Journal Entry 11: Assessment of personal experience so far

In Emory’s South Africa Summer Study Abroad 2009 group, there are students from different walks of life doing a varied number of internships.

Alphabetically, there is Aaron Collett from Jakarta, Indonesia who hails originally from New Zealand, Alex Dawson from Seattle, Washington, Alyssa Young from West Palm Beach, Florida, Amanda Sopko from Palm City, Florida, Anna-Nelson Daniel from Atlanta, Georgia, Ariel Leitner-Zieff from East Bay, California, Darah Protas from Atlanta, Georgia, Dion Harris from Trinidad and Tobago, Elizabeth (Beth) Brandt from Staunon, Virginia, Elizabeth (Lizzie) Encarnaco from Winchester, Massachusetts, Natasha Mann from New York, Noel McKenzie from Albany, New York, Peter Ramussen from Seattle Washington, Shalini Ramachandran from Atlanta, Georgia and of course me from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Dion, Ariel and Anna work at Wola Nani, an organization geared towards communities hit by HIV, especially families. Beth at the human rights organization Black Sash, Alyssa at a magazine The Big Issue, Natasha and Noel at The Homestead, an organization aimed at street children, Aaron at The Bishocalledps School, Peter, Shalini, Lizzie and Alex at the newspapers Cape Times and Cape Argus and finally Amanda, Darah and I at Bush Radio. I think our group’s relative diversity makes us quite unique and adds to the experience. Truly, I have grown to like all members of the group and consider them somewhat like family.

But living and travelling as a group means that there is not a whole lot of time for solely personal experiences. It’s those few quiet moments we have in our mind that allow us to reflect on them once in a while.

I think so far my experience has been very learning-based. In these past few weeks, we have seen various parts of the city, gone to places that are the foundation of the country’s past and present like District Six and the Zimbabwe refugee camp. Dr Pamela Scully did teach us a lot about South Africa, but as I mentioned in my first study abroad essay, I wanted to see it for myself and indeed I have. What makes it more challenging is that we are doing it as a group. During every trip each of us comes to a juncture of liking or disliking an experience, understanding or becoming even confused. I would say that so far I have enjoyed what I have seen and done but I still remain confused as to my presence and relation to the country. I still have questions about what kind of connection can I create with South Africa before I leave. There are many places that I feel I still need to visit to gain that full personal experience, like Robben Island, but not for the sake of tourism.

Another factor is the internship being as it is without any sort of classroom structure. It is also a way for us to get some job experience and used to the functioning of the working world. The program itself, beside the fact that it is in South Africa, is showing me a new and inevitable side of adult responsibilities, which is why it was a big perspective change from Emory. Even though the thought of life after school is scary I find myself really enjoying the role I am playing as a journalist.

My personal experience has also been mostly affected by what I do at Bush Radio. I do not get to go outside as much during work but the guests who come into the station provide me a window to Cape Town. I also feel humbled by the level of professionalism and dedication that the station demonstrates and like the atmosphere I work in.

A lot of my time has been devoted to my internship at Bush Radio and I guess I find myself not having any time for myself and for me alone to think about the trip so far. It’s usually when I write my journal entries that I can actually reflect on my thoughts.

Overall, it has been a hectic journey so far yet very intellectually refreshing. Many told me that by going on the trip I would lose a chunk of my summer, but to them I say that this indeed is my idea of a vacation.