As I prepare to leave...

It's my last weekend in Johannesburg and I am feeling conflicted.

Of course, I will miss this city, the people I have met and unique culture I have been able to be a part of, but I am also feeling extremely excited to take the next step in my life; moving to London!

I went for dinner with a group of people this week who have just moved to Johannesburg and I was speaking with them about the exciting travel spots they want to go and the places they should see while they are here. I also took a quick scan back through my blog posts from the past year and it all made me nostalgic for the once in a lifetime experiences I have been fortunate enough to have while here. The office also said goodbye to me today at our all-staff meeting and capped it off with high-tea and drinks after work. It is finally hitting me that my year is actually coming to a close and I'm leaving. It feels a little sad.

While at the same time, not only am I very much looking forward to seeing my loved ones when I visit Canada for the holidays and for what is to come in London, but I know that this is really the right time for me to leave.

This week one of my closest friends here was robbed at gunpoint with his young family and accordingly to South African stats, crime rates have increased in Johannesburg this year over last. South Africa right now seems to be at a tipping point. The youth in the country are standing up and asking for more from their leaders, but so far they have only been met with band-aid solutions and misguided regulations. Unemployment is high, productivity and growth are low, but South Africa continues to make it difficult for foreign investors and infrastructure to enter in and build up the economy. People are getting desperate. As it stands, the ANC, won't be voted out of power, and the loyalty they receive is understandable, but my hope is that with enough pressure from young voters (if they get out and vote) who aren't as devoted to the ANC, the ruling party will start to adapt. But these are high hopes and right now its feeling more and more that things are starting to boil over. We'll see how the tides shift, but for now, I'm just grateful for the year I've had and relieved that I have a ticket to outta here in a few days.