#travelerwithacause

[travelerwithacause-blog]

Two Weeks at the Other End

Two weeks before I left for this great adventure I wrote a post. That post included things like stressing over last minute preparations and missing my loved ones back home. It also mentioned how I thought anyone who automatically assumed I was crazy to do something like this was the crazy person. I’m not going to lie, when I wrote that, I don’t think I fully understood the hugeness of what the adventure I was preparing to embark upon. I definitely didn’t know just how much I would miss certain things and certain people (and dogs, let’s be honest) from back home. And maybe, just maybe, all those people who thought I was crazy were right; at least a little bit.

After living here for eleven weeks and having experienced some of the things that have happened, I think I can understand why people thought I was a bit crazy for coming to South Africa for 3 and a half months. Now don’t go gettin me wrong, I do still LOVE this country and I do still LOVE Missionvale Care Centre (maybe that makes me even crazier yet); there have just been things that have happened that one wouldn’t necessarily experience in good ol’ Kalamazoo, Michigan. For example, yesterday I killed my second VERY LARGE cockroach, that generally isn’t a concern back home, and I will admit, I was terrified the whole time.  Sticking to the theme of yesterday: back in Kalamazoo, rugby is kind of a thing, but it definitely isn’t as popular as it is here in South Africa. Yesterday, I went to my third rugby match since I’ve been here and while the stadium wasn’t packed like it was for the South Africa vs. Argentina match, the crowd was equally as fun. Now those are just two small and not very significant events that have happened, over three months in this lovely place, I have had the opportunity to get to know humans with spirits so beautiful that it’s a shame they can’t be shared with the whole world, I’ve met and lived with soon to be just over 70 different people, most of which are not from the U.S., I’ve seen things that I really didn’t want to see, but I’ve also seen sights as beautiful as whales off the coast while hiking and dolphins jumping along the ocean enjoying the day, I’ve witnessed what hunger and desperateness can do to an individual, I’ve watched as community members help one another-especially the sick and the elderly, I’ve felt the power that caring can really have even within a community where so many people have so little.

It really has been a beautiful eleven weeks and as I get ready to go into my last two [working] weeks my heart is full of love and appreciation for the people I have met and have formed relationships with. I will admit that in my last two weeks I will be taking two days off. I’ll be taking this Friday off to go on my own weekend adventure (don’t worry, I’ll tell you all about it after I’m back from it) and then a week from Wednesday on 27 September, I will be taking off to welcome my parents and boyfriend. Those two days will be bitter sweet. The reasons for taking them off are exciting and will result in fun, but it is a shame to miss two days so close to saying goodbye.

Looking at two weeks from this end of my trip is admittedly a bit different from looking at two weeks at the beginning. Before it was stress, enthusiasm, anticipation, and a general giddiness. Now those emotions have changed. It’s more love, appreciation, understanding, and the feeling of growth. So here’s to making the most of my remaining time working with the community I love.

Ubuntu.

[travelerwithacause-blog]

Rollercoaster of Emotions.

My oh my, where do I start? With just three weeks of working left I'm beginning to get a bit emotional. The ladies I work with five days a week are already talking about how sad they're all going to be when I leave and that they don't know what they'll do without me: it's really very sweet. Something I struggle with when they say all of these nice things is how to express how much their words mean to me and just how much I am going to miss them when I leave. Their smiling faces, their singing and dancing, starting and ending every workday with hugs and well-wishing, all of it, it makes waking up at 6:30 in the morning more than worth it. I've learned so much from these beautiful women and I really don't think they realize it. They've taught me patience, love, kindness, understanding, how to be flexible and go with the flow, and how to smile even when things aren't going perfectly. My days at Missionvale are limited and the only reason I'm worried about that is because I know that on the 29th, when I get ready to leave for the last time I am going to be a mess. I hope to leave Missionvale a better person and to bring home with me the spirit of the people I have grown to love.

Being here, in South Africa, has taught me just how fortunate I am in my life. I have never gone to bed worrying about whether or not I was going to be safe at night, I have never fallen asleep without a good roof over my head, or had to worry much about where my next meal was going to come from, I have never experience true hunger. I realize how fortunate I am to have access to clean hospitals, good medications and cans of soup when I'm sick. I'm fortunate enough to have access to health care to help me and my family not go bankrupt over a simple doctor's visit. I really could go on and on with how lucky I am and how privileged I am. Some days I worry about coming home. I know that my views will be changed and my patience with others (and myself) complaining about simple and stupid things will be nearly nonexistent. Culture shock is a two-way street. Arriving in a country like South Africa and doing the work I am doing is definitely a culture shock coming from America; but the culture shock returning home is equally as powerful. I've experienced this before and every time it gets more difficult. It's hard to be here and not think about ways that I can change my life and way of living when I get home to benefit and help others more. Hopefully that's something I can make happen.

