Monday, April 9, 2012

Nicole on her companions on this journey

Even though Cape Town is filled with amazing people, no one can replace your family on the holidays. I was prepared to have a very sad Easter. I have really been missing everyone lately, and it was hard to think that my family would be together at my Me-ma’s and I am on a completely different continent (without any bunny cake!) I am not much of a churchgoer, but when a few of my friends decided they were going I decided to tag along in hope that it would be a comfort. I was right. The church was cozy and full and completely different than the church I attended a few times at home. It made me feel at peace. It also helped that we watched a couple episodes of modern family ahead of time and that always makes us happy. The rain was pouring, we were all snuggled in sweatpants for the weekend, and it seemed like everything would be okay.

It was not just okay, thought, it was wonderful. We decided that we were going to have breakfast for dinner and everyone would cook and eat together. At first I was skeptical that this would actually work because we are like a dysfunctional family and it is hard to get everyone on the same page. But everyone liked the idea and pitched in food and we ended up making french toast, eggs, potatoes and had watermelon. For dessert I made cookies and Kristin made brownies. The cookies I made were just not ordinary cookies, however. They were chocolate chip cookies with an oreo inside of them. I saw a picture online and knew if I could not bring my friends their families I could at least give them something delicious. They turned out pretty good, too, considering my cooking skills are far from even mediocre. 

We all settled down to eat in our common room and everyone went around saying what they were thankful for. Many people laughed at the idea of this, but it ended up being really cute and I said that I was thankful for everyone in the room because even though we all fight and get angry I truly feel like I learned something from every single person that is going to better my life in some way. We all talked and enjoyed the night and you could tell on everyone’s faces that we were genuinely enjoying each other’s company. It did not matter that everyone did not celebrate Easter or that half the time we fight because of the dirty kitchen or what time we want to go somewhere. I don’t care if I sound corny, because it was really like the corny scene in a movie that makes you happy even though you won’t admit it. I loved when it was brought up that by knowing each other, our lives have been altered and bettered. These people mean so much to me because no one else will ever understand my experience here the way they do. I know I am going to need them when I go home to make sense of the transition and remember everything we were taught. It is comforting to know I am not alone in this journey.

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