Welkom terug

I had hoped to weigh in on my first few days of South Africa before I had vet things to say, but I got swept up into a daily work grind.  Apologies.  First a few thoughts on being back in SA and then I’ll deal with vet stuff in another post.  I wish I could talk about all the breathtaking things I have done in the last few days.  I suppose that is what the people want from a travel account.  If you need travel juiciness then check my quick run-down of Doha, Qatar.  But this piece is going to be a little less touristy and a little more home-y, homie. 

There are two things that never get old in SA: 

1) Having people say “welcome home” to me

2) Being called “My sistah”

South Africans always remind me that this too is my home…at least in some form or another.  When I am in the USA people ask me “when are you coming home?” and now that I’m back they are welcoming me back to my “home.”  It gives me warm fuzzies and believe me I could use all the warmth I can get while I’m free from the icy grip of the Death Star. 

I had a lot of anxiety about coming back here, but anxiety is just kind of my baseline right now.  It’s weird for me because I would not consider myself an overly anxious person.  I was anxious about a lot of things.  I wasn’t looking forward to packing for two months away from home.  I was worried about being away from my dog for that long.  I was anxious about bringing the right quantity and quality of gifts to the ones I love.  I was anxious about my vet abilities because overall they are pretty crap right now.  I was anxious about having a 2010 view of SA in a 2016 world and not just in societal ways, but also in my personal interactions.  People have kids, cars, and jobs now.  We are all different from back then.  Hopefully onwards and upwards.    

But all that anxiety has melted away.  I am probably the most relaxed I have been since I started vet school.  A winning combination of sleeping and hugs.  The first night I was here I was sitting in the backyard of my friends’ house and I just thought, as I looked up at the stars, ‘this is not weird at all.  I’m just at my friends’ house.’ 

So my first week was basically just landing, sleeping off my jet lag, reconnecting, and starting at the vet clinic I am shadowing at while in Joburg.  There have been a few injections of excitement as I remember things like the tuisnywerheid and biltong exist.  I also took my first ride on the Gautrain today.  Nothing fancy, people.  Just home.  I guess homecomings aren’t usually spectacular on their face, but they do make an impression on the heart.  That’s about as corny as I can be, but it’s totally true.  Thanks for the love, as always, dear South Africa.