Thoughts

After being back in Morgantown for about three weeks, I have been able to process (somewhat) what I saw in South Africa. It’s funny how things picked up right where I left off upon arrival: classes, work, homework, etc. It might have seemed as if I returned the same person, but I know that I am not. Everyday I think about what I experienced and everyday I think about the wonderful, amazing people that I met. As I sit here and write this, the children’s faces are running through my mind; how they were so excited to see us, how funny they were, and how they acted like every other child I have encountered. I know this sounds cliché, but this trip has changed the way I view every day of life.


While in South Africa, I found myself feeling guilty. We would visit clinics and orphanages and townships and then return to the hotel, with electricity and running water, and go eat at nice restaurants and fill ourselves to our heart’s content. However, after talking to Dr. N, I realized that I should not be guilty. I need to let what I experienced resonate within me and do what I can to help, in whatever way I can. I knew when we boarded the plane in Jo’Burg that I could not come back to the U.S. and pretend that the trip did not affect me.


South Africa, especially Cape Town, is the most beautiful place I have seen (and I have been to Hawaii). One of the things I just can’t grasp is how somewhere so beautiful can be in such constant hardship. Also, how there are the wealthy and the poor—no in between. As an American, we hear all about “poverty.” Since my return to the United States, my view on poverty has changed. Someone in poverty in the US could easily be middle or upper-middle class in South Africa. When I read my journal, I was reminded of the day we drove to Mamelodi and there were 2-story homes (who knows how many rooms and baths) for around $50,000. Most of the people there will never see that kind of money or homes that extravagant, while most of us consider that “decent” for a starting salary.


I’m still not sure how I am going to give back to Africa, but I am determined to do so (and start soon). I know I will never be able to work for an organization that does not give back to their community (and I’m talking more than sitting aside one day a year for picking up trash). I will have to work for a company that is socially responsible and very aware of the world we live in. You often hear that to really make a difference, you have to give up your life in the U.S. and move. However, I know that the best thing I could do is to offer the very best of my skills in assisting organizations. I do not know when I will get a chance to travel to Africa again, but I am looking forward to it. Everyday I am thankful for the life I have and I have smiled more upon returning. I know this sounds as if I am going against everything I have said, but it doesn’t. I want to help our generation’s pandemic. It is our issue. We can’t sit around and ignore it. It is getting worse and it will spread. More attention needs to be given to the issue—and more education needs to be given to dispel myths about HIV and AIDS. Money is a great help, but until the world understands the culture, most of the money is not beneficial.


My senior year at WVU ends in two weeks. I will take my last undergraduate final and a week later I will walk at commencement. I start graduate school two (yes, just two) days after graduation. I do not know what I will do once I receive my Master’s degree, but I do know I am going to stay in close contact with Dr. N and every other person I met on this trip. I have to stay involved. I don’t have to, but I want to. I want to make a difference. I want to know that I have touched someone’s life and made it better.