Aimee settling in

Now that I have started the second week of my internship I can talk about my experience in more detail for this post. The first day was interesting when my roommate and I were waiting for the taxi for quite some time, and Vernon came to our rescue to ensure we would be taken to our destination safely. It’s such a great feeling knowing that so many people are looking out for us. I am finally starting to feel like a local, and taking the taxis every morning has become a piece of cake. Occasionally the driver will blast popular tunes such as Rihanna or Adele in the morning, which gets me very pumped up for the day. As I mentioned before, my internship organization is called City Mission Educational Services or CMES. It is a school for learners who, for whatever reason, were not able to make it in a regular school. It is a Christian-based organization with prayer and services incorporated into daily and weekly routines along with core academic classes. The school has about 85 students and does not have the most up-to-date and aesthetically pleasing facilities. The teachers have been so open and enthusiastic about allowing us to help out in the classrooms and play a role in teaching various classes. Our supervisor, Nathan, has been making sure we get the most out of our internship and do whatever we want to do. Our roles can be flexible and we are able to create the goals that we want to accomplish for the learners and ourselves.

CMES also recently opened a home in Khayelitsha for boys that are taken off the streets and given a place to stay. I am hoping to work at this location for the majority of my internship because of my interest in working with at-risk youth in education and one-on-one sessions. It is very difficult to hear about the lives that some of these very young boys are dealing with. Many of them don’t understand the value of education and are struggling to focus on learning. I hope that I can at least make a minor impact on someone’s life, but the truth is that these kids will impact me much more than they will ever know. I have started planning an English class for the boys at the home and I hope to also teach Arts and Culture and Life Skills. I also helped to plan a service usually held on Wednesday mornings. We read a Bible passage and broke the students up into groups to talk about fear and goals that they have for the future. It was incredible how some of them were so open to sharing their very scary and personal stories. The students love asking questions about the United States and have limited impressions about what the United States is like. I have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know the teachers and students in the school and home for boys. There is so much activity and life flowing through the classrooms and I am so grateful to be a part of this vibrant community.

After three days of getting accustomed to our internships, we had a day of class learning more about South African history and politics and our internships put into perspective. I have to say it is very nice already knowing everyone in my class. I think it helps people feel more comfortable sharing thoughts and emotions with one another. So far I know I have felt a rollercoaster ride of emotions and class is a productive time to share with one another and learn from each other’s perspectives. I am looking forward to getting involved with organizations or clubs at the University of Cape Town and continue meeting people from all over the world.

Aimee at Freshlyground Concert

To continue with one of the themes of this blog and Cape Town itself, I went to another concert with the wonderful FreshlyGround performing. I loved the playful vibe, diversity of the group members and combination of instruments. I ate a delicious cured meat sandwich and finally got my face painted. People in the crowd did not hesitate to welcome us to Cape Town and we had a front row spot on the lawn and dance area. The energy was filled with culture and pure joy as people were united through one common language of music. I will never get tired of experiencing different performances and ending  my blob postings talking about them J