Wow - It’s been a year! August 21st
marked a year in Vancouver, and it feels as though it has gone so quickly,
although a whole lot has happened. Recently I volunteered to be part of a panel
of students who were part of the orientation for new international students. We
were asked a number of questions and I have found reflecting on these to be
quite helpful in putting words to my experience so very far away from South
Africa.
One thing I found quite challenging was
that I was always comparing every experience to South Africa… we would say this
or do it like that in South Africa. I soon realised that of course I was
comparing it to SA – it’s the only frame of reference I have. Apart from the
occasional holiday or outreach, I had lived my whole life in SA before coming
here. I’ve learnt to embrace and to share the memories or different ways of
doing things. In coming here I’ve also realised how much Afrikaans terminology
I borrow on a daily basis. There just isn’t a suitable English equivalent to
saying I’m lus for something, or gooi when referring to cooking. And the
English versions of lekker slap or slim koppie just don’t cut it!
I was asked how I have dealt with
homesickness… In the very beginning I was too excited to explore and discover
that I didn’t have much chance to be homesick. Over the spring/summer
(May-August) things have slowed down a little and I have had more time to think
about home and miss people and places. I think it’s normal, but I think about people in SA just about on a daily
basis… ok not everyone every day, but often
for sure. There really is a tension between engaging with people here and back
in SA. God has answered my prayer before coming here – He made more space in my
heart for more people. What I didn’t think before making friends here (and now
it’s too late) is that wherever I live in the future I will be missing someone!
One way I have coped with homesickness, apart from the odd email or facebook
interactions, is by inviting people here into my SA experience – indulging in
the memories, paging through photos, and I recently organised a braai with real
boerewors! It was a.w.e.s.o.m.e!
What do I have to say on the academic
expectations? The bottom line is “you can do it!” While it is
a lot of work, and sometimes all at the same time – depending on deadlines, and
how disciplined you are during the term – it’s not difficult. Challenging? Yes.
Tedious? At times. But difficult? No. I guess the rainy weather helps when you
have to read this huge textbook and write a 3000 word paper on some or other
topic. In fact, I am very glad to have been forced to read some of those fat
books… they are brilliant, but without a looming deadline, I would never get
past the first 10 pages.
One word to summarise my experience so far? Invitation. My whole time here has been an invitation to
grow in knowledge and relationships. It’s been an invitation to establish new
habits and get rid of old ones. Yes, it’s been both scary and exciting, but it
has to be or there is no place for faith. I am super excited to see what the next year could possibly hold :)