Vara's tearful goodbyes to her multiple communities

Not only was this trip life-changing and thought provoking, but it also brought about a sense of true community. It can be said that people in unfamiliar situations stick together. My group of 29 friends did exactly that starting from January 11th when we arrived. We became much more familiar with Cape Town but that did not mean we parted ways. Through so many challenging moments we all stuck together and when I least expected it, someone had my back. This is the sense of community that I felt from my peers.

The sense of community I also had was from the locals and my mentors. My three professors created the comforting environment for us all to become closer and learn together. The locals constantly surprised me as they were more than willing to make a friend, to help out, or to let us hold their newborns at restaurants. Besides that though, the general community aspect of Cape Town is one to be missed. I learned how to be independent while still immersing myself in the community that formed in Cape Town. There were definitely times when I wanted to distance myself from my co-educators, but in the end our friendship proved true as we were saying goodbye to our home of 3+ months.

On April 27th we all scrambled to get the last of our packing finished and down to the entranceway. Before we departed for the airport though, we had one last group meeting. All 29 of us sat together in our lounge, study room, and classroom. We listened to our RA say last words as tears started to appear. Our teacher Marita also gave some parting words which culminated to more tears. Eventually the tear circle was complete, 29 sobbing classmates sat together in the room curling up next to each other and holding hands as we did one last meditation. The energy in the room was uncontrollable. All my frustration over kitchen cleaning, bathroom utilization, pool use, taxi money debates, and so much more were gone. We were all one huge and close knit community feeling the strongest emotion ever. We felt a longing to stay, to remain close, and to cherish every moment we experienced together. Looking around the room, it only perpetuated the tears. I found myself uncontrollably sobbing and realizing how much the trip impacted my life. I have a network of co-educators who understand my stories and have seen what I have. They know the emotions I have been feeling the whole trip and they understand Ubuntu and Amandla and Awethu. Our tears are not just showing how much we enjoyed Cape Town, but symbolize how much of a connected community we are and will continue to be.

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

Aimee making every moment count during her final week in Cape Town

Aimee and friends sharing one last look from the mountain top

To begin my last week in Cape Town I had dinner with Marita at her flat for the last time. I am going to miss her kindness, wisdom, and delicious food. Marita is a wonderful professor and it means so much when she opens her heart and her doors to all of us. On Tuesday, the four of us at City Mission spent a day with our supervisor before our last day at the school. We went out for lunch at Mugg and Bean then visited a township that CMES partners with to do a feeding program. We were introduced to an amazing woman who raises foster children and does social work in the township. She told us about the conditions and lack of support from government. Nathan, our supervisor, explained that even though CMES struggles with resources there are always others who are struggling more. We also got to meet Nathan’s mother and learn more about Nathan’s upbringing and how he got to where he is today.

We had our last class with Marita that night and talked about our activist projects and reflected on our experiences during the semester. We had discussions in groups about the challenges we are going to face when returning back home. Some of the challenges we may face include sharing stories with families and friends, implementing what we have learned, sticking to our values, getting more involved with human rights activism, and much more. It was beneficial to discuss these struggles and create solutions and plans on how to overcome them.

           

I can’t believe the last day of interning is actually here. I arrived at CMES and then went to the Homestead in Khayelitsha. When I walked through the door, immediately the boys came running up to me and gave me hugs and colored pages with stickers on them. We didn’t do any lessons for my last day and I was able to spend time with each of the seven boys. We played games, sang songs, recorded videos, handed out cards to one other, and ate sweets. I will cherish the photos, cards, and memories that I have teaching at the Homestead forever. The boys brought so much joy to my days interning and I know I will never forget them. One of the boys came up to me before I left and asked me to teach him how to read. I think he was finally realizing that I was leaving and would not be teaching him how to read anymore. I opened the card I gave him and we went over the words together very slowly and carefully. The boys do not always behave in class but deep down they have the strong desire to learn. They know in the back of their minds that education is really the only option for them at this point. All of the learners have different stories and different goals in life and I can only hope and pray that they stay in school and learn how to find their place in the world.  I hope to stay in touch with City Mission and the Homestead because they now hold a place in my heart.

