2015 Co-educators

2015 Co-educators
2015 UConn Co-educators Begin Their Cape Town Adventures

WELCOME TO OUR BLOG

As anyone who has participated in UConn's Education Abroad in Cape Town will tell you, there are no words to adequately explain the depth of the experiences, no illustrations to sufficiently describe the hospitality of the people, and no pictures to begin to capture the exquisite scenery. Therefore this blog is only intended to provide an unfolding story of the those co-educators who are traveling together as companions on this amazing journey.

As Resident Director of this program since 2008 it is once again my privilege and honor to accompany another group of students to this place I have come to know and love.

In peace, with hope,
Marita McComiskey, PhD
(marita4peace@gmail.com)

Monday, February 2, 2015

Ashlyn's discoveries and new awarenesses

Have a good day! 

Today was the first day of internships! Onna and I have internships in the same area of Cape Town so we traveled together. The first time I ever took a minibus taxi it was fairly simple and a taxi came right away. A minibus taxi is a van that drives to different areas of Cape Town for cheap. Today we spend around 20 minutes trying to find a taxi. After the minibus struggle, I walked into my internship for the first time kind of nervous but also excited to begin my work at Surplus People’s Project. Surplus People’s Project is a NGO that focuses on land reform and food security. I spent the majority of today meeting everyone there and talking with them about what projects they were currently working on. I think my time there will be focused on labor laws and assisting a staff named Ronald with workshops regarding the new laws.

This weekend flew by so fast and I can’t believe that today also marked the first day of a normal routine in Cape Town. On Saturday everyone went to the Muizenberg Beach and the area was beautiful in every aspect. I loved watching the surfers from the beach. Sunday was spent relaxing and hiking Lion’s Head. The view from the mountain was remarkable but sadly the weather was not in our favor. The wind was very powerful and we ended up heading back down before we reached the top of the mountain. Even with wind flying at us in every direction I was able to see so many areas of Cape Town from the mountain.


I’ve felt very welcomed during my stay here in Cape Town. I didn’t think I would feel so at home so fast. There have been times where I’ve felt like a fraud here however. Sometimes I’ll be running past homeless people in a t-shirt from a road race I spent over 50 dollars on. It’s the first time in my life where the focus is on how much I have versus back home where I think about how much I don’t have. It’s difficult to think that poverty is an issue in America too (and that I’ve walked past homeless people in NYC) but have never let it impact me."
Posted by at
Labels: , ,

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)