Brittany: I could live here.

Brittany enjoys a cupcake from the famous Charly's bakery

I’ve been in Cape Town for exactly two weeks and I am no less in love with it than the day I got here! One of our orientation leaders, Vernon, told me that I would grow to love Cape Town more every day, he was right! The end of last week and the beginning of this week helped me to see all of Cape Town. I have been able to interact with the city and its people for myself.

At the end of last week, our group went on a tour of the townships. Although we were all aware of the poverty in Cape Town, on Friday we were face to face with it. Rather than shock I felt disgust. I was disgusted that such poverty could exist in such a beautiful place. I also had to be honest with myself. I have been saying “I want to move to Cape Town,” but which part of Cape Town did I want to move to? I was falling in love with a Cape Town that many of its residence will never know. However, having the opportunity to visit the Townships allowed me to truly experience all of Cape Town.

Another experience that brought me closer to Cape Town was our excursion using the minibus. At nine o’clock Monday morning, Vernon sent us on a mission to use and familiarize ourselves with the public transportation system. We were assigned to groups of four where each group was told to take a certain mode of transportation to different parts of Cape Town. Not only was I impressed with the detail Vernon used to map out each trip, but also with how the program had already prepared us for this assignment. Although we were not completely sure what to do, we had a general idea of how to get where we needed to go. My group went to the city, where my internship will be taking place. To get there, we took a form of public transportation called the Minibus. What an experience! From the moment I stepped onto the minibus, I felt as if I was a real Capetonian.  Oddly enough it was much like taking the city bus in Connecticut. At the end of the day, each group made it home safely and excited about their new found knowledge. For myself,  I was really experiencing Cape Town for myself. I thought, “I could live here”!

While the minibus and the township tours were important and fun, the most important task this week was the visit to the internships. On Tuesday morning, I discovered that we would be visiting my internship first, The State Attorney’s Office. I was a little nervous but also thrilled to see where I would be interning. The Attorney introduced herself and staff to our group and explained her line of work. As a student interested in the law, I realize how great of privilege it is to work with such a distinguished institution. I especially enjoyed how this internship will allow me to see how the law can work to progress human rights. I pray that I can be helpful to the State Attorney’s Office. I am just so grateful for this opportunity.

It seemed as everyone was equally as thrilled with their internships and rightly so! Each and every one of us has the rare privilege to intern at an organization that is helping the people of Cape Town. I am so excited to learn from the people of Cape Town and continue to share my experiences with you. 

Rina, Maria, & Brittany lunching:  Moyo at Spier