer- more sacred, and particularly poignant.

Joseph (the inspiration for the library project with other grade 8-12 learners

The school children from grades 8-12 began to filter into the library for the opening ceremony. The principal came to give an opening speech where he declared his initial skepticism of the project. He explained how it is often that touring groups of students may come through the area- point their fingers at an old standing issue, and then leave never getting their hands dirty in actually solving the problem. He commended then Anna, Patrick and Allie’s group for plunging their hands deep into paint and pulling out a library for the underfunded school. Truly their work is more than just a gift to the community, more than an investment in the future of those students- it is an inspiration to us all.

Kelsey, Patrick, Anna, Liz, and Allie receive thanks for all their hard work.

 Patrick said during the end of the ceremony, “having the idea isn’t hard, the work is hard.” If everyone could in their lifetime focus in on just one social issue- focus on it, hold it dear to their hearts and then go one step further just to think of a valid way to attempt to dispel that issue from the earth- I believe we would find that many more people would then be inclined to act on their ideas. Isn’t that the scariest step after all? That very first one- that one where in taking it you assign your name to a cause, you take up the responsibility because you have now paid attention to it- you are now accountable for working to make a change under this new enlightenment. Damn straight that’s scary-which is why many people allow these wonderful ideas to come into mind and then never fully seek out a way to make their musings take shape. I hope that this sort of story serves as an inspiration to those who come across it. I know that within our group we have each taken up the struggle of something, we are leaving this trip knowing that individually we each have a cause, and that as a group we can call upon any one within us to help make a change. 

Sharon, Anna, KelseyMs Maloka (teacher) Patrick, Allie, and Liz in the beautiful library.
They imagined it and then worked hard to make their dream a reality!

Ainsley on learning to stand alone

Looking back at my past blog posts I realize how I often write about the friends I’ve made on this trip. I’m so happy to return home with such amazing people but I’m also realizing how I’m ok without them as well; how I can still do great things outside of South Africa and without 30 people cheering behind me. We will always have each other and our shared experiences but it’s becoming clear that because of their support I can do these crazy things on my own too.

             

While I realize that I will survive (as I have done before) without this group, this weekend forced me to do scary things without all of them there and made me understand my own power. We traveled the garden route this past weekend making stops along the way and one of those stops was at bungy jumping in the Eastern Cape. As the highest commercial jump in the world we obviously needed to stop. I generally hate heights and the idea of free falling but it was something I felt I needed to do while here. While a lot of the group jumped together, I was on the bridge with only a few others people. And as I was standing on the edge of a huge bridge alone, there weren’t 30 people yelling behind me. And even though I was by myself up there, I was still able to jump.

           

Over the past 3 months I’ve learned a lot about being part of a team and working with people to achieve one goal. I’ve seen the ups and downs of consensus and I’ve learned when to stand up for my opinion and when to let others take the lead. And with all of that in mind I’ve also learned to do things for myself. To find support from myself instead of a huge group in order to do things that scare me. I can only imagine the great things that we will accomplish as a group when we go home but I’m starting to see the power behind an individual as well.

Jerard growing understanding through friendships and fun

After all of the together time spent visiting Johannesburg a majority of our program decided that it would be great to have our own excursion to Plettenberg Bay the following weekend. Plett is one of the big tourist locations here in the Western Cape Province. It was an exciting expedition filled with adventure and bonding experiences around every corner. The first big event planned for us was a 6 hour bus ride from the University of Cape Town to Plettenberg. Instead of being a long and dull affair, everyone managed to stay entertained by exchanging funny stories and playing fun games. The time flew by and before we knew it we had arrived at the hostel we would be staying at for the night. This place was like no other hostel I’d seen before and was more akin to a luscious condo you would find at a resort. Needless to say the trip started off on a good note. The high continued as we went spelunking in caves, went on to pet elephants, and have various high flying adventures that included zip-lining, sky diving, and bungee jumping.

 Although these activities were all very fun the most important thing taken from the trip was a better understanding of my experience in South Africa. We had individual and group conversations that I’m not very sure I will have once I return to the United States. The trip to Plett made me realize that I’ve learned more about these people I’ve only known for 4 months than I know about some of my friends I’ve known for years. I feel that this is because of the amount we’ve all grown as people. We’ve become more open to ideas different from our own and just more accepting of one another in general. The catalyst for this has been the fact that we are going through something that no one at home will understand; we’ve faced fears together, seen both thrilling and sad things, and have been forced to cohabitate with people we most likely never would have met otherwise. Plettenberg will always be a major defining weekend in my trip to South Africa because of everything it represents.

Ainsley on the teamwork of her co-educators

Six months ago I’m not sure if ever would have noticed or picked members of our group out of a crowd. At the airport only three months ago it was hard enough trying to figure out who exactly was on our trip. But now I can’t imagine how my life would be without this group. While I have formed amazing relationships with individuals, I am most impressed with how our group functions as one. We probably argue as much as we get along but the group has the ability to come together when it matters most. We support one another and provide a force to fall back on.

           

In the Loch Road house, Avery has been waiting months for Easter to come and wanted to make it special for us all since we wouldn’t be with our families. And while I’m sure some of us groaned at the idea of having to add another thing to our to-do list everyone made the time to make it special and participate. Avery had the idea for “secret bunnies” so everyone would get a small gift or just something to show how we appreciated each other on Easter (or a few days early). I was so blown away by how everyone really came together for Avery’s idea but most importantly for the group. Secret bunnies turned into long, intense scavenger hunts with the whole group running through the house looking for clues but ended with everyone feeling closer because of the thought and care put into their gifts.

           

That same night the whole program came together to put on a dinner for Vernon, his wife Esme, and Parks and his family. This has probably been the first time I’ve seen us come together so flawlessly and work as a team to create one singular thing. And I don’t think we could have asked for a better event. As a send off before excursion and to say thanks to the people who make this trip possible for us, our group worked so hard and it came out so perfect.

           

Our whole lives through school, sports and activities we’ve been pushed to the idea of teamwork and working together but I don’t think I’ve seen it work as well until now. As a group we can accomplish so many things and I think I’m just now learning how to appreciate this. The group was thrown together and we are all so different but our combined experiences and our short past together make us such a significant force.