Meg's heart is full

My heart is so full after this last week! Between starting internships, classes, and getting to explore Cape Town, I think the reality that we get to do this for the next three months is really starting to set in.

First with the fun stuff! Last Saturday a group of us headed down to Old Biscuit Mill, a ‘market’ full of incredible food vendors, live music, beautiful art, and trendy clothes, needless to say I was basically in heaven. Sunday night we had the incredible opportunity to attend one of the Kirstenbosch Summer Concert events in the botanical gardens. The view from the amphitheater, which sits right at the foot of Table Mountain, literally looked like a green screen it was so perfect. We saw The Soil perform, an acapella group who combines music and spirituality in the most beautiful way. Just being in that crowd enjoying a picnic and being surrounded by people who were all just so happy to be there was perfect (this was also the night I realized that Capetonians are SUPER trendy and people watching here is the best). Fast forward to this weekend and getting to spend Friday at the famous Muizenberg Beach. Having been to many beaches before, I can honestly say this one was one of the most breathtaking and unique, with its colorful hut changing rooms, and mountain views.

 

Lily & Meg at Muizenberg Beach

Secondly, the internships started this week! I could not be happier with my placement at City Mission Educational Services and am already starting to realize what an impact this experience will make on me. The staff is so welcoming and passionate about the work they are doing and the kids that they are helping. All of the kids seem pretty open to us and are all so eager to ask questions about America. It is obvious that although in societies eyes these kids aren’t the top of their class, they all have so much potential and I cannot wait to play a part in bringing that out. Two interesting things: over the first three days of interning myself and the other intern from my trip substitute taught for eight classes (you can see how understaffed and under resourced they are by that alone), and apparently here “you have nice toes” is a very high compliment coming from these students which at first I was very thrown off by. It is really crazy hearing about everyone’s internship experiences and how different the workplace is here versus in America. Besides my personal experience in schools, I think the biggest differences have to be in the medical field. People have described the lack of protocol and safety measures made, which in one way is astounding but in another way just shows how dire these people’s situations are for help.

Thirdly, classes have also started up and so far the course content all seems very interesting. Every time I am on UCT’s campus I never want to leave. It really is the most beautiful campus I have ever seen. It is pretty neat that we also get to be there during the beginning of their school year because you can definitely feel the excitement of all the students coming back to school. I really hope we get the opportunity to become friends with some of the students who go there, not just the study abroad students. I think in every aspect of this trip, the internship, classes, and exploration, we all have so much to gain and to give, and I am so excited that I get the chance to continue to experience that over the next couple of months.