Saturday dawns and it feels bittersweet all around. We are so thankful for all the rich, meaningful experiences we’ve had in South Africa – both as we have interacted with the environment and with each other. It feels sad to leave and walk away from this magical slice of time.  And yet it feels sweet to know we have started our journey towards home. We look forward to reunions with family and friends.

But any sadness we felt quickly dissipated as we walked into joy and celebration. Soon after leaving Golden Gate National Park, we attended the Basotho New Year Celebration at the Basotho Cultural Village.  We were greeted with warm welcomes, traditional snacks handed to us, and lots of singing and dancing. The hundreds of people there celebrating (we were the only obvious tourists) were wearing gorgeous traditional clothing and wrapped in blankets.  We enjoyed the opportunity to both observe and engage, ask questions, and see traditional housing. The Basotho people proudly celebrated their culture. Such joy!

And then, we were back in the vans and on our way to the airport.  Two weeks ago, we were strangers when we left Raleigh. Today, we are colleagues, collaborators and friends in the Johannesburg airport. Transformed in so many ways. We are returning to normal, but we are no longer who we were two weeks ago. “Travel changes people,” and we have indeed been changed. We are returning to the States as different individuals and different educators.

Over the next days, we will each eat a meal by ourselves rather than 18 people gathered around a table for hours.  We will each drive a car alone rather than pile in a van of 9 people and radio our friends in the other van just to make jokes. For a half second, we will think we see a group member at the grocery store, only to be disappointed to realize that person is actually in another part of NC or South Africa. It will be a transition back to our regular routines. And as we anticipate the start of the school year, we will be thinking about how to incorporate all we have learned and experienced into our classrooms.

This morning at breakfast, Andrew said, “Cling to the good times.”  As we go through the next months, experience stress about administration, concern for a student, and feel the chaos of starting a new school year, we will be able to cling to all the good of South Africa. We will pause for a moment and remember the sunrise on our bush walk, the beauty of the giraffe munching on leaves, the joy of a preschool child seeing the new mural on their school wall, the laughter of our group around the table, and the magnificence of a herd of elephants across the coastal forest.