Lianna on this place feeling like home

After sitting down yesterday and writing up a list of all the things that we want to get done in Cape Town, it is easy to see how quickly our time here is going to pass.  We have already been here a month, and before we know it we’ll be headed back to the US.  But that’s not really something I want to think about right now.  I’d rather focus on all the fun that I’ve been having, and just how amazing this opportunity is. 

On my walk to work this morning I was thinking about that.  How awesome and amazing it is that I got to come here.  On a global perspective, I feel so lucky and privileged that I have this opportunity to see the world, when there are so many people who never have the opportunity to leave their country, or even get much past their hometown.  I feel particularly lucky because I made it my personal goal to see as much of the world as I can.  My mother has never left the continent, and the only time my Dad has was training for and fighting in the Vietnam War.  The only one of my four siblings to get off the continent is my brother, who went to Japan, Saudi Arabia and Iraq through the Marine Corp, so the experience of living in another country is pretty unique for me.  Often I think about my time here and how badly I want to come back, already, and even though I want to see everywhere, I have a feeling that I will try to come back here.  There is just something amazing about it here, and it doesn’t hurt that there are so many different aspects to Cape Town.  As a group we have learned that there is an endless amount to do here, for so many different interests.  It’s a great combination of the beach, a city and nature, hiking is one of my favorite pastimes, and there is plenty of that here!

One thing that surprised me a lot about Cape Town is just how small it really is.  Not area wise, or population wise, but how often you run into people here.  I’m not even going to pretend I know a lot of locals here, but whether it’s running into some of my coworkers at the beach, running into the same group of Americans everywhere we go, or bumping into my boss on Long Street, it never ceases to surprise me when I see someone I know, especially the one time we were recognized hiking up Table Mountain.  It’s a nice feeling; it helps make this place feel more like a home, and less like a place that I have come for a visit.