Goodbyes Are Hard in Any Language

It feels as if I had just arrived here, sweating from the summer sun and wandering around Stellensbosch overwhelmed and almost getting hit by speeding vehicles (ok so the last part still applies…I swear cars speed up when they see you start to cross the street!). But the weather has definitely changed –instead of tank tops and shorts, you can find me curled up with an extra blanket and a cup of hot chocolate (in May?!).

As cliché as it sounds, the weather isn’t the only thing that has changed. At the end of three challenging and inspiring months at Lynedoch, I’ve definitely come to recognize a personal shift. Strangely enough I’m even more confused –but I feel at least that I am closer to finding the right track. I’ve I were to classify this semester, I would describe it as a “process.” I struggled with challenges in community development work and while LSCE has ended, I haven’t finished working out all the solutions –and I probably won’t for a while yet. It is frustrating to “let it go” and “work itself out” –these things are a bit counter-intuitive for a goal-oriented person like myself. It’s frustrating when there aren’t deadlines for moments of revelation; instead, these ‘ah-ha!’ moments surprise us with their timing. So, as much as I would like for my reflections and lessons I’ve learned this semester to be wrapped up in a tidy conclusion before I leave, I must appreciate the fact that won’t –and can’t –happen because the learning continues on.

In our final class at Lynedoch we talked about “life after LSCE.” For me this means a variety of things. Over the next two weeks I will be traveling throughout Southern Africa with wonderful people I had the fortunate opportunity of meeting through LSCE (hint: get excited for some awesome pics and one or two posts upon my return!). I look forward to soaking up every possible moment of discovery and have resolved to go home with this same attitude of wonder and gratitude for the small things that happen every day. Although LSCE taught me how to work in a classroom and with a team, it has been especially meaningful to me as an exercise in building relationships. Being in a new environment, I have been removed from my usual responsibilities and habits at home and have been able to practice spending more time engaging with and learning from others. After reflecting on my many changed perspectives from the beginning of the semester, I resolve to practice being more people-oriented rather than strictly goal driven.

We also talked about future careers (talk about a full day’s discussion!). Initially, I came here hoping that at the end of the semester, I would have had worked out a plan. But like community work, I’m realizing that results aren’t always immediate and instead it’s another layer of experience to add to my overall learning. At this point, I’m not sure what my career path will be, but I do know that I will experience more fullness and joy when working directly with people. Thinking about life after LSCE, I am not worried about deciding on a particular career path but instead recognizing that for me it is about the particular spirit that I choose to adopt and apply to whatever work I choose.

One of my biggest priorities after leaving Lynedoch is to find some way to express the learning that I experienced to others –both through challenges and accomplishments. This has undoubtedly been a time of personal growth and I also want to share with others the same inspiration that has come to motivate me these past few months. However, I’m a bit nervous I won’t be able to express myself the way I want or in order to do this semester justice –how can you possible sum up a 5 month experience? 

I have busy plans for the upcoming summer months –spending time with family and reconnecting with friends (not to mention refueling my dwindling bank account!) but at the same time I look forward to the quiet moments when I can sit alone and relive some of my favorite experiences.

I’ve had to start saying my goodbyes to the people and places that I’ve come to know, love, and rely on this semester. As I went to Hestea (with tears in my eyes), she looked at me and said, “I wouldn’t worry. I know you’ll be back.” It’s as simple as that. I’ll be back.

She also gave me a quote by Eckhart Tolle that I will leave with you: “Time isn’t precious at all, because it is an illusion. What you perceive as precious is not time but the one point that is out of time: the Now. That is precious indeed. The more you are focused on time—past and future—the more you miss the Now, the most precious thing there is.”

Sexy People with Spades

Meet Lucky. He’s the third little scraggly thing from the left…yes, the one bearing a large resemblance to the tree from “A Charlie Brown Christmas.”

Lucky was one of the 2,001 saplings I helped plant in the Platbos Forest outside of Hermanus last weekend at Greenpop’s ‘Reforestation Fest.’ Chris, Dara and I met up with the campus’ environmentalist group, EcoMaties, for a weekend of camping, music, dancing, delicious food and of course, planting trees.

