I'm Glad You Came

“The sun goes down, the stars come out; and all that counts, is here and now, my universe will never be the same I’m glad you came.” This song has been stuck in my head for weeks. Besides being a really catchy song (Glad You Came by The Wanted) I am applying at least this verse to my life. I want to continue living in the moment; my life will never be the same after this semester; and I am glad I came to South Africa. Ok, don’t mind me writing that out.

I am starting to accept the reality that I will have to leave this beautiful place. One month to the day in fact. Service is good. On Monday I went to swim lessons with four of the older kids. It was more stressful that it was fun. These kids are four years old and this is only the second time they have been in a pool. They would not listen to me very well, and got really freaked out when I would try to encourage them to kick on their own with life jacket and kick boards. On Tuesday, Simpiwe (my favorite baby) discovered that he could lift himself up and stand on his own for at least a little bit. We would cheer him on until he fell back on his bum and he would smile broadly and clap for himself. What fun. This week was my last of lectures at UWC. It was odd to start thinking “this is the last time I…” I only have three more assignments due for the program and three exams to take. This next month should be pretty relaxed with lots of time to finish off my Cape Town bucket list.

Speaking of my bucket list, I can cross off wine tasting in the gorgeous Stellenbosch wine lands. It was quite a day, and I learned that my pallet prefers Sauvignon Blanc. I learned some very interesting things about wine making. It is certainly a science. Today, Sunday, I hiked up Table Mountain with my friend Emma starting in the Kierstenbosch Gardens. It was quite a long hike, but we made it to the top, the very tippy top, of Table Mountain. It was a beautiful 360˚ view of the Western Cape. My legs were shaking by the end of it, but it was a wonderful. Finally this evening I went with two house mates to mass at the Kolbe Chapel on the University of Cape Town’s campus. It was their student mass, which made me miss evening mass at Loyola. The choir was acapella and they sang in at least three different African languages. The best part was that the priest was Jesuit. I have been going through a bit of withdrawal without my Jesuit contacts. His homily was great (as Jesuit homilies usually are). He talked about how we must ask the question “For what did God choose me?” Also that with must see everything and everyone as Jesus would see them, we must listen to those who may need our attention and we must love everyone as Jesus loves us, as the gospel tonight read. So in that spirit, I love you.  Peace