As I?m sitting here back in College Station writing this and thinking back on all of the memories made and ventures had in South Africa, I admit that I am hit with a wave of sadness. This was truly the experience of a lifetime!! I studied abroad previously Summer 2021 in Spain, so I thought I knew what to expect, but I truly don?t think anything could have prepared me for this. On a daily basis, I was simply blown away by the beauty and culture of South Africa and by the fact that I was given the opportunity to be there to experience it all. From hiking a mountain, to jumping off of one, to going on safaris, to seeing penguins, to riding a ferry to a historically impactful prison, to living on a gorgeous beach, to seeing a shipwreck site, to having our own braai, to participating in a cooking workshop, to tasting wine, to getting to play in a drumming circle, to playing street games with some of the local kids, to eating lots of fish and chips, to running away from baboons, and everything in between, each moment was truly impactful and memorable. On top of all of those cool experiences, we also got the opportunity to hear from a multitude of businesses such as Pepsi, Puma, a coffee shop owner, a winery owner, and my personal favorite, the founder of a South African shoe company called Veldskoen. It amazed me how open, willing, and welcoming each business speaker was and they provided us with some really great insight. It was fascinating to hear how business is done there and how important international business relations are to their economy. Even though there are clear differences in their business system in comparison to ours, there were also lots of foundational similarities and that was really cool for all of us to see as business students. Not only did I gain ?business? knowledge but their stories and backgrounds really impacted me and gave me a lot of ?life? knowledge and motivation as well. Going off of this, though the country and excursions themselves were incredible, the people are really what made the trip for me. Firstly, the South African people were amazing to interact with. From the people we met at the hostel, to our cook at the beach house, to our EDU Africa guides who we became so very close with, to people we would meet at restaurants and tours and everyone in between, the people were so genuine, kind, hopeful, and truly inspirational. They truly have a passion for their culture and their country and it was amazing to witness. On the other hand, my fellow A&M students were incredible as well. Some of my absolute favorite moments were the conversations had on the long van rides or staying up late talking about life in the living room or cooking together and listening to music in the kitchen or sitting around the table together at meals or frolicking on the beach at sunset or our multitude of inside jokes or when we even had a fake wedding! A moment where we really bonded was when we were all sick the last morning, but even then we found joy in each other and did everything we could to help one another. It?s rare to have a group where everyone genuinely gets along and enjoys each other?s company, but that was truly the case here and that was showcased in our effort to be all together and hang out any chance we got and in our lack of drama, which was so refreshing!! I genuinely can say that I formed meaningful relationships with each person on the trip and learned from each person as well. It?s even rarer to get so close with people in such a short amount of time, but over the course of two weeks, we all truly formed bonds and created memories for a lifetime!! I will be forever grateful to have had these once-in-a-lifetime experiences and to have done it all with such an incredible group and so though I feel sadness for the fact that it?s over, I am overwhelmed with joy that I got to do it and that I can carry these memories with me forever!
