I never, ever thought that I would be going to the African continent, but three short days from now I will be making the trek to South Africa to begin a three week life-changing journey. This is something that I have been looking forward to for months and the fact that it is only three days away is completely surreal to me. I am feeling a great mixture of feelings from excited to overwhelmed to nervous--but mostly excited. When I was looking through the global seminar options for this winter they all looked awesome, but for whatever reason Cape Town really grabbed my attention before I even began to read into the program details. After extensively looking into the details and exploring Cape Town via other Internet resources, I knew that this program and country was going to give me the best learning experience and memories that will stick with me for a lifetime, which was why I chose it. More specifically, I chose this program for its vast mixture of experiences that it, and the country, engulf including all of, but not limited to, the following: the Apartheid (and all that it encompasses--past, present, and future), the great human diversity of South Africa, the cultural landscape, Educo Africa retreat, MaT Service-Learning, talking circles, District Six Museum, Robben Island, and so much more. I don't really know what to expect for this three week journey and everything within it, but I do know that I am going to embrace it all with open arms--every high and every low--which is something quite new for me personally. I hope to challenge myself like I never have before throughout this adventure. I hope to overcome my fears. I hope to grow. I hope to make new friends, connections, and memories that will last a life time. I hope to have a new appreciation and understanding of life and everything within it. I hope to learn things that will be valuable as I head into the "real world", for graduation is approaching fast. The compassion that I have for this trip is difficult to put into words. Nonetheless, I hope for and look forward to so, so, so many things.
South Africa...I never thought I would be meeting you. But I can't wait.
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