My last post...probably

My last week in Cape Town was, in a word, hectic. Appropriate, considering Capetonians love that word. Spent a week and a half with a car, which was the best choice ever. My new little white Toyota treated me well. Let me tell you right now that car gets the best gas mileage. It’s absurd. I thought there was actually something wrong with the gas meter because it was at over full for the first 2 days. Even when I went on this long overnight, with over 4 hours of freeway driving I only used half a tank. So happy to have a break from the Jammie, though now that I’m home I wonder if I’ll ever ride the Jammie again…

I really enjoyed my last couple of weeks in Cape Town, finals couldn’t have dragged on longer. I was so happy to be done with UCT and the craziness of having to constantly go back to campus to try to pick up papers. Apart from that nonsense, I enjoyed my last days and nights with the great friends I made during my time abroad. We had a memorable final dinner at The Africa Café. Stellar food.
Leaving Liesbeek was stressful. Akim, my roommate from Zambia, was adorable and insisted on getting pictures of me, him, and Lily together.

On my way home from Cape Town I stopped in Edinburgh, Scotland to visit Miss Andrea Kretchmer and the rest of the Pomona gang. Intense culture shock and serious jetlag could not decrease my excitement to experience Pomona Scotland Style. As the plane landed in EDI I almost thought I was in Seattle. It looked so wet, green and cold. Edinburgh was a cute little city. I got a world tour from Andrea, Kristin, Chanda and Rose, and it was pretty adorable to see that they had all really mastered the place and knew all the trivia. Everything was super expensive; doubling prices is a lot less fun then dividing by 7. Hate it. One of the nights I went to St.Andrews because 2 of my friends from high school go there (for real) and another friend from high school is currently there studying abroad. It was great to see them and their world in St. Andrews. Merit gave me a whirlwind tour that included a really old cemetery. I mean any tour in Europe wouldn’t be complete without a creepy graveyard, right? It wasn’t as good as the one at UCT’s hospital, Groote Schuur, which is overgrown with palms and other plants and every tombstone is crooked. I digress. Scotland was great. It was just so nice to see all of these kids after 5 or so months.

My homecoming at SEA-TAC was one of the highlights of my life. I hadn’t seen my sister since July 10th. I saw shuffle into the baggage claim area with the biggest smile of anticipation on her face. It was adorable. I got a big hug from my mom too out by the car. It’s so nice when people are so excited to see you. Being on the wrong time zone was appropriate because I woke up at 6am in time to beat the crowds on Thanksgiving Day at the grocery store to pick up the odds and ends. There was no one there. It was unreal to walk back into the Metropolitan Market and roam the aisles of unpackaged produce that I did not have weigh and get a sticker for. I love grocery stores where the aisles are actually wide enough so that 2 carts can actually pass each other. Thanksgiving itself was ok. It was just the 4 of us and “uncle” Mason. In all honesty, it was probably better that way because I don’t know how well I would’ve handled a big reunion.

My mom and I started our Italian lessons this past week. I am incredibly rusty, and it really shows because I keep wanting to reply in French. It’s going to be fun. Otherwise the first week home was good. I am surprised how easy it has been to fall back into place and do the same things I always do in Seattle. It’s scary, but also comforting.

I just got home from my weekend trip to Pomona. I have been excited about this trip since August when we made the reservations. Jake picked me up from the airport, and we were so excited to see each other and catch up that we drove all the way to Fairplex. I saw Becky Fogel, Tigist, and RLT within an hour of being there at Kiwiberri (yummy). Rebecca threw a surprise party for me in my room that night, which was amazing. All my old sponsees showed up, plus all my junior and senior friends currently on campus. It reminded me that I have such wonderful friends, and I cannot wait to see the rest of them when they come back from abroad. The rest of the weekend I spent catching up with as many people as possible, and surprising people who I don’t really know on campus. Sunday night Helen and Tig helped me cook some amazing veggie lasagna at Kassahun-Grove, a.k.a. the lovely abode of Tigist and Helen. We had a good crowd and I showed off my Zulu dance moves! It was really wonderful to see everyone. I missed them.

Best off luck on finals and Happy Holidays. I suppose this might be my last post considering I’m done with this chapter of my life. Please let me know if you’re interested in purchasing a Wola Nani product!

Lots of love,

Katy