Culture shock is real and intense and hard. I have come home to
quiet streets and driving on the right side of the road again and people who ask
me how my trip is. I am beyond happy that people are interested in my time
abroad, but I do not even know where to begin. My life has changed these past
three months and there no way I can describe it in a simple answer. And, I know
the weight of my experience does not have to be put into one sentence, but if I
do not cover the extent of how important it is I feel like I am not doing it
justice. But, most importantly, I was terrified that I would forget everything
I learned
On
Wednesday I had dinner with some members of my family. I do not know how it
started, but we had a debate about life circumstances. It got a bit heavy, and
we argued over whether people try or expect the government and others to take
care of them. One of the members in my family believed that those in tough life
circumstances remained in that by choice and by not stepping up and doing
something with their lives or standing together, particularly those who were
black. I felt like I was stabbed in the chest. My thoughts flashed to every
single person I met in Cape Town who had been dealt very hard circumstances that
gave everything they had to make other people’s lives better. It struck me to
my very core and the tears swelled up in my eyes almost instantly. I knew
better, that life was not so simple and hardships are rarely ever just brought
on by person who does not feel like working. However, my emotional response was
reassuring. In that moment of sadness, I knew everything I had learned would
not leave me. I was so worried that Cape Town would feel like a distant memory,
but I have discovered it is a part of me.
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