The weeks have passed more and more quickly as time
goes on. I thought I was here forever, and I realize with every glance at my
calendar that the time is running out fast. It almost makes me wish the
semester was longer, because how do you fall in love with a place with such
little time? I always thought that people were quick to this love, but I
realize now that it takes so much time, experience, and shoving yourself into
situations you never thought you'd be in.
What excites me right now is that I'm not longer
sick. I was feeling very ill and barely eating for the past 2 weeks, and in the
last few days- with more medication than I can stand- I've been able to go back
to eating all those things that made me feel terrible before. Whoo hoo!
Hopefully the days only look up from here.
What I have been noticing the most in my time since
my last post is the conversations I continue to have with people about race,
socio-economic issues, and perceptions about America and the world. I have met
many more people who have these harsh opinions about Americans, and generally I
want to start dialogues with people who have these opinions because they aren't
necessarily unfounded, but I find myself getting defensive more than anything.
It's the same surprise I felt in Peru when people would make rude judgments
about Americans to me. I would assume myself to say that they were right, but I
get this weird push instead to defend my heritage. It's an odd feeling, but I
hope to come into it more gracefully.
What I have to say about the Garden Route is less
than most unfortunately because it was the lowest point of my sickness, so I
just remember a lot of pain. But I did pet an elephant, which has been one of
my girliest wishes for years. But the texture surprised me a lot; instead of
feeling soft and leathery like I always imagined, it felt like a snow tire with
wire bristles sticking out of it.
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| Shona & Erica |
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