"Platbos", an Afrikaans name, translates as "flat forest or bush", a perfectly descriptive name for the forest. The goal was to continue reforestation efforts begun the year before and starting early Saturday morning, 230 nature enthusiasts emerged from their tents (a bit of a rough night after literally sleeping on tree roots), grabbed shovels and hiked up the mountain. After warming up with yoga in the trees, we dug right in –literally!

We enjoyed ‘mild’ curry (a bit of an oxymoron, if you as me) around a roaring campfire and looked for shooting stars, while listening to great music by local musicians. 

Check out my favorite- Jeremy Loop!

Eating the African dung beetle? 

Circle of Life

What’s a trip to Africa without a safari? I sit here, still a bit sleep-deprived from our 13-hour ride back to Stellenbosch in our overland vehicle (which strangely resembled a HUGE armored garbage truck) but thrilled about my recent adventure!

After a long –and surprisingly cold –trip up the Western coast to the Kalahari desert, we arrived at camp Friday morning and were greeted by our ‘adventure tour guide,’ Keith.

Keith is the man. “Retiring” from his CEO position 17 years ago, he now runs excursions throughout Southern Africa, taking tourists on rafting expeditions on the Orange River, game drives in Namibia and Botswana and tours of Victoria Falls. “This type of work makes me realize what’s important and the best part is that I get paid in sunsets,” were his first (of many!) words of wisdom of the trip. He already has the majority of our group planning on how we can end up with a job like that…

Immersing us in the unique culture of the desert region right away, we were led on a nature tour by two local Bushmen, or more accurately, San People, Leinjie and Elvis (oh, the wonders of Westernized names…). With the help of Keith translating, they pointed out native springbok cucumbers, which despite their prickly skins, tasted exactly like their grocery store relatives, as well as the “gathering tree” where local tribes would come to gather for meetings. Small cloth bags of herbal medicine were tied around the tree’s trunk (reminding me a little of Shell Silverstein’s “The Giving Tree”) and were used by tribal elders for ailments. The African millipede is also commonly used in their natural medicine –after it dies and is dried out by the sun, the white shell, full of calcium, can be ground into a powder and used to heal wounds. But be careful, letting a live one crawl all over can give you an allergic reaction to the yellow slime it leaves behind –and worse, if this gets into a cut, you run the risk of gangrene. Ewww.

tasting a springbok cucumber

African millipede- watch out!

The Gathering Tree

But, this is Africa, right? I fell asleep that night listening to the San People sing around our campfire and watching the stars from the “moon roof” of our small 4-man tent. Clearly this was not the traditional Dutch architecture and stone monuments found around Stellenbosch campus; this was another Africa –and it was absolutely beautiful.

Getting up before the sun the next morning, we all piled excitedly into “the beast” that was still parked at the edge of our campsite and made our way to the Kgalagadi Transfronier National Park, bordering Namibia and Botswana. We were on a mission to find some African animals! Everyone quickly learned to be close and comfortable as we all squashed up against the windows, trying to get the best glimpse of wildebeest, springbok, secretary birds, jackals, giraffes, ostriches….and a leopard! This was a rare “National Geographic sighting”, Keith said, as he has only seen them twice. But the day continued to be full of surprises and on our way out of the park, the truck stopped short and we witnessed three cheetahs carrying off a springbok into the bushes. Three cheetahs!!

Mother Nature was not yet done with her impressive show, however. The following night we gazed in wonder over the falls of Augrabies National Park and watched the sun set over the mountains that marked the Namibian border. (Some of us got a little too carried away in watching this beautiful show…Corie managed to drop a one of her crutches into the white water rapids below, making Keith even more amused at our crazy American antics!).

Yoga at sunset over the falls? Why not? 

So impressed with the sunset, I just had to wake up early to
see the sunrise!

We experienced the falls from another angle the next morning when Keith arranged a white-water rafting trip on the Orange River. Our guides were adventurous and entertaining, to say the least, instructing us to “bank hard right, left, then right again after the two big rocks!” This is a whole lot easier said than done when you’re cruising down a river that resembles a minefield of jagged edges! During the more peaceful moments, though, we tapped into our Disney roots and serenaded our guides with a wonderfully off-pitch rendition of “Just Around the River Bend.” Tired, wet, and the promise of being sore, but extremely satisfied with our excursion, we packed in for the 13+ hour ride back to Stellenbosch.

Our humble abode

We had some guest visitors at breakfast!

Now hunkering down to prepare for a busy last few weeks of classes before finals!