My evaluation of Alex’s experience in South Africa cannot be summarized in a few words. His journey and progress is unique in mainly due to a culmination of factors and events that affected him. Alex worked at the Cape Argus as a reporter. But only a day after his internship began, he immediately became sick with an infection and had to be admitted to the hospital. Because of this incident, Alex missed the first two weeks, an important time during which all of us got accommodated to our work sites and acquainted with our colleagues. In our interview, Alex said that he did feel a little behind than the other intern at the site but he tried to make the best of it. Indeed, from what Alex told me, he was able to move rapidly from shadowing to covering stories in those few weeks he had. While he said he wishes he could have written more stories and pitched more story ideas, he seemed quite satisfied with all that he had done so far. I think that feeling is existent among most of us, especially those doing the Journalism internships, because the race to get as many clips as possible is constantly on our minds, sometimes shadowing the learning process.
Back at Emory, Alex works as the sports editor for The Emory Wheel. He often writes columns that are analysis-driven and reflect a particular opinion. At the Cape Argus, Alex’s role as a reporter was a little different from what he is used to. His stories include coverage of the doctors’ strike in Cape Town, events commemorating the one year to the World Cup in South Africa and SABC. I have read those articles and they are well-written. Alex said he enjoyed doing those stories but the internship only affirmed his preference for being a sports columnist. He even drafted a sports opinion piece for the newspaper but was disappointed to see that it never got published. Alex’s passion for sports is obvious and known among all members of the group. And in my opinion, it is what he seems to be an expert at and will most likely excel in if he does decide to follow that route. Clearly his position at The Emory Wheel is proof of that. The internship at Cape Argus may have deviated from that but Alex felt that it did provide him a different perspective nevertheless.
Apart from providing him writing experience, Alex said that his internship took him to places in Cape Town he may have not visited by himself. He said that there did not seem to be any sort of racial friction at his work site as the majority of the reporters and editors were white. But in some parts of town where he was assigned to write stories, especially in townships, he remembered feeling lost and a little out of place. When he said that it struck me that for many white people in South Africa there is a sense of unease about their surroundings. It is a dilemma indeed. There were also times when Alex was anxious about the crime but he said that none of that ever hindered his experience in South Africa.
Alex’s presence in the group added a sense of fun and carefree attitude to the group. Many of the lighter moments in our trip had a bit of his humor in it as well. I think initially Alex was more of a quiet observer in our group when we began to know each other. He spoke little then as there were a few individuals who dominated the conversation. But obviously as we all got comfortable with each Alex became more open and interactive. During social gatherings and outings he rarely declined to participate and always was enjoyable to have around. In fact, a lot of the times it was he who pushed and pressured us into doing things. While Alex seems fairly well-travelled, I feel that he, like the rest of us, has been somewhat transformed and maybe humbled by what he has learnt about this country and his experiences. At least that was what I sensed. Alex was in the same team as I was for the Monday night presentation and he contributed to the best of his ability. Also during group meetings, his contributions were not as frequent but whenever he did say something, it was not merely for the sake of it but for elaboration of a point. In fact a lot of his comments were quite frank, something sometimes many of us avoided. While there were people like Peter and Beth who provided connections to what they have studied in their previous classes, Alex was one of those people who sometimes cited news they had read. In the end, while Alex seems to be a person of few words, whenever he presented his views or responded he did it without coming on the offensive and with humor.
In terms of personal interactions, Alex and I were familiar with each other before due to a previous class, but our understanding of each other now is very different having spent a month under the same roof. Alex did develop a close friendship with Peter and Lizzie during the trip with whom he eventually hung out most of the time, but whenever we talked or engaged in a social activity, the experience was pleasant and amicable. I think my previous impression of Alex as not outgoing has also changed. Now that I think about it, almost every time a bunch of us decided to do something, he was one of the few people who joined the bandwagon. Alex was present at almost every non-compulsory activity that we planned.
Alex’s response to the evaluation:
I think that Umika painted a pretty accurate picture of my experience on the trip. She is definitely right about my internship experience at the Argus going well, despite the somewhat slow start. I also thought she gave good insights into my interaction with the group in both formal and informal settings. The part about how the internship experience made me look at how I might want to pursue journalism in the future is also accurate, and one of the valuable things I will take away from this. I wouldn't say anything I read surprised me a great deal, or that I disagreed with any of it.
In terms of the general peer evaluation process, I think that since weren't together as much as some other people in the group, and because the peer evaluation process didn't begin until relatively late in the trip, it was difficult to offer unique, personal insights. While I agreed with Umika's evaluation, it felt weird to read a nearly 1,000 word analysis of me. She reached most of the same conclusions I did, but reading it from a different perspective is reaffirming, although somewhat strange at the same time.
