I Probably Won't Die

I have finally moved from ohmygodgetmeoutofherenow to "I probably won't die in the next three weeks."

Among other things, homesickness and culture shock finally set in about two weeks ago and I've been a bit of a basket case since then.  However, now that I'm getting toward the end, I can't believe it's going to be over so soon.  Don't get me wrong, I'm ready to get home, but I'm far less ohmygodgetmeoutofherenow.

Of the things keeping me sane, the most significant has been sermon writing.  I had one week without a sermon to write and seriously didn't know what to do with myself.  Also, the pastor was out of town last week (and this week, but I'm writing a sermon this week) so when I couldn't lose myself in researching and writing, I had no one to process all my stuff with.  And holy crap, there's a lot of stuff.  I've been fortunate, though, to have wonderful parents, a wonderful boyfriend, and wonderful friends who have let me cry on their virtual shoulders.  Trust me, last week was a hard week to know me, but my people persevered and for that I am eternally grateful.

The people here also persevered, though I was far less forthcoming with my struggles.  However, when I asked, they stepped up.  Some of the youth leaders, being the awesome people that they are, invited me to have a game night and to play frisbee (a very welcome piece of home).  Getting out into the sunshine and running and sweating made me unbelievably happy.

This past Friday, I went to Robben Island, which I still haven't fully processed.  It was a full day of information being thrown at me, and I think it may take some time for me to really understand everything I saw and learned.

Oh, and I made it up Table Mountain.  I went by myself, which I really didn't want to do, but again I was really proud of myself for driving to Cape Town all on my lonesome.  I posted a picture on the Facebook with the caption "Dreams don't come true!"  My friend Lisle was very confused by this statement, which means she hasn't been reading the blog (ahem).  I explained the dream (if you also haven't been reading, I had dreamed twice that I went home without going up the mountain) and now it's a funny joke.  Plus, it's really good to know that dreams don't come true because I've had a few doozies lately (including a lost sermon manuscript on Sunday morning...that qualifies as a nightmare, right?).

Thanks for sticking around, though I was sad not to get another "where you at?" email from my Grandaddy.

-B.