Julia eager to learn more about South Africa (and about the US)

This week was exhausting, but nonetheless full of new experiences. I started my internship at the University of the Western Cape working for the Gender EquityUnit (GEU). Getting to my internship has been quite a struggle each morning seeing as the mini bus taxi for Belville is almost nonexistent, but, somehow, for Mitchells Plain there are two taxis every ten minutes. I need to be at the GEU at 9-9:30 each morning, but the taxi only comes around 9:00 and the ride is about 40 minutes. Glenton, my supervisor, has been very understanding about this, but I want to find a better, and more reliable mode of transportation like the bus. Other than the transportation, my internship is going well. Since it is the start of a brand new school year, there isn’t much for me to do yet. I’ve mainly been talking to students that either work in the GEU or new volunteers. The people I met have been so friendly and always hug me when they greet me, which is definitely different than in the U.S. At home people barely acknowledge you when you walk into a room, but here your presence is always noticed. It’s also very interesting to talk to everyone because they know so much about politics and the U.S.- more than I know. It’s actually quite intimidating to talk with them sometimes because I really don’t know anything about what’s going on in my own country or theirs. While they can name most of the 50 states, I could only name two of the nine South African provinces (now I know them all). They also express their hatred for the U.S., which I totally understand, but it is still a little awkward to hear. I just wish we learned so much more in our schooling about non-Western countries and their histories. They know so much about the U.S. and I never heard about apartheid until my freshman year of college and it was only from one sentence in a textbook. One of the readings we had for Marita’s class pointed out that every conflict between Western nations is always named after the group of people involved, but when it comes to non-Western countries, particularly in Africa, they are just “tribal wars.” I never noticed just how ignorant we are of non-Western history to the point that we can’t even use the exact names of the groups of people involved. I will certainly learn a lot just by listening to people at my internship, but I also want to start reading the newspaper more so that I can contribute to a conversation.

           

The other new experience I had was completing Lion’s Head. The hike was so much more rigorous than I ever imagined it would be. At certain points we were almost on all fours to climb the rocks. It was a major accomplishment once we got to the top and saw the gorgeous view of the city, ocean, and surrounding mountains. We really didn’t even have to get to the top to get a great view though, since at every point in the hike majestic mountains and the amazing landscape surrounded us. I can honestly say that was the most beautiful hike I’ve ever done- but Connecticut and Vermont mountains are really not that hard to beat when you’re in South Africa. Overall, I’m just so happy to be here. I absolutely hate thinking about leaving this place. We were just going over the coming weeks and realized how fast this is all going to go. I really don’t like thinking about it, so I don’t know why I chose to write about it. Time to think in the present and not worry about the future.

Julia on Lion's Head--her most beautiful hike ever!

Molly is so happy to be learning so much

We have almost been in Cape Town for three weeks now, which is so crazy to me because I feel like the time is slipping away from me. There is so much that I have left to do and experience and I just hope that I will have time for everything. We started internships this past week and to sum it up I absolutely love it. I am at Tafelsig Clinic in Mitchel’s Plain and I have already learned more than I could in any classroom. I feel so lucky to be working with the people there that are pretty much volunteering all of their time and energy to help hundreds of people a day. Sister Castle is the head nurse and she is just a very special person. I was talking to her about her experience working at the clinic and she responded saying that she wants to win the lottery so that she can make everyone better and send him or her to mars where there will be no sickness. I can just see the passion in her work and she is so amazing and caring towards every patient that she sees and to everyone else that she encounters. She is always checking on me, making sure I am doing enough work and that I am eating and drinking water she just cares so much and I feel very lucky for that. I also am really enjoying the work that I am doing at the clinic. On the first day I had my own desk in triage taking down symptoms, blood pressure, etc. Even during lunch break everyone includes me in the jokes when they are speaking Afrikaans they will always translate for me. I am so happy that I am getting so much out of this internship and I just am getting so excited for what is to come.

Emily E will work to provide hope for students

Do you remember the last time your mother or father picked you up as a child? Maybe not your parent, but it was someone who thought you were too small to stand on your own. I certainly do not, but my mother has always done things when I was shy or too afraid. This week I started my internship at City Mission Educational Services, and I did not expect to depend so much on my own knowledge and ability. I told my coordinator that I wanted to work with counseling students instead of teaching. As someone who is creative, he and I agreed I could do art therapy within their intervention office. However, I was unaware that it would totally be up to me to organize these exercises and meet with these students independently. I have never shadowed in a therapy session so I thought “How could I possibly run my own sessions?!” My first day entailed meeting with a few students with no art therapy involved--just me and the student. Afterwards, I felt myself emotionally drained and I lacked the drive to continue with anymore sessions that day. I felt totally helpless as I desperately tried to cheer them up--they smiled sometimes, but their eyes still reflected their strained circumstances. My first day with them has definitely pushed me to utilize my time at CMES because now I really want to make some impact on their thoughts and feelings about themselves and their circumstances. As I yearn for my mother and those who have supported me in my life, I hope I can provide some hope for the students at CMES that there are those that will keep them going too and looking toward the sun.

Table Mountain as viewed from Robben Island

Christina's diving in to all Cape Town has to offer

University of Cape Town

What can I say? South Africa is beautiful and the people here get more amazing the more I meet them. Now that we’ve had a bit of time to settle in we’ve branched out and explored the city and all Cape Town has to offer. Just last weekend we all decided to do our first beach trip to Muizenberg and the beauty took my breath away. The beach is surrounded by mountains and caters to everyone around including surfers and the oh so feared Great White Shark. Luckily when we went there were no sightings but hopefully some of the girls and myself will be taking some surf lessons there in the near future.

There’s so much more to explore and I can’t wait to dive in but life here has gotten that much more busy now that classes and internships have started. So far all the people at my internship have been very welcoming and classes haven’t piled too much work on us yet, but I know it’s sure to come. Finding the balance between work and fun will be a challenge but you’ll find it’s easier than not to incorporate a little bit of both in your daily life. Just today after class, Maria, Sam, and myself took the initiative to hike Lion’s Head. Although it’s the smaller of the two mountains it was a difficult climb with a most rewarding view. The feeling when you got to the top was one of accomplishment and awe because although we were huffing and puffing from the strenuous trek, you completely forget how hard it was to get there when you take a moment and just look out and see where you are. In one direction we had the complete view of Table Mountain and all of Cape Town. Then to our other side was the beautiful ocean and Twelve Apostles, another mountain chain. The beauty here never ceases to amaze me and I’m excited for my many more adventures.

Sam, Maria, & Christina on Lion's Head

Jillian learning and doing what she loves

Now that I’ve actually started living in Cape Town with classes and my internship, I’m starting to feel more settled. I absolutely love interning at Sarah Fox Hospital with the social worker. After only three days working there, I’ve learned so much. I’ve learned a lot about the field of social work and how it actually is rather than just what I’ve been told or thought it was. I’ve been really busy doing a lot of paperwork and getting used to the place, but I’ve also been able to sit in on some sessions with the parents of the children there. Hearing what the parents had to say and how the social worker responded was a really great learning experience and I can’t wait to learn more. I’ve also gotten to know a lot of the children at the hospital and have fallen in love with all of them already! It’s hard to hear their background stories and what brought them to Sarah Fox but it’s also interesting to hear about how we are going to help make their outcomes better. Even when I’m just doing paperwork or taking notes at a meeting, I feel like I’m doing so much. Helping out in any way is a great feeling and only makes me eager to do more the next day. There’s so much more to come and I’m looking forward to learning and doing what I love every day (or at least Monday through Wednesday)!