So the time is nigh. Today is my last day in Groblersdal, and my last week in South Africa – well, at least this time around! What an amazing, crazy, stressful and rewarding few months it has been though. I’ve met so many wonderful people and seen all sides of the country – from rich to poor, city to nature reserve, bush to coast, and everything in between. It feels like I’ve been here forever, except that forever is not long enough!
Next week I have a series of meetings with various people from international NGOs and UN agencies. I am hoping that someone somewhere will have a connection to a permanent position in this field. There are so many exciting things going on here in the field of economic development that I feel like this is the place to be right now. Because of the crisis though, many are not hiring non-South African citizens and so that is a large hindrance. Whatever happens though, I know that soon I will be back – whether it’s in a few weeks or a few months though, only time will tell.
On my final morning run today I was thinking about all the things I am going to miss – the children running alongside me on the jogs, the beautiful sunsets, the animals, the climate, and most of all the multitudes of amazing people that I have met while here. I will even miss the taxis and their crazy, death defying driving on narrow dirt roads with gospel music blasting in my ear. 
It was also a happy coincidence that on my last weekend in Groblersdal the son of the family that I am staying with got married, and there was a huge traditional African wedding at the house. That was one hell of a party let me tell you. I had to fight off all kinds of chauvinistic men (including the Pastor in church pointing to me and asking “Is it also not true in your culture, that a man is master of the house?”. It was only my respect for the family I am staying with that kept me from telling him exactly what I think of that comment so I just fixed him with a sarcastic look instead and kept my mouth shut. There were quite a few drunken old men that got to hear exactly what I couldn’t say to the Pastor later on that night though, so I guess the universe balances in its own way). Ruth’s friends were great though, and once I finished serving food and making sure the guests were taken care of, I joined their little group, where the guys were thankfully normal, polite and quite fun! The highlight of the night for me was a beer run to the local shebeen which also serves as a brothel! Now THAT was an experience. I really wish I could have taken pictures of that place but it wasn’t the kind of place you want to flash anything of value around, especially when you’re already half in the bag. In any case, the whole affair was a wonderful, rich, cultural experience in national geographic terms – and one crazy ass romp in my terms. 
This week I had to finish the odds and ends at work while also sending out multitudes of CVs and setting up meetings for next week. I have networked my ass off. Sometimes I have no idea how I got from geeky, reserved science kid to the person that I am today. I know it surprises my family, but it often surprises me even more. Especially on those days when I wake up and temporarily forget where I am and what I have done, only to have it all come back in a flash and slap me awake to say “right, get up, this is your life!”. I sort of find that I love everything that I have seen and done in my (almost!) 29 years. The memories alone could likely sustain me through a Siberian prison sentence, although I do hope never to test that. Instead, I hope to keep doing more of THIS. Travelling, learning, experiencing, meeting more amazing people, helping more amazing people and loving the world and life, despite all its unpredictability and the wide multitudes of things to worry about or dislike, because I know there are many more things on the other side of those that tip the scales into the realm of endless, beautiful, possibilities. So on that note, South Africa, I shall see you again soon. Keep the braai warm, and the beer cold. As for the rest of the world – get ready, because there is a lot of you I haven’t see yet, and that is something that simply will not stand.
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