I am leaving Johannesburg tomorrow but below are some of the many things I will be taking with me.
- Being optimistically curious – Here in South Africa, making conversation with strangers has become my favorite type of speech. Most humans form opinions about others within the first 30 seconds of meeting. In a world full of bigotry and ignorance, the power of this fact terrifies me. But I am reassured by people like my classmates who have taken initial moments of meeting new faces as opportunities to be optimistically curious about the person’s life. If you do not believe me, read Conversations with my Uber Drivers by Selihom, Let’s Dance by Sofia and Lessons in Storytelling by Georgie.
- Going to museums – One of the statistics that was shared with us at the beginning of our first class was that students retain about *insert small number I clearly didn’t retain * % of content they learn from lectures. In this program, I have found that going to museums to be a highly effective form of learning. I won’t elaborate as a great proportion of our class blog posts have been dedicated to the museums we have visited (for good reason!) but I think museums are one of the best educational institutions and the visits have left me vivid visual imagery that I will carry with me for a long time.
- Food — I have a newfound appreciation for food after this trip and I really want to shout out Emma, a staunch vegan, for this. As evidenced by her blog posts, Emma has a strong opinion about food and truly relishes in the different flavors and spices that make up all her meals. Getting Kauai with her after the gym or trying out restaurants, my dining experiences have honestly been made richer. While I have always loved food, I think I have a greater appreciation for every ingredient that it is crafted with after this trip.
- Knowing classmates well — While it is rare to have a course where you eat, share rooms and do everything with your classmates, I want to make room for more friendships inside the classroom next semester. I want to thank my classmates from the bottom of my heart for their openness and vulnerability that has made knowing them and being known by them such a joy.
- “Aware of the dents [I] create” — Jonathan introduced this phrase during our first week of class and it is something that has stayed with me throughout the program. As tourists and especially American tourists, there are specific economic and social dents that we create by being here. When traveling in the future, I want to be cognizant of the dents I create in the spaces I enter.
- Being dauntless –- After finishing his standup act in the onesies, Yusuf told me that he thought this was a great opportunity for him to try something new and I truly admired him for it. This course has pushed me out of my comfort zone in a lot of ways. I want to continue trying new things and not be discouraged by the fear of failing or by an epidemic of our generation, of being cringey.
- Global health — I came to Yale interested in global health but not truly understanding what studying it would look like. While I have learned a lot of new information about the world in this course, one of my biggest takeaways is that at its core, global health is about solving problems. The ability to equip myself with expertise and knowledge to be able to craft solutions that change the realities of people around me is now what draws me the most to the field. At the same time, whether solving hypothetical scenarios in p-sets or navigating different perspectives in group projects, this class has taught me that this is a field that requires a lot of compromise and push and pull. I can not wait to see my classmates become experts in this field and be problem-solvers in different corners of the world.
- Filming— If I try to rent cameras from Bass next semester and they are all checked out I will know it’s one of y’all. I am excited to continue working with a camera next semester to improve my skills. Who knows, maybe I’ll be good enough to take senior graduation photos of Asia and Seli. Or more realistically by the time all the sophomores in our class have graduated but in any case–I am excited to continue flicking up!
- These blog posts– I recently came across a quote by novelist, Flannery O’Conner that says, “I write because I don’t know what I think until I read what I say”. I was struck by this and it reminded me of blogging for this class. Each time the google sheets schedule reminded me it was my turn to write, I was forced to do mental surgery to bring out what I was really thinking about my experiences here. Most times, I did not know my opinions or reflections until I read my own words to myself. Other times, the words I wrote failed to capture what I was really thinking. Th iterative process of thinking and writing as encouraged by these blog posts have made me want to do this more–although for an audience of myself and without deadlines. This must be why people who journal consistently do not shut up about it.
