As I sit in the Frankfurt Airport in Germany, I cannot imagine my life for the past 8 weeks. It seems like an experience out of my dreams. There isn’t one profound thing that made my trip as memorable as it was, but rather a myriad of people and experiences. I thought it best to thank them personally.
To the Food Lovers Market in the CBD: With the help from you, I now eat vegetables. (Mom, Grandma, and Cerchie I know you’re so proud… we’re still working on cucumbers though)
To the Eastern Food Bazaar: Thank you for indulging my love of everything that is garlic naan and butter chicken. Your chicken tikka and chips was to die for.
To Bootleggers: You never failed us once and were the site of many conversations that brought me inexplicably closer to the people I now consider my dear friends. You made me love chai lattes.
To David and Khanya: Thank you for hosting us for a braai. Thank your for my new favorite food: chakalaka.
To the District Six Museum: Thank you for teaching me that there is something to gain from every experience, positive or negative. Thank you for being a breath of honestly and humility in a Duke student’s privileged world.
To Miss Marion, Michael, and Evelyn: I know I forgot my key everyday. Thank you for never letting me sit outside and thank you for taking exceptional care of me.
To Michaela: I never thought we’d get through it but we did. Thank you for the conversations, the laughs, the memories and the support. Please keep those book recommendations coming and I’ll see you soon!
To Juliana: My sweet Julie *Liwa’s voice*, you’ve pushed me like no friend before. Thank you for never being satisfied with my lackluster explanations and opinions. Thank you for making me think.
To Andrew: You are pure magic behind those lenses. Thank you for capturing the beauty of every situation and thank you for being the beauty in so many situations. I said it before and I’ll say it again: You are one of the strongest people I know.
To my Maddie: Thank you for being the best roommate I could have ever asked for, baba. It was impossible to go to bed upset with you around me. Thank you for the laughs, and the talks, and everything in between.
To Ledi: I could not have imagined this trip without you. I do not know how this trip was done without you in the past. Please don’t be a stranger. Enkosi. Ndiyakuthanda.
To Cape Town, with love: You are magic and you are beauty. From Table Mountain to Hout Bay, thank you for it all. Here’s to a million more years of democracy and progressive change. Here’s to you becoming better, not just for the elite, but for every single being that calls you home. Cape Town, I wish you nothing but success. Do better, and be better till we see each other again.
