Let's Fold Scarves: December 2009

it’s been a while since i last wrote, so let me see if i can’t catch you up before i forget it all.

my last week in cape town was definitely a strange one. it’s hard to put into words the emotions involved in saying goodbye to somebody who you don’t know if you’ll ever see again – and, even if you do, you know that it will be a very, very long time from now. it’s not like at the end of last semester, when we were all preparing to leave for our respective semester abroad programs and we had to say goodbye to each other then – we knew we’d all be back together again come january. even my best friend brittney, who i never see enough of save for the infrequent trips i made to north carolina to see her – i know that it’ll never be too terribly long before i see her again.

but in regard to individuals like kwadwo, adrian, nwabisa, adam, sakhile, neema, tendai, and so many more – it’s hard for me to say when, if ever, i’ll see them again. i was able to have a goodbye lunch and/or drink with most of them, but each of those occasions were nevertheless solemn – i mean, these individuals opened their lives and their hearts to me, and i don’t know how i’ll ever be able to repay the favor.

as i said goodbye to each of them, i told them, “this isn’t goodbye forever,” but i just have to wonder – is it? even if i do make it back to south africa, it won’t quite be the same. i won’t be living there – i’ll just be another one of those tourists whose antics we used to mock, knowing we were so much more engrained into south african society than they’d ever be.

to be fair, i could have feasibly opted to spend this upcoming semester at the university of cape town, and honestly, i’d considered it, but in the end, i decided against it. not only was i running out of money (there’s no way i could get a south african work permit), but i have requirements for my baccalaureate that i need to fulfill back at gwu. besides, at any rate, i went to south africa to learn about the country, its politics, its culture, its people, et cetera. i succeeded in that. mission accomplished. not to say that there isn’t always something to learn, especially living in a city like cape town, but in the end, i determined that it was best simply to return to the united states.

so, now i’m back. but before that, brigid and i opted to spend our last day as capetonians together. in truth, brigid proved to be my rock throughout my semester abroad. i knew it would be hard not to have her as a constant character in my life anymore, and lo and behold that’s proven true. at any rate, after checking out from our not-so-lovely abode at liesbeeck gardens (my least favorite part about living in south africa!), we enjoyed a lunch together at one of our favorite restaurants downtown. i definitely miss their milkshakes. ;)

then, we took the cable car up table mountain. i think that that was a great activity for us to do on our last day in cape town. the view, in a nutshell, was outstanding. it was phenomenal, being able to identify the various parts of the cape peninsula, where we’d gone, what we’d done there, et cetera. we ran into an older couple there, incidentally from arlington (at the corner of carlin springs and leesburg pike – so close to where i live now!), and i definitely took pride in pointing out which was the indian ocean and which was the atlantic, where we’d gone to school, et cetera. indeed, it was such a change from last july, when we went to a club on the top of the absa building (the tallest building in cape town) and gazed at the unfamiliar (yet nevertheless beautiful) city. the city still came across as beautiful to me, but i had come to understand its intricacies.

after that, we met up with sara in company’s gardens, and from there we went to the airport for our respective evening flights home (via heathrow).

i spent the first week of mine back in the united states in california. it was nice to be able to spend my initial period of “reverse culture shock” in a relatively placid environment such as thousand oaks. plus, of course, it was nice to be with friends and family. then, after that (on november 28), i flew back to dc. i’m happy to report that i’ve done pretty much everything that i’d set out to do in my pre-spring semester period back in dc. after what felt like an undeservedly arduous housing search, i found a great apartment in the crystal city neighborhood of arlington. i love my apartment. i live with kasandra, a classmate of mine at gw. it’s a 1 bedroom + den + 1 bathroom unit (in an extremely large apartment building), and i use the den as my bedroom. it’s actually a very nice room, even though it’s relatively small (8 by 9 ½ feet). i have a great big window, which i enjoy. :) the apartment itself is very nice, and kasandra already had a lot of furniture for it – the only problem (if you can call it one) is that the walls are a little barren, so i need to get posters and other wall coverings for them. :)

i’m also back at my old job at dsw, which is a 10-15 minute walk from my apartment (no need to metro!). it’s been great to be back at dsw, not just because of its proximity to my house or the fact that i’m earning a lot of money because of all the hours i’m picking up (about 30 a week), but the fact that it’s so familiar to me: reverse culture shock hit me like a ton of bricks – specifically, how there’s so much that has changed – and it’s nice to have a stable entity in my life to come back to. there’s a new manager, sure, and some new employees as well, but retail is constant.

i’m also getting back into doing extracurricular activities at gw. i went to a couple of meetings for a newly formed organization gw liberty society, which i enjoyed. i’ve also been getting increasingly involved in my honors fraternity, sigma alpha lambda, and to that end i helped out a lot with the holiday fundraiser and clothing drive that we did. i’ve also gone to a few socials by dc’s various think tanks, non-profits, etc., and it’s been great to have met like-minded individuals in that capacity. finally, i’ve gone on a few internship interviews; still waiting to see what comes of those.

despite the pride i take in all i’ve accomplished in the short time i’ve had since getting back to the united states, i nevertheless miss south africa immensely. despite the myriad hardships that studying abroad in such an environment befell me, there’s something about the easygoing nature of south africans that i find myself missing on a daily basis. as i was checking in for my flight at cape town international airport, i was able to joke with and to laugh with the security officials. indeed, that would never exist in the united states. washington is an extremely high-strung town, and i have to admit that i myself am also extremely high-strung, but it was nice to have – just for a while, at least – been around a less tense populace. as washingtonians (not to mention americans in general), we are so lucky to have what we have. meanwhile, in cape town, there is so much poverty and sadness – so much to lament – and nonetheless, the people are, on average, so much more uplifting than anyone i’ve ever encountered in dc.

today, i flew to california for christmas. i’ll be back on the east coast on the 29th to go back to work, to (hopefully) start an internship, and to enjoy my life there even more.

Let's Fold Scarves

22 December 2009

i live in virginia now

07 December 2009

being back in dc is an extraordinary feeling

Blog Archive

About Me