Suddenly, 28 Hours.

Hello again.
Sorry for the lack of posts of late, I've been on dipsaluscious vacation with the patriarch (who should be guest blogging shortly) and have been away from the Internets. Mind you, there is much to discuss regarding the last two weeks of post-UCT South African experiences, and those will come along in due time. However, I may be writing those from the other side of the Atlantic. Tomorrow, at 2pm SAST, I'll begin my 30-hour journey (ughh...) home. By Friday at 1pm EST, I'll have a Destino's Cheese Steak in my hand as I make my glorious return to the shores of America, and the "g."
It's honestly quite hard to believe this experience is all coming to an end. It seems like only yesterday I was stepping off the plane here in Cape Town, wide-eyed, agog at the fact that I had made it all the way to Africa. It further occurs to me that I have done more in these 4 months than most people do in a lifetime, and I have only barely scratched the surface of the new South Africa. As Al says, that just means I have to come back.
For now, I am throwing myself into the events surrounding my departure, endless packing, driving back and forth to Tableview and hopefully later heading off to one last stop at the Kirstenbosch Gardens. I am, in essence, avoiding the harsh reality that the people and places I have developed a closeness with over these last months are about to scatter across the world. I wonder when the next time will come around that Caitlin and I will go for a lunch date at the Waterfront, or Christine and I will wander through a bookshop, or my little sisters, Dannie, Ali and Dubs will go for sundowners or off to the cricket at Newlands, or when Kevin and I will braai under the hot sun, burning to bronze as we munch on a boerewors. The truth is these and all the other wonderful people and places that I have encountered over these last months will live on, burned into my memory and helping to change my life for the better, and, unfortunately, never to be repeated in this way again. So, I live these last 28 hours in hopes of creating one more last set of new memories, when so many have already earned a special place in my heart.
So, with that, I'm off. Next time you hear from me, I'll be on the other side of the world.