So here's to the next three weeks leaving me on the brink of crying in anticipation of leaving this place that I do love more than any other.

[travelerwithacause-blog]

Brick Walls

Welcome to the end of week 9. As it turns out, it is possible to hit a brick wall and really miss home. It’s also possible to hit a brick wall and not love everything about your current adventure. It’s also possible to meet a brick wall and find a way to conquer it. Let’s dive into what this madness actually means!

Brick Wall number one: missing home. Up until the last week or so, I felt that I was doing really well with being away from home, being away from my friends, family, dog, boyfriend, and admittedly my own bed. Truthfully, I was doing really well with all of that; but after my first week of not having any close friends in the house that I’m currently living in, I realized just how alone I am here. Sure, I have friends that live in this city, but they have lives too, it’s not nearly as easy to make plans with them as it is to make plans with people that you live in the same house with. Needless to say, I am becoming extremely excited for the arrival of my parents and my boyfriend.

Brick Wall number two: not loving everything 100%. I am still loving Missionvale and being there five days a week; that is not an issue in the slightest. Where my love is lacking is in my household. In my nine weeks here I have lived with roughly 60 people. It has been amazing to meet so many people from different countries, it has also been a bit overwhelming in some instances and even intimidating. Of course a handful of the people I have lived with over the past nine weeks that have been so amazing and I miss them live crazy and will be sure to keep in touch with them and see them in the future. More than just a handful though, I have not felt overly welcomed by. To fill all of you in, that fact makes living with people extremely difficult. Living with people that don’t make you feel welcome in a home that you (or your parents) have paid so much money for you to live in, it is a bit discouraging. So for any of you that plan to travel like this in the future, be prepared to meet just a handful of life-long friends as well has a whole lot of acquaintances. No worries though, most days you can still find a silver lining for.

Brick Wall number three: to conquer. As I have mentioned in a previous post, my internship has not been at all what I expected it to be. This has been the most difficult brick wall thus far, and for great reasons! Arriving here and finding that what I am truly passionate about is not exactly what needs to be done or an area that needs much help was basically a slap in the face, I tripped on my shoelaces and my face hit the brick wall. Rather than this knocking me down and keeping me down, I decided that I was going to find a way to get over this stupid brick wall and show it who the boss is. It took me a bit of time to find a good flow and figure out where my help, knowledge and skills would be best utilized. On a day-to-day basis, I cut a lot of bread, argue with a lot of people over whether or not they can have two halves of bread or not, and sing and dance with the nutrition ladies. On a less regular, but equally as important basis, I have been working with the Health Promotion Team working on projects that used to give me the heebee jeebies. I drew a large uterus poster that is now laminated and have sat through a couple of lessons on periods with the young girls. Now I have been trusted with the task of writing, and presenting a lesson plan about consent and sexual assault. Being 110% honest with all of you, I never viewed myself as being comfortable enough to talk to young adults about a topic as difficult as this, and yet, when Sister Annie and I spoke about what we should do next and decided that this topic was of high importance, she asked me of all people to lead the lesson. I didn’t even think twice about it, I said yes right away. I’ve realized that, not only have I grown up and matured in many ways, but that my own comfort zone isn’t always as important as others. If I was too uncomfortable to give a lesson such as this, then what would happen to these students? What if I am the only person that ever talks to them openly about this difficult topic? Taking care of these students, the kids I see every day and receive hugs and smiles and waves and high-fives from; they need me just as much as I need them. I didn’t realize until now, just exactly what it takes to be a health educator. I’m not here to just focus on one topic or one area of health, I’m here to educate people on all aspects of health and to step out of my own bubble to protect other people’s bubbles.  That’s how I’m conquering this brick wall and dammit, I’m proud of that.

Just four more weeks of my internship left folks. It has been a beautiful rollercoaster and I couldn’t be happier that I decided to this. Is it textbook? Nope. Is it easy? Hell no. Is it worth it? You’d better believe it.

Ubuntu.