Pauline is “Anxiously Ready!” to begin her internship

So, we have come to the end of orientation. Orientation week was definitely an interesting experience as we traveled to different beaches, saw many landmarks and ate at many ethnic restaurants. Although in the next weeks to come I will probably have more of an independent experience in Cape Town, I can only be excited about what these experiences will consist of. One thing that was mentioned in Vernon’s class is that people from Cape Town seem to see a bunch of Americans and get a bit intrigued as to why we are in Cape Town. As we have seen poverty in some of the townships such as Langa, we are reminded that we aren’t here on “vacation.” We are also reminded that poverty also sits in our backyards back in the U.S. As going through District 6 has seemed to be the most eye opening part of orientation for me, I can only be grateful that I got a chance to see it with my own eyes. One thing that I subconsciously did was rate poverty from best to worst in the states and in District 6. What I now realize is that poverty isn’t something that can be rated. It seems to be way too complex yet too simple to be placed on any type of level. As I plan to be adventurous while here I also can’t wait to get adjusted in my internship. As anxious as I am, I am planning to really serve as a mentor to these students with the hopes that I won’t want to go back home in May. I must also admit that yes, I was uncertain about my internship site at City Mission Educational Services. I kept doubting myself at the beginning of the first week, telling myself that Africa Unite seemed to be more of an internship for me. I believed that I wasn’t a role model because I had so many doubts in my personal life. I kept telling myself that Africa Unite would allow me to implement new strategies and advocate for human rights without the pressure of having someone else directly lean on me. Now, as I am two days away from the start of my internship and have a completely new perspective. Education is a human right. Being a mentor is an honorable title to have (at least in my opinion) and though I have never been someone’s mentor, I have had one and know how that person has impacted my life today. I am not the most confident person in the world but I believe that these students will give me the confidence I never had in the first place. As I told myself that this program would allow me to conquer fears and get over doubts, I believe that this experience will allow me to do just that. If you were to ask me what my current mood is, I would just reply “Anxiously Ready!” J