Aimee bids farewell to some of the learners who will always hold a place in her heart.

On Thursday Vincent gave us our final exam for history and politics of South Africa. We were given essay questions about the Anglo-Boer War, structure of government, GEAR and RDP, Trust and Reconciliation Commission, and the 4 pillars of struggle. I think I did well! After lunch we practiced our symposium presentation for prospective students and their families to be held at Uconn at the beginning of the fall semester. It was weird talking about the trip in past tense even though we were still there for a few days. The whole group of us had a pancake sleepover the second to last night of being in Cape Town. It was nice to get together one last time as an entire group and reflect on the amazing experience that was coming to and end. We were also making plans to get together over the summer and next year. We have formed close friendships and our passion for human rights and South Africa will bond us in many ways for the future.

           

After waking up at the other house, I finished up some cards and got ready for a baby shower at CMES for Melissa, a friend and co-worker. Then Brianna and I dropped off some things at the school and took some last few pictures inside and outside the school. We took our last minibus taxi ride home and got ready for the farewell dinner. I enjoyed sharing a meal with supervisors, teachers, and beloved friends from City Mission Educational Services. It was nice to enjoy our last night with people who opened their arms to us and taught us what it meant to be part of one big family.

Aimee, Brianna, Melissa, & Allie at appreciation dinner with their internship supervisors:
amazing teachers from City Mission Educational Service

Saturday is the big day!! I spent all morning frantically packing while new guests were moving into our house at the same time. We made cards for Harry, the landlord, and Thelma, our housekeeper. She was such a kind woman who always had a smile on her face. When we found out about her house caving in from the rain, we all knew we had to do our best to donate food and funds to help her and her family during this difficult time. The 10 of us waved goodbye to our home and met up with the group to return phones and keys and reflect on parting words. Thank you Ben and Erin for being great resources for us during our journey in Cape Town. You may not have realized it but we looked to you as role models and loved your words of wisdom. We were all emotional as Ben and Marita gave last words of hope and encouragement that will lead us on our new journey of carrying this experience with us when we return home.

           

Finally, when we arrived at the airport there were friends to wish us a farewell and safe travels. I gave Nathan’s wife dollars and coins as souveniers for others back at CMES. We said one last goodbye to friends, family, brothers, and sisters that we had while in Cape Town. I know we will be in touch and the memories will never fade. Now I felt so much more ready to embark on the 12-hour flight to London and be lost in the sea of friendships and memories that I left behind but will never forget. The memories and experiences will have a lasting impact. Until next time Cape Town!!! <3

Jerard hopeful despite the challenging dualities of life

3 months have come to an all too rapid and abrupt end. During this time I’ve done everything from wrestling with elephants to putting on a talent show. As I sit here reflecting on everything we’ve accomplished as a group I can’t help but feel a sense of pride as well as a bit of sorrow. When we first arrived we were all struck by how beautiful South Africa is, and I remember being immediately struck by the pockets of poverty amidst the beauty. That is what this trip has been for me, a combination of ugliness amidst beauty. During orientation we were taken to all of the gorgeous views Cape Town had to offer. At the same time we were shown the townships that sprawled across sections of the city.

After being properly situated and released into the wild so to speak, I developed friendships with many of the locals. Once again even the people demonstrated the duality between beauty and ugliness. I met some of the most physically and spiritually beautiful people of my life. The people were able to wax poetic about community, love, forgiveness, courage, you name it. They forced me to reflect on things that I had never even considered in my entire life. Those same people could say equally terrible things. One of my coworkers for instance talked about how the country was moving towards a better place and how happy she was her kids were being given the opportunities she was never afforded. Immediately after this she, a coloured woman, began to talk about how terrible the blacks are in this country. She warned me against trusting them because they were dangerous and base creatures. It just went to show me that some prejudices die hard.

The people that came with me on this trip even began to demonstrate this duality. We would have these profound discussions about life and race, and turn around and make assumptions about one another and people we’d met. Or we would come to the realization that there was no point in sweating the small stuff and that everyone should show compassion to one another, right before we started bickering and treating one another poorly. Overall this group has grown and done some truly inspiring things. I think everyone has honestly developed a greater consciousness about how our actions can affect others.

