Visit from "Mom-zozo"!

In the days leading up to my mother's visit to South Africa, people around my site could tell I was getting excited. I could barely keep the smile off of my face. I had a countdown from about 10 days prior... I was planning our schedule for her two week visit here and things were looking terrific. My friends Sakhile and Jane who work in the kitchen at the conference center where I live would tease me incessantly every morning. "When is your Mom-zozo coming??" "Will you feed her chicken feet when she comes to see you?" "Will you sleep in the same bed?". I would laugh at them and report how many more days... yes, she would love to try chicken feet... and no we would not be staying in the same bed. =) Haha.

Finally the day came! She was to arrive around 10:20am and my friend Thomas who works here in reception was going to come with me to the airport. He insisted that he be the first person to hug her when she came off the plane (after me, of course!) So we stood there in the arrival area, me with my stomach in knots SO excited to greet my mother after 6 months in this country. It seemed like forever before we saw her coming into the waiting area! SHE'S HERE! Instantly, Thomas started snapping pictures and we hugged like we'd never seen each other before. It was basically terrific. =)

After meeting everyone here at my site and seeing the sites of Joburg, my mom and I travelled south into the Kwa-Zulu Natal province to visit Brian and Kristen, the country coordinators of the YAGM program and to see the sights of South Africa. We saw many animals at Hluhluwe-Imfolozi national park and we met several of the other YAGM volunteers in Stanger for lunch one day. We stayed with Valerie in a very rural area of the country. We stood on the beach and put our feet in the Indian ocean. We stood in awe of the mountains and stared up at the clear, dark sky at the milky way galaxy. We spent some time at the Apartheid Museum outside of Joburg and we attended a Chiefs soccer game at a World Cup stadium. Overall, the time was incredible. Most importantly, I got to spend some terrific, high quality time with my "Mom-zozo". It was such a blessing to have her stay where I stay, meet my closest friends here and tell her stories about my life and experiences here.


Thomas, my mom and William at the airport on her last day.

When she left on Wednesday of this week, it was sad but it was worth all the good times we had. When I went to breakfast the next morning, Sakhile and Jane were there to make fun of me again... asking me if I cried when my Mom left. I said "Of course I did!" I then went on to explain to them that we live far apart and won't see each other for a long time. They reminded me that they also live far from their families. Sakhile's family lives in Zimbabwe and she only gets to see her parents one time a year. I realized that while it has been hard for me to be away from home for this long, I am not the only one here who is faced with this situation. Many of the employees here are from Zimbabwe or the Northern province of South Africa and are removed from their families on a regular basis. While I am younger than most of them and much further from home, I was once again reminded that my life and my struggles are not so different from those with whom I am living and working. There is a temptation here to feel different and special... like a martyr, suffering for this work. But the reality is that when we honestly engage in relationship with those around us, we will see that we are more similar than we ever could have dreamed and we are all part of one family. We are faced with the same sorrows and we encounter the same joys. We are all connected and are bound to each other.

So, while I miss my family, my mom's visit and the subsequent realizations have reminded me that this is a short-term experience. As I grow closer to my friends and family here in South Africa with each passing day, I also am reminded of how quickly these days are passing and how soon I will be back in the states missing South Africa. So Mom-zozo, I know you miss me and want me home, but I'm not done here! My South African family has so much more to teach me. =)