It’s the final night of the program – the exam is done, Onesies was last night, our group project is in despite some mild tension between the groups (the delirium got to us), and Sofia and I are struggling packing up all the things we bought, especially the beautiful art (such a steal to be honest). Saying goodbye to all the Rivonia staff today and our upcoming goodbye tomorrow morning before some of us head to Cape Town has me feeling a little emotional. It seems like just a few days ago we all arrived and met each other at dinner (though a day late for me). At our last dinner, I made sure to ask everyone what their favorite moments were in hopes of crafting this blog. So, sticking to my typical blog style of a list, here are the top 6 memories from the past 6 weeks in no particular order!
- Safari
One of the first things that came to mind when my family asked about my favorite part of the program was the entire safari experience. Despite the early mornings and frigid game drives, I don’t think anything will ever top seeing the baby lion cubs in the sunset.
2. Asia and Emma’s Prank at Trivia Night
After an afternoon of feeling guilty and angry for Asia, we learned that her and Emma had actually just been plotting the whole time. I honestly can’t even be mad because the prank was just so well-executed. No one in our film group could dare to question Asia after she angrily came back to our group meeting after her “unsuccessful” attempt at getting her glasses – I really should’ve known then that she had the acting talent to be the main character in the class film.
And, of course, I can’t forget about my team’s win at Reviewball. With Evie, Ben, and Georgie’s clutch answers and Yusuf and Asia’s basketball skills, we were the dream team.
3. Constitutional Hill
Though early in the program, visiting Constitutional Hill was probably one of the best experiences of the trip, in large part because of our wonderful tour guide, Lwando Xaso. I just started her book, and it’s just a reminder of how incredible of a speaker and writer she is. Constitutional Hill helped put together everything from the museum visits in the days prior and established some necessary context for the rest of the trip.
4. Onesies
Of course, I couldn’t make this list without including Onesies. Last night was probably the weirdest night of my life – when I signed up for the program, did I expect to party with my professors? No, but nonetheless, it was a once in a lifetime experience for sure. My favorite talent was definitely the Toettes – I wonder how long it took them to practice for their performance. Surely they must have been crafting their skill weeks in advance.
5. Filming Our Interview
I’m certain that the rest of my film group can attest to the fact that we’ve all been on edge for the past couple of weeks. From being unsure about who we were going to interview to figuring out what B-roll we could film, we knew we were going to have to grind to make our film come together. But after meeting Azeeza and eventually interviewing her, I could feel the collective sigh of relief in our group – at the very least, we had interviewed an engaging storyteller who had so much wisdom to share with us. Meeting Azeeza and learning about her environmental health and intersectional feminism work was one of the highlights of my trip!
6. Eswatini Evening Celebration
The biggest surprise of the trip was probably our visit to Eswatini, specifically our magical night celebrating with the community in Kashoba. Thanks to the hospitality of the Mkoko family and the tantalizing performances of the night, I don’t think I’ll ever forget our 24 hours in Eswatini.
I know I’ll come back to this blog and reminisce, so as much as this is for others to read, it’s also for myself! I’m so grateful for this experience 🙂