All of this ugliness and beauty has given me something I might have lost along the way, and that’s hope. Being in South Africa has given me a hope for the future of our planet and our species. I see now that no matter what terrible thing is going on there is always something good to be found. My peers and the history of South Africa have taught me that if just one person stands up then they can make the world a better place. Our activist projects have shown me that everyone wants to be happy and do the right thing. All it takes is the opportunity. So as I fly home I feel a great sense of sorrow at leaving a place that has given me so much, but I know that the beauty of it all is that I’m going home to another beautiful place that is yearning to learn the lessons South Africa has taught me. To all of my co-educators, to the people of South Africa and to everyone waiting at home I cannot express how much I appreciate every last one of you, and words cannot describe how much I love everyone.

Andrew's closing reflections

I think it’s going to be hard going back home (even though I’m not flying home for another month).  It’s going to be hard to explain to people what I’ve seen here because it’s unlike anyplace in the world.  

These are only a few things of what I’m going to miss:

• ·      Waking up to table mountain every day
• ·      Having the amazing group of co-educators and professors to be inspired by, learn from, and always bounce ideas off of to help me become a better person
• ·      Always feeling challenged about our ways back home
• ·      Seeing people with so little giving so much—it strikes me somewhere deep down in my heart
• ·      Seeing how generations of people are recovering and transforming from very trying years

Andrew (in green) with some of his co-educators

Over the past few months I’ve had the opportunity to spend time with Professor Rode in the burns unit.  He has been a great inspiration to me.  The most important thing that I learned from him is that I need to back up what I preach.  He told me that there are a few professors who have been touting the need to give patients (mostly the poor black and colored people) access to quality health care, predominantly in the form of the National Health Insurance.  However, when he asked them to come to Khayelitsha to work with him at the clinic he goes to, they always made up some type of excuse.  I want to be involved in health policy to make sure that people can get the best care and Prof set the best example for me because I know that I will never let myself not take real action—I must be “in the trenches”—with whatever I do.  Another one of Prof Rode’s greatest pieces of advice is that I have to be happy with the life decisions I make and make the best of it and don’t plan too far ahead in the future.  He told me this when I asked him how I really want to live in back here in Cape Town for a longer time (at least about a year) and I told him how the next time I can come back is most likely after medical school, but by that time I will be too much in debt and I’ll probably have a family that I’ll have to worry about.   What he said struck home because I can’t plan my life so far in advance that I’m too worried about it…I just have to live and decide what I want to do and then deal with the what life brings (in terms of financial and family situations).

Sharon's stroll and reflections on Table Mountain

I finally took a trip to the top of Table Mountain. It was a beautiful day, the skies were clear and the sun was warm. I decided to take a solo trip to Table because during my 3.5 months stay in South Africa, I have never gone to the top and how can I go back to the States without journeying to one of the new Seven Wonders of Nature? The cable car ride up was pretty awesome and the view was breathtakingly beautiful—I felt like I could see the whole world from the top. The ocean seemed to go one forever-- I didn’t know when the ocean ended and horizon line started.

            

While I strolled along the path, I had a chance to reflect on my time here in Cape Town and write my thoughts in my journal. This experience is indescribable. Throughout the whole week, I have been preparing myself to go home, but I am not ready to leave this beautiful country. I am going to miss taking classes at University of Cape Town, hanging out at Loch Rd, interning at Cape Town Refugee Center and even the bumpy and nauseating ride of the morning commute to work. Most importantly, I will miss the unique community and the spirit of Ubuntu of South Africa.

           

 When I graduated from High School, I remember I needed to write a quote underneath my senior picture for the yearbook. I wanted to write something profound so I picked a quote my Mohamed Gandhi, “be the change you wish to see in the world.” Because I chose the quote haphazardly, it did not really mean anything to me at that time. However, now, after my study abroad experience and learning about Mohamed Gandhi and his individual role not only in South Africa but globally, the quote really resonates with me. The power of one individual is significant. As I move on in life and graduate from UConn this upcoming December, I want to dedicate my life to a career for the greater good.