Dana seeking joy in the simple things

If only it could be January! I absolutely cannot wait to go to Cape Town next semester! When I first found out that I was going to South Africa, it didn't really seem real, and it still hasn't 100% set in, but I am constantly getting more and more excited to go. I can't even say what I'm looking forward to the most because it's basically everything. However, if I had to pick one thing, I would have to say the internship. Although it will be one of the more serious parts of the trip, I'm looking forward to meeting the youth of South Africa. When my sister came back from Cape Town with pictures, every picture of the children was cuter than the one before. Although it sounds odd, I can't wait for my heart to break every time I see a little South African child. Seeing those pictures made me want to meet them and really be there to share in the joy they have. Despite the conditions they live in every single day, (which we saw a bit in Testing Hope on Sunday) such a simple thing as getting their picture taken is the highlight of their day. I hope some of this "joy in the simple things" will rub off on me for times when I take for granted everything I have. So I guess what I am most looking forward to is hopefully to be the source of joy in at least one South African child's day.

I believe part of the reason people live the way they do has to do with luck; if they are lucky to be brought into the world in a good environment, they are a step ahead. I was lucky enough to be brought into a strong and loving family but also a family that had the means to not only buy enough food, clothing, and material things, but to pay for an education that will provide me with amazing opportunities. I realize that in most cases, I take all of this for granted, and obviously never really know what it would be like to have to work tremendously hard to achieve something as simple to me as eating three meals a day. Therefore, my hope is that in living in South Africa for a semester will help me to really understand and appreciate the privilege that I have been given, mostly by pure luck, as well as the lack of privilege many people of the world must fight through every minute of every day. I think for most of us going to South Africa, the culture shock we experience won't only be shocking because it is so dramatically different, but also because we have never REALLY known how lucky we truly are.

Although, I could go on much longer talking about my excitement on being accepted to study abroad in South Africa, I'll save it for when I'm actually there experiencing it!!