It's crazy to think about how fast time flies. It
feels like just yesterday my parents dropped me off at JFK to go to South
Africa. It feels like just yesterday this amazing journey began. I wish I could
relive this entire trip all over again. I wouldn't change a single thing,
except maybe a few things that happened towards the end of the trip, but other
than that I wouldn't change a thing. I'd just relive everything.
I'm definitely sad to be heading home to America, but
what eases my mind is that I know I'll go back to South Africa. I think I left
my heart there. I fell head over heels in love with the country. I just want to
fast forward to the point where I'm boarding a plane to go back. I made great
friends, did amazing work, and discovered more about myself than I ever thought
I could.
Living abroad changed me for the better. I will never
regret the decision I made to live abroad for a semester. I wish the program
lasted longer though. Instead of it being just one semester I wish it were two
semesters.
Leaving South Africa seems more bitter than sweet;
only because I love it so much and I feel like I have unfinished work to do. I
left my internship thinking that I was going to be extending my
stay...unfortunately plans fell through, so I left IJR with a lot of work I
wanted to do. I wanted to write more articles on whiteness and help run
workshops on race and gender. I'm trying not to get too upset about
leaving...maybe it just wasn't meant to be. Maybe I'm meant to come home to
America and go back to South Africa because I'll have something better to offer
when I'm older. Fortunately IJR is letting me work on my articles from home.
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| Ash left her heart in South Africa |
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