This week, I began to feel much more
at home here in Cape Town. During orientation, I was having an amazing time
seeing all the sights and learning about South Africa, however I really felt
like a tourist who was going to leave after a mere two weeks. After this week,
with starting my internship, classes, and having greater autonomy with my time,
it now feels like I will be here for another 3 months.
I really enjoy my internship, and I
feel like I am getting a lot of valuable experience. For the first week I got
to write sexual assault policy for the organization’s members. I found it very
interesting because I had to research a lot about South Africa and its sexual
crime rates, and although they are higher than the US’s, the problems that lead
to these rates are very similar between the two countries. Another thing that I
have gotten to do is meet members of their affiliate organizations, which has
also been enlightening. One day, I met several Native American women from
Minnesota who were also at the Community House with the Whole World Women
Association. They were talking about how they had been fasting for 11 days, and
they still had loads of energy and positivity that I can’t imagine I would have
without eating. We also got to sit in on meetings where they were strategizing
protests, and I thought this was so interesting, I’ve only ever participated in
protests, not held them, so I’m learning how intricate the organization of
social action is. This upcoming week, they’re going to start a lot of projects
and I’m going to get to pick which one I want to work on. I can’t wait!
I also got to do one of my favorite things since coming to Cape Town this week, surfing! Usually, I don’t like extreme sports and I wasn’t expecting to enjoy it or stand on the board at all. However, I stood a lot more than I thought I would and I loved it! I hope I can go back to Muizenberg a lot this semester to keep trying it. I can't wait to be trying more new things while in Cape Town!
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