As our time here in Cape Town dwindles down, I find myself thinking more and more about the many different friendships I have. One of the biggest things I’ve learned since being here is just how much I appreciate my best friend back home. Whenever I’m abroad, I have a terrible habit of not keeping in touch with people back home. However, since meeting my best friend freshman year of college, this is the first time I have been abroad. Never have I made such an effort to keep someone so included and up-to-date on what is going on with my life. Partially I think this has to do with the fact that a lot of what I’m dealing with here she takes great interest in back home. She very much advocates for women’s rights, and before Cape Town that was a topic she and I could never agree on. I always saw feminism as a group of annoying women that always have a bone to pick. But being here I’ve learned that there is much more to feminism that holding grudges against the oppressor. And now I think that my relationship with my best friend is going to be that much stronger now that we have another common ground on which to agree. Additionally, there were times during this semester that I found myself getting frustrated with the people around me, or just unable to share certain feelings I was having with my housemates. I couldn’t wait to get onto Skype and talk them out with my best friend. It was times like these that I really appreciated the bond we have and the fact that despite us being half way around the world from one another, we could still connect with what each other was going through. If I take nothing else away from this trip, it’s that I realize how grateful and lucky I am to have a friend like her waiting for me back home.
In contrast to that, I also find myself worrying about how some of my relationships with people back home will be once I return. While this program was only three months long, it has certainly changed me in a drastic way. And I worry that although I’ve changed, I know that people back home haven’t. I don’t know what kind of toll that will take on my relationships with certain people. It’s hard to connect to someone when I no longer want to engage in the things that used to bond us together. Yet at the same time no one ever wants to say goodbye to an old friend. While I can’t say for sure how my relationships with certain people will change once I get back home, just by the fact that I’m already thinking about it is an uneasy feeling for me.
On the flip side, I’m also sad to leave behind the people I have met here on this trip. I’ve made some great relationships with people here, and it’s an unsettling feeling knowing that in a week’s time I will be leaving and don’t know if I’ll ever see them again. For instance, by internship coordinator, Stan, has become what I’ve termed as my “South African father.” He has certainly gone above and beyond his role as my boss, and he is someone that I will miss dearly. And I don’t even want to venture into thinking about life without Ben.
I also think that one of the saddest parts of this experience ending will be waking up back in the States and not being surrounded by 15 other people. Living in a house with so many people certainly made me nervous when I first started this trip. Now, living without them makes me nervous. The times we’ve shared here in this house are some of my fondest memories, and I couldn’t imagine spending them with anyone else. I know that we will all remain close back at Uconn, but it’s sad knowing that this living arrangement will never occur again.
Overall, this trip has made me come to realize just how important my relationships with other people are. I’m grateful for every single friendship I’ve made here, as well as this programs ability to strengthen my relationship with people thousands of miles away from me back home.
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