Farewell

This is officially my last week in Cape Town.

Where do I even begin to end this? It has been such a monumental year—these last 11 months of stepping into the “real world” for the first time, of creating a life on a completely foreign continent, and of being able to work with some truly incredible women.

As departure draws closer, I find it harder to leave. I had thought I was ready to go. But now, I keep coming across yet another beloved place/person/food/activity that I realise is unique to Cape Town, and that I will never see or experience again (at least in the near future). Living here for an extended period of time, I had forgotten the temporary nature of my visit, taking things for granted in a way I never do when I am merely a tourist. I still haven’t visited the Castle, which is literally across the street from where I work, just as I haven’t been to the Taj Mahal yet. I think it will just have to keep until my next visit.

I find myself struggling for a way to properly say goodbye to this city. I’ve been making mental lists of all that I will miss, but I am unable to move past my favourite eateries on that list: Charly’s Bakery (mucking afazing cakes, says their bright pink box); Bread, Milk and Honey; feta and mushroom pizza from, well, anywhere really; Maharaja’s; most of the food from Woolies…I’m need to stop. I promise you my Cape Town experience was more than just eating.

Oh, I forgot the incredibly cheap, delicious wine!

Anyway, leave I must, and hope that Cape Town and I can meet again in the future. As for this blog, I’m not sure whether I will be inspired to write here again post South Africa, but thank you for reading. It has meant more than you know.

And the seventh sorrow
Is the slow goodbye
Of the face with its wrinkles that looks through the window
As the year packs up
Like a tatty fairground
That came for the children.

The Seventh Sorrow, Ted Hughes