Joe on friendships and inspiration

There is only a few days left in Cape Town and we are all running around trying to figure out what we still want to do. Luckily we have the last week off and we have some time to reflect upon our experience here. I have spent a great deal of time thinking about the relationships that I have built with so many different people here and I am so grateful for each and every one of them. First, me and my housemates have created a larger family feeling that I would not trade for everything. I have been using the terms “brotha” and “sista” since living in Cape Town but I truly believe that these people are my brothers and sisters. We have all grown together and we will continue to push each other when we are home. They are my support network and every time I would come home from my internship, it would be so great to have such amazing people to come home to. We all have different personalities but as a group, we are perfect for each other. We balance one another out and keep each other sane.

I have also been lucky enough to have made friends with people from Cape Town such as Bongi and Mkhululi, a student at Thandokhulu High School. They both have taught me about the sense the spirit of ubuntu. Ubuntu literally means “I am because we are” The spirit of ubuntu relies on the fact that we are all inter-connected and dependent one another. They have been open to me and shared information with me that I will carry on with me for the rest of my life. I feel comfortable asking them anything about Cape Town culture or the Xhosa culture. We have shared our home and our hearts to them and they have done the same for us. I am happy to know that I have made connections here that will stay with me for the rest of my life and that I can always count on trusting these men when I return to Cape Town. They are both so inspirational in their spirit for learning and helping others. I know that if I continue to strive to be like them every day, I can help to make the world a better place.

I am so lucky to have been exposed to all the opportunities I was granted here. I will make sure not to forget any of them and carry what I have learned home to the US.