These experiences have told me more about South Africa’s history, its current politics and practices and the fun sayings and words that are different from those in the United States.
One of the biggest challenges of traveling and exploring, though, is navigating at one time all of the differences that come with being abroad, from new environments to new languages to new culture and history to everything else. It has been super exciting, but it can also feel overwhelming sometimes. There were moments when I really missed the things that felt familiar to me. I missed going to Walmart instead of Pick n Pay, I missed going home to my family, and I missed my friends from college. Navigating time zones hasn’t helped either, as I am constantly six (and after daylight savings time, seven!) hours ahead of my family back in Michigan! I have also had to rethink how I understand math here, especially when it comes to measurements. Every day outside of class, I find myself converting things like height, weather, and weight from meters and centimeters to feet, Celsius to Fahrenheit, kilograms to pounds, and rand to dollars. These are ways I’ve had to use math daily in ways I didn’t expect. At first, all of these changes made me want to just go back to what I knew. But honestly, it’s been really cool to be challenged. Further, I have grown a lot and learned that change is necessary. While I do miss my family (and I am so excited to see them soon),I stay aware that these are precious moments happening right now, and this has been something that keeps me going and exploring new places.
To help with homesickness, I have also found comfort in things that remind me of home.
