Anna's journey has just begun

“Isn't it crazy that every time we take a step, we're standing somewhere we've never been before...” wondered out-loud one of my co-educators in a moment of inspiration. With every step, we're experience something new. Three weeks we've been here and I can already see myself and my peers changing each and everyday, physically, emotionally and mentally.

This week has officially marked the end of orientation, and the start of our lives as Capetonians. After spending two weeks touring, acting as tourists taking pictures and getting to know the city, the work begins. I use work in a very liberal sense, in that I think most would agree that the classes we are taking and the internships that we have are far from what one would describe as the typical definition of work. Although it is cliché for me to say so, these are irreplaceable life changing experiences, and we're enjoying every second of it. Our classes are far from your standard lecture, but discussions on life. I know I am not alone when I say I came into this trip expecting to learn from my internship and professors, but every conversation I have had, has proven to be learning experience. Whether it be the conversation about faith and God that I had with the grounds keeper at Beautiful Gate, or the debate about the presence of racism in the US with a cab driver, I've learned that simply smiling at someone or saying hello could turn into an hour long conversation about anything and everything.

Although orientation has ended, our “journey” so to speak has just begun. This week has been full of stories of what we were all experiencing at our unique internships. I faced some disappointment learning that I would only be able to spend about an hour with the kids at Beautiful Gate a day, as they spend the rest of the time in school, but am excited by the prospect of this week as we are beginning home visits into the communities.

On Thursday, we made the 45 minute walk to the University of Cape Town Campus which is nestled into the base of Table mountain, for our first day of class. We finally met Vincent, our politics of South Africa professor. Throughout orientation, we were presented with so much information it was impossible to absorb everything that we were learning, but after sitting through Vincent's class, I was finally able to contextualize everything that we have seen and done since landing. Vernon's class was equally as fascinating. Although I am not one to openly share my thoughts and feelings in a classroom setting, this class provides an atmosphere that anyone would feel comfortable in. I got so much out of simply listening to my fellow students, and their perspectives and reactions on what we have done so far. Many of their comments put into words exactly what and how I have been feeling but was not quite yet able to articulate. We discussed what our parent and family reactions have been thus far, and one of my fellow co-educators brought up the point that he has been putting off talking to many of his friends and family members because there is simply no way to describe what we're experiencing. After listening to him speak, I realized why I've been at such a loss for words whenever I've gotten the question in the past three weeks, “So, how's Africa?” This is an experience that cannot be described in a one sentence response, which is what most are looking for. Many of us our struggling with how exactly to share what we are going through, and our classes and discussions with each other and Marita and Vernon have been a great outlet to do just that.

Anna front & center with some co-educator friends