"Here Comes Goodbye" by: Jessica Ragsdale

To quote Charles Dickens, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” Today was very bittersweet for me. We all visited Sir Lowry’s Pass as a group to celebrate our time with the township families, but it was also a sad occasion because we knew it would be the last time we would be seeing them.

Our celebration in the township was an amazing show of song and dance. “Global LEAD’s Got Talent” was headlined by groups performing Justin Bieber, Wicked, “Lean on Me”, and a special majorette performance. As always, the kids from the township left us amazed by their passion and talent for dance (especially when Michael Jackson is playing). My housemother got on stage at one point and was dancing with the other housemothers. She has impacted me so much and I felt honored when she got on stage and thanked us all by name for coming to her home, spending time with her, and making a difference in her family’s life.

Once it was time to leave, she ordered us all on the bus before she started to cry. We have all been greatly impacted by our time in Sir Lowry’s Pass and hopefully our experience there will continue to stay in the forefront of our minds and shape us for the better. One of the songs performed tonight was “For Good”, which talks about how knowing certain people in your life will change you forever. I certainly believe that knowing these families in Sir Lowry’s Pass has changed me for good. Our time spent there has allowed us to have a different outlook on life and allows us to analyze situations differently with critical reasoning and a more open mind. I never expected that the families there would be impacted by us to the extent that they were and I never expected to be impacted that much either.

Another bittersweet aspect of today was that students and professors started to depart, so we also had to say goodbye to new friends. We are all very excited to spend our last week in Cape Town and cross all of the remaining trips and experiences off of our lists, but we are now getting constant reminders that our time remaining here is short and that people are already starting to leave. I look forward to my remaining time here, but know that it is going to be bittersweet when I have to say goodbye to everyone and ultimately goodbye to Cape Town as well.