I’m going to miss this place.

Today I was doing one of my favorite things: reading on my balcony. This past week I started the machinations to move back, and it’s starting to set in – and a strong part of me is digging in its heels.

My balcony might be an odd place to contemplate SA. I can find a balcony anywhere. The only distinctively SA things I can see are the three braai pits in the common area and a few hadeda ibis. (I can also definitely hear the hadedas...) Not only that, but the SA I see out my balcony is wealthy Sandton, which is a far cry from a lot of SA.

Winter sunset off my balcony; the shot into the sunset washes out both the vibrant orange and the trees' autumn canopy.

A word you hear in SA all the time is “vibe.” Everyone in SA is looking for a “vibey” place, or asking about the “vibe” at work, home, party, city. It was initially something I noted and moved past – it’s not concrete, it varies based on what a person is looking for, and is fleeting. Where does it come from? What does it represent?

However, I have come to appreciate it.

I’m going to miss the “vibe” here. I started to parse out the sources of that vibe for me as I am wont to do, but I decided that’s for me to know and for you to come discover.

Different perspectives on different worlds

I had a long chat with a friend who has been living in China for three years and will be there for a few more. It was a very refreshing conversation and fascinating as we saw both striking similarities and differences in our experiences and the people around us.

As I traveled in college I quickly realized that those who haven’t left the U.S. simply have a limited ability to understand the stories and experiences one brings back. Living abroad takes this to another level, and I have realized this is one reason why expat communities are so strong: even if I’m in South Africa and someone else is in China, we both understand each other’s life better than anyone in the U.S. can.

Last week I was talking with an Afrikaner who specifically said he wouldn’t want to live abroad because he was afraid it would change him. I couldn’t argue with that. But what kind of change is it? I would argue that it is a development – each lesson I gain from being abroad teaches me two things: something about the people/area around me and something about who I am/where I come from. It is no coincidence that a touring Frenchman wrote a defining account of early America.