homesick but happy, a year later

an excerpt from my senior seminar personal statement (seemed fitting):

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Last summer I had the opportunity to live and serve in Botswana. My summer spent in Africa inspired new hopes, dreams, and most importantly a newfound sense of purpose. Botswana made me feel alive. Alive in a way that I haven't felt for a long time – I've found that it’s often easy to fall into the background of life, get lost in the daily routine of classes, work, meetings etc. that sometimes people can become almost numb to the world around them. Botswana woke me up, made me feel real again. I cherished every single moment of my time spent in this beautiful country – not to say that I didn't have very real challenges and hard times, I did indeed, but there was never a moment that I would have rather been anywhere else in the world.

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I can hardly believe it has been a year since we left for Botswana, I still think about my time there everyday. I miss everything about it - the people, the beautiful shade of blue in the sky, the smells, the sounds, the combi rides, the hospitality..everything. I think about Champ, Tsasone, Shirley, Tootsie..and so many others that have made a continuing impact on the way I live my life. I am still discovering what my experiences in Bots have taught me - and still learning, 9 months later, and probably for a long while to come. Best of luck to all of the international teams students this year, you will all do wonderful things this summer - whether in Botswana, Kenya, Mexico or here at home, there are good things in store for you. Thank you for all you have taught me about life over this past year. It has been a pleasure to see the commitment, compassion and depth of service that you all have brought to the program. Embrace this experience for all its worth :)