A few brief thoughts before I return to NYC . . .

Molweni,

So my time here in Cape Town is rapidly drawing to a close.  My flight for London leaves Cape Town at 8:05 p.m. TOMORROW (that's 1:05 p.m. Monday in New York City) and I'll land in Newark some 23 hours later.  I've found it a little hard to pull my thoughts completely together and, as a result, this posting will be shorter than my last several postings have been.

If you've been following along these past few months, you know that I have gained so much from my time in Cape Town and South Africa; I feel recharged, refocused and ready to begin a new chapter in life.  I am grateful that I had the opportunity to come to here, to participate as an international volunteer with Cross-Cultural Solutions, and to work for what feels like such a brief moment at the Scalabrini Centre.  And I am also thankful that I allowed myself to take this opportunity, and that I did so with an openness and zest that had been increasingly rare for me . . .

But now, as I sit here with my things mostly packed away and ready for the return trip home, I feel anxious to return to the States, excited to catch up with as many of you as I can, and eager to get the next step sorted out in my life.  My time away from home as made me realize that my frustrations with the City were less about New York itself and more about how little I enjoyed my work (and how much I foolishly let the ill-fitting profession consume me personally).  So, as much as I'm torn and would LOVE to stay here for a longer block of time, the desire to get my own professional life in order and to reconnect with everyone back Stateside keeps that longing in check.  Plus I already have enough frequent flier miles for another round trip ticket from New York City to Cape Town, so the reality is that I'll likely be able to return at some point within the next year.  All this has made it a bit easier for me to leave the Mother City.

I will have a longer posting up once I get back to New York City and recover from jet lag, and that will have the list of similarities that I see between South Africa and the United States that I mentioned in my last post.  My apologies for not having the list available for you now, but I just didn't have the concentration to pull it together this week.  And, knowing me and how much I've enjoyed my time here, my next entry will also probably be a "ndiyakuthanda" (Xhosa for "I love you") posting to Cape Town, South Africa, and the people I've met here.

So, until the next posting, all of my best to each of you.

Sala kahuhle,

Troy