Ubuntu in HSSA - Franchesca Perez

     Sunday marked the end of the second week here in Cape Town. Time has flown by so fast that none of us even realized we only had a week left. We've hiked a mountain, driven a boat, taken a dance class, and even watched The Lion King together! From being too scared to talk to one another after arriving in Johannesburg to doing homework at the local restaurant 'Coco WahWah' and calling Nikki "mom", the Cape Town Summer 2019 students are a family outside our direct bloodlines. Leaving this coming Saturday does not mean it's an end to our bond and memories. We may be from different parts of the U.S., but in today's age I know we will all find methods of reconnecting. 

    Our service project and the progress we've made in it after just 4 days is evidence of our unity. The first day we started we all showed excitement to finally start the service but deep down inside I know that each and every student was nervous and scared. Nervous because we were going to take on such a big commitment of helping provide food for an entire school and community, scared of doing something wrong and messing up the entire project. Since that first day, however, we've developed a design for a garden and food forest and we've painted materials like bathtubs, tires, signs and dug out beds. This group is no longer the scared American teenagers we may have portrayed on that first day. We've built bonds with the kids and adults at the school, and continue to use Ubuntu (togetherness) as we head into our third week. 

     Monday starts the final week and the week of presentations for our language class and final project. On Thursday and Friday, as we hear each other's speeches and reflections of our journeys, I hope the tears people shed (if any) will be of happiness and remembering all the memories we have shared. This has been one of the best summers I've ever experienced and I wouldn't have traded it to do anything else.