Rachel's missing South Africa a LOT!

It is so difficult to put into words how I feel about being home. I am back into my normal routine of life now.   School work, school work, school work, swim, school work. I know it isn’t exciting, and sometimes life isn’t. South Africa definitely gave me the best experiences of my life.  It taught me, as I said I my first blog entry, more than I have learned in my entire collage career. Being in South Africa, isn’t at all like being in Storrs.  Instead of looking out a window and seeing zebras on Table Mountain, I am now looking out at cows on horse barn hill (which isn’t as pleasing visually and even worse is the smell).   Except now when I walk onto smelly campus, I have a different attitude, a different view on life, and a different purpose than I originally thought I had here.  Did South Africa change who I am? I have to say no.  I am the same person with maybe a few corrections. I could never say that my life is changed forever, because it never was destined to be a certain way.  It was never set in stone or planned out. 

I only add to my knowledge and experiences.  I try my hardest to only add good ones, but bad experiences get stuck in there every once in a while and those make me a stronger person as well.  South Africa just happened to be a very large experience that shaped my views of life much differently than I first had anticipated them to be.  However, a wise professor once told me that no one should have expectations.  And I really believe that now.  I don’t know where life is going to lead me.  I’m not even sure I know what I want right now.  But, being in South Africa, showed me that there are many different options.  I learned about things that I didn’t even know existed in this world. Things I never thought about. Only, while I was in South Africa, I was presented with a new challenge everyday while here, my challenge is the same everyday (getting through school and work).  The things I learned in South Africa, felt like life lesson that are never taught to you growing up and they seemed so much more relevant. While here, who cares how many mitochondria are in one person’s body?  I guess I am going on about nothing here really.  That’s kind of how I feel though.  I miss South Africa a LOT!  And right now in my life, that is all I know.  I am confused, and want it back.