We Meet to Part, and Part to Meet
In January and February, 20 students from Southern Africa (Angola, Botswana, Mozambique, South Africa, and Zimbabwe) were in Seattle for a program coordinated by FIUTS, the Study of the U.S. Institute for Student Leaders on Civic Engagement (SUSI). Each student was paired with a volunteer "Ambassador" from the University of Washington, and Ambassadors served as mentors and friends during the program. In this blog post, SUSI Ambassador Sophia Chakalo shares some reflections about this meaningful experience.
I was told recently “we meet to part and part to meet.” I never thought I would depend on words like it was the air I needed to breathe, but after the friends that I made through the SUSI program that became like family to me, these words are the ones that get me through the weeks.
When I first heard about the SUSI Ambassador program I initially thought it was just an opportunity to meet and interact with students from a different part of the world. I thought it was going to be a good “learning experience” about cultures that were still unknown to me. However, it quickly turned into something much more profound.
The first week started as I had expected with pleasantries and discussions about cultures and life in different Southern African countries. However, soon after that initial meeting we - the SUSI ambassadors, SUSI participants and I - went on a weekend retreat, and sometime during that weekend there was a moment. I can’t pinpoint the exact time, but it was a moment where all the walls and barriers fell. We were no longer just acquaintances; it was developing into something much more.
The following weeks were a culmination of moments that provided new depths to our relationship. Some of these included late night billiards and chats at the College Inn Pub where time seemed to stand still. This included packaging food at a food bank where we epitomized the definition of teamwork. This included bowling at the HUB where we enjoyed friendly competition. This included a Super Bowl party where we were teased and joked around with each other. And lastly this included daily hang outs after class at the College Inn that would reach far into the night where we would discuss the most serious of topics, but also laugh until we were sore. Each moment built upon the other, until we reached a point where we felt like we had known each other for years. It was something that I never anticipated, but something I am thankful for each day.
It always seems like when you are in the happiest moments time seems to move at the speed of light, because before I knew it, it was their last night in Seattle. I couldn’t believe a month had gone by that quickly. But time has no mercy, so the hours passed by until we all found ourselves waiting in the airport. Then, it only seemed like minutes after arriving we had to say our goodbyes. That’s when the dams inside me broke.
I couldn’t control it; the pain was too much to keep contained. I had built lifelong friendships with them, and I didn’t want the 10,000 miles separating us, or the 10-hour time difference between us to stop that from continuing. I didn’t want it to end, but they all got on their planes and were gone.
That same day I was told the saying, “we meet to part and part to meet”. I didn’t quite understand it or want to understand it at that moment because I felt like a piece of me had left with them. However, I have had time now, and these words are something I try to remind myself when I feel that heartache washing over me. Maybe not today, tomorrow, or the next month, but there will be a time in the future where we will meet again.
Sophia Chakalo is a senior Biology-Physiology major at the University of Washington. She has been a FIUTS Facilitator since 2014.
The Study of the U.S. Institutes (SUSI), sponsored by the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, promote a better understanding of the people, institutions, and culture of the United States among foreign students, teachers, and scholars. Study of the U.S. Institutes are short-term academic programs for groups of undergraduate leaders, educators, and scholars from around the world.
The SUSI on Civic Engagement with students from Southern Africa is coordinated by the Foundation for International Understanding Through Students (FIUTS), a local non-profit organization affiliated with the University of Washington that promotes international friendship and cross-cultural understanding in the region.
Guest posts on the FIUTS blog represent the experiences and views of individual writers. They do not necessarily reflect the views of FIUTS or any organizations or institutions affiliated with our programs.