Despite being seriously sad at the thought of all the
goodbyes we would soon have to say, Glenn and I were determined to make our
last few days memorable, and so we headed off for the weekend to Plettenberg
with the closest of our friends. As I was torn between who to spend my final
weekend with, between my church friends and my friends from Minnesota, I split
my weekend and spent Friday night with a group from church in a beautiful, remote
area near Tsitsikama in Juanita’s holiday shack. We stayed in a small cottage
with the most stunning views, perched on the edge of a deserted beach. We had a
braii together, the final time we shared the South African tradition together,
played games and it was such a special chance to spend our last moments
together with the people that have been so fantastic at bringing me into their
group of friends and making me feel very much a part of everything. Despite the
pouring rain that night, the next morning didn’t disappoint us with clear blue
skies. I have learnt a lot from these friends, and being a part of their church
and their group of friends has given me a chance to reflect on who I am, and what
qualities I hope to have as a person, and I hope that when I return home I will
not simply return to my old ways and thoughts, but will be influenced by my
time spent with them. On Saturday I went
over to meet our American friends who had been spending the weekend in a beach
house in Plettenberg, my favourite place in South Africa so far. 
Leaving Cape Recife was a much more difficult goodbye than
one that I normally experience at the end of teaching practice. Replacing the
sigh of relief and excitement for Easter was a genuinely sad farewell to my
class and the staff alike. Penny, my
teacher, set aside the afternoon for the long awaited ‘party’ that my class had
been raving about all week, and it was a lovely way to thank the children for
being so great in class, and showing an exceptional level of respect towards
me. As some of the children asked me to come back and visit them, I realised
that this was a different sort of goodbye as realistically I’ll not see any of
them again, and I am left hoping that I will have made some sort of impact on
them during my time as their teacher. During my time in Cape Recife I learnt a
lot about myself, and children with learning difficulties and special need and
having had the opportunity to teach in such a school, I have learnt many skills
and techniques which I would never had learnt at home, all of which I can bring
home and utilise in my future career. The class were a delight to work with,
and as Penny peeled them from being wrapped around me as I tried to leave on my
final day, I knew that I will bring home with me the memories, friendships and
experiences of Cape Recife.
Our final day in Port Elizabeth began with a group of our
closest friends venturing out to the pier together at 530am to watch our final
South African sunrise. It was bittersweet morning as the sunrise was completed
with a few dolphins as we all waited together for the sun to rise, and despite
the high spirits, the goodbye we had all been dreading was looming. It was
touching to see how many people were so keen to come and say goodbye to us
before we left Annie’s Cove, and a true blessing to realise how many friends we
now have all over the world that we can go and visit or have them visit us.
Saying goodbye to our closest friends was probably one of the hardest goodbyes
I have ever had to say and I have realised that there are some experiences you
share with people that no one will fully understand unless they were there, and
these experiences are ones I hope never to forget. Having lived with our
friends for four very short months, I feel like it is family that we are saying
goodbye to, not friends we only met a number of months ago, and I have no doubt that we will remain good friends as time goes on.
My time in South Africa has been full of special moments,
people and experiences that have moulded me as a person, taught me who I am and
given me life experiences I hope never to forget. It was an incredible once in
a life time experience that I would begin again tomorrow if I could. However,
with these friends made and adventures experienced, I look forward to returning
to Ireland to see it in a new perspective, to see old friends and begin new
adventures.
The whole object of
travel is not to set foot on foreign land; it is at last to set foot on one's
own country as a foreign land. ~G.K.
Chesterton
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| A final sunrise... |
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| Airport Goodbyes.... cue tears. |
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