My
internship at TAC has been an amazingly powerful and fulfilling experience even
over just the first three days. I have grown more in those three days then I
could have ever imagined. From meetings at schools, to medical home-visits, to
a large-scale distribution of condoms I have delved deep into the heart of
Khayelitsha. It is a hard experience to describe. To weave through the informal
settlements, speaking Xhosa and interacting with the people, it is an
opportunity I could have never imagined. Though I love and feel rewarded by my
work, there is immense sorrow here that makes this internship incredibly
emotionally taxing. I consistently have to separate myself mentally from the
hardship to keep from breaking out in tears. Regardless I know this internship
will help me grow and develop as a person, and I hope the work I do will
benefit the community in any small way.
On the
first day of my internship, a new friend Zingi took me to get Lambʼs head
(locally known as Smileys) for lunch. He couldnʼt believe I had never had it
before, being such a commonplace meal there. It was amazing to feel so local,
and immersed in the culture and the township. Below are some of the initial
reactions I had:
"
Smileys. Our utensils were our fingers, our hands, our teeth. A meal in the
true sprit of Khayelitsha, in a fly-infested tin shack we sat. We sat and we
feasted. Ear, tongue, snout and eye sandwiched between the brown bread and
doused in a blend of red salts. It felt real. It had not been a tourist created
experience for my enjoyment. Rather it was an uncomfortable, nervous dive into
the heart of a culture I know little about. I ate each bite enjoying not only
the meat, but knowing I was furthering and deepening my experience here. With
only three months, this is how I must approach my time at my internship and in
Cape Town. I must dive in.
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