Some People Change

My darling readers!

First, I should apologize for my lack of updates. The other day I realized just how long it had been since I posted anything. I immediately got to work, determined to post something. But there seems to be a running theme in my life these days that equates to me being absolutely incapable of doing anything in a timely manner. This new habit of mine has been particularly destructive to my school work. I hear from my friends who are not in South Africa that they are nearing finals week or just finished their last final and I become green with envy! As of today I have 9 school days remaining. My finals begin on May 30th.

So much has been happening recently and at the same time there has been no news. As my time here in South Africa comes to an end, I become increasingly more reflective (as tends to happen when ends near) about the effects of this adventure on me as a person and a citizen of the world. Certainly I have discovered new things about myself, but my daily life and habits have also changed dramatically.

As I have talked about before I now have a new love and appreciation for wine! My friends and I go to Wine Society every week to sample wines from vineyards near Cape Town (we went last night, in fact), we have gone to Stellenbosch twice (one of the best places in the world for wine), we drink it casually at home, and I have even started having dreams about wine. I really am shocked at much I enjoy drinking wine. This is partially because I had never really been exposed to much wine, but also because I was never a big drinker- that has also changed a little bit while in South Africa. I keep thinking about what book I’m going to get when I get back to America. I’ve been wanting to get the equivalent of a Wine for Dummies book so I can learn more about the different grape varieties and how the fermentation process works, etc. But I am most definitely going to wait to get home to purchase said book- you wouldn’t believe how expensive books are here! I really feel like drinking and collecting wine could be a hobby that I have for the rest of my life. It’s so fun to talk to other people about what you’re getting from the wine because everyone tastes and smells things differently. I’m trying to decide which four bottles I’m going to bring home (you can have two in each checked bag). I know I’m going to bring home a sparkling red wine to drink on my 22nd birthday (if I can keep it that long). I have an Shiraz blend that I’m bringing home for my family (it smells like coffee). And I am going to bring home a white wine for Annie (the next door neighbor/woman whose family we basically forced into our own). So that leaves space for one more bottle… I’m determined to make it a good one.

I’ve also learned that I am a fairly self-sufficient human being. Since I began college, I’ve always lived on campus and had a meal plan- which basically mean that I never cooked meals for myself. I would buy ramen, but that’s about it. But here I cook for myself! And sometime for my roommate, Amy- which I dearly love to do. I make different concoctions of pasta, stir fry, lots of sandwiches, casseroles, chicken (though this is happening less and less now), soup, and more! For awhile I was taking pictures of what I was making just to have them documented. I’m actually quite proud of myself. One of the most amazing things is that I feel like I’m eating healthier here than I generally do at home. I” always eating a lot of vegetables. Even when I got to the grocery store, my first stop is the produce section and that is the large majority of what is in my cart. I’m also loving hummus, tzatziki, and pesto! Also, I’m amazed at how little meat I eat. When I cook at home, my diet is largely pescatarian. I eat vegetarian sandwiches and sometimes have tuna. Anymore, I’m just too cheap to buy meat! Hehe

I’m also really coming to terms with my beliefs and what’s important to me. There isn’t a whole lot to say on this subject, but I’m quite surprised by some of the results.

As I’ve mentioned before a big part of my life here is the organization I volunteer at. PASSOP has helped to open my eyes to a number of problems within South Africa that I might never have noticed existed. We do a significant amount of work with refugees (particularly those from Zimbabwe) and we also help South African residents create resumes so that they can find work. I’ve spend a lot of time typing up CVs (or resumes) here and I hope that that was time well spent. Thursday night we had an event to help raise funds for the victims of a fire that happened on Monday in the township Masiphumelele near Fish Hoek. If you get time, please look into what happened there. 1500 homes were burnt to the group and now 5000 people are displaced. PASSOP has an office in Masiphumelele that was affected by the fire, but not destroyed. I was so happy that the even turned out to be as big of a success as it did. We made 7000 rand! About $1000!!! I’m actually quite surprised how many people showed up to support our organization (thanks so much for going with me, Kait!)

As my time in South Africa begins to wind down, I look forward to the life I have to go home to. I am ready to sleep in a bed that doesn’t have a very large crater in the middle of it when I wake up in the morning, to not find cockroaches in my kitchen, and to not have mold growing on the walls. But all of those things are incredibly superficial- most of the reasons that make me ready to go home are. And though there is a part of me that is excited to return home (USA, USA!), I am also incredibly sad to only have 5 weeks left. I’ve made new friends that I hope to remain close with, broadened my horizons, discovered new passions, and learned a lot about other people, the world and myself. I have enjoyed my time here so much and I know that, though things will definitely be different for me when I go home, this was an experience that was important for me to have. Things are definitely changing. Time in college is winding down, the acquisition of new friends, the loss of old relationships, new hobbies, new beliefs, new opportunities… After the life I’ve lived so far, I’m excited to see what’s around the next corner.

Love to you all. Thank you for reading. Remember to look up the fire!

Be safe,
B.