Introduction from Brandi

Hi everyone! My name is Brandi Stenglein and I am a sophomore at the University of Connecticut. I am studying elementary education with a concentration in math. I love working with kids so I figured that was the profession for me!

Since I have been in high school it has always been my goal and dream to travel to Africa. When I went to college, I never really thought about it until I went to the study abroad fair my first semester of my freshman year. There I met Marita and the energetic group of students that went to Cape Town the semester before. They were all so incredibly nice and had nothing but amazing things to say about it. After being there for thirty seconds I knew I would be going on this trip. I have been hooked on the UConn Study Abroad in Cape Town for two years now. I am so excited for the opportunity to learn about a new culture and be completely absorbed into it. The internship aspect of this program sounds incredible, and I cannot wait to meet all the children I will be working with and helping over the next semester. I also am very excited for the activist projects. I have heard nothing but amazing things about the projects so I am so eager to start mine! I am also very excited to become close with the group of students from UConn traveling with me. I know they are all amazing people and I can’t wait to spend time with all of them!

           

To be honest, I did not know much about Cape Town before I started on this journey. Through talking to people and reading about it, I feel like I know a little more about it…but nothing compared to what I will learn when I arrive. Everyone that has been there has nothing but positive things to say about South Africa- and the only thing I can say back is “Get me on a plane and get me there now!”

           

All in all, I am beyond excited for this trip. Although, since it is a day before leaving I am quite nervous but I think that is expected. I have never traveled this far from my family before, and I think that will be hard. Leaving my little brother for this long will probably be the most difficult aspect of this trip, but I know how great it will be to see him when I get back (and bring him presents too!).

I am currently counting down the hours, minutes, and seconds until I board the plane with the rest of my fellow UConn-ers to South Africa. Let the countdown begin!!

Meika's Intro

Hello All!  My name is Meika.  I am currently a Junior and a double major in History and Human Rights. 

I first heard about the “UConn Study Abroad in Cape Town” through the Honors program.  As I learned more, I realized that this was a unique opportunity.  I loved that there was an internship component, an activist project, and that it was made up of a small group of UConn students.  I didn’t know much about Cape Town or South Africa.  When I asked around, I actually found out I knew several people who had been abroad there.  Everyone told me the same things: it is an amazingly beautiful place, it changed their lives, and they wanted to go back more than anything.  I was convinced that this was the place and program for me.

It still has not sunk in that I am leaving for Cape Town on Thursday.  Even though I have thought a lot about it, I am still not entirely sure what to expect from this experience.  I know that I am looking forward to being in a place where everything is new to me.  I want to learn as much as I can, and I am especially interested in learning more about the history of South Africa.  I cannot wait to get there!!

Theresa's Introduction

Hello all! My name is Theresa Govert; I am a junior majoring in Psychology with a Women’s Studies minor. This trip came onto my radar because I’ve been very lucky to know many women from the Women’s Center who have taken this trip. They came back with stories of adventure, change, immersion and self-reflection that made me realize that this trip was not like any other offered by study abroad.  Not only would I be taking classes in South Africa, but I would be doing an internship. Since one of my passions is ending violence against women, a world-wide crisis, the opportunity to work with, collaborate, share and learn from the people of South Africa in the steps they are taking to end the violence, is an exceptional opportunity. I’m excited to take what I will learn and use it to color my work ending violence at UConn and in my future endeavors.

Traveling to Cape Town with this program has been in the back of my mind ever since my first year at UConn. I remember reading the Cape Town blog, and someone having the quote, “If you have come to help me, you are wasting our time.  If you have come here because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together.” It wasn’t until later when I came home and parroted the quote to my dad that he said that he had a similar quote up in his office, when we lived in Kenya, “'If you have come to help me you can go home again. But if you see my struggle as part of your own survival then perhaps we can work together.”  I think most would call this a coincidence, but for me it was a message. It was at this moment that I understood that this trip was for me; for me to learn, and explore, and expand my comfort zone and work together with people across the world to help make it a better place for us all.

I anticipate missing my family and friends dearly, but their excitement for me and technological advances which allow me to basically simulate being in the same room as them has quelled any, if all qualms I have about being half-way across the world. I am beyond thrilled to be sharing this adventure with the other students and Marita, and the thunder of a plane taking off below me on Thursday cannot come soon enough.

Erica's Intro

Hi my name is Erica Laguerre and I am currently a senior  at University of Connecticut majoring in Urban and Community Studies with a concentration in African American Studies.  I must admit applying and being accepted to UConn in Cape Town has been a very exciting experience.  The two individuals who have encouraged me to apply to this program was my mother and a good friend who participated in this program last spring. I have heard nothing but great things about this specific program, and I am more than ready to create my own experiences. I chose this specific program because it differs from all the others that are provided. This program has a focus on Human Rights and offers an internship, and I could not have ask for more. 

I am looking forward to being immersed into the South African culture, and seeking to learn about its history of apartheid.  What I am looking forward to the most is the fact that I am able to participate in an internship where I can gain so many skills that will benefit me in the future. 

I am a little nervous going to Cape Town, because I am a shy person, but at the same time I am excited because I can definitely see myself growing as an individual on this trip. This program will give me the opportunity to step outside my comfort zone, meet new people, participate in activities and get involved in community other than my own. 

I know for a fact that I will miss my family and friends dearly, and I will do my best to stay in contact with them all! I am ecstatic to get on the plane despite the fact that I will have a mixture of emotions, but most of all excitement knowing that I will soon be in Cape Town in less than a week!!!! I am looking forward to one of the best experiences of my lifetime! 

Rebecca's Introduction

My name is Rebecca Duchesneau and I am so excited to begin my journey in Cape Town.  I am a a double major in History and Secondary Education. Ever since I began applying to college I knew I wanted to spend a semester studying abroad.  I decided to go to Cape Town because it will provide me with the opportunity to gain experience in the education field while experiencing another culture. As a history major I have always been interested in the histories of different peoples and places. What better way to learn about South Africa than to actually go there?! Also I knew that I would never go to South Africa on my own, so this gives me the perfect opportunity to experience South Africa. 

I have always been really attached to my family, so this will hopefully be a chance for me to get used to being away from them, (even though I am going to miss them a ton) while becoming more adventurous. Hopefully I can become less of a scaredy-cat while I am in Cape Town.   I can't wait to land in Cape Town and leave the New England winter behind!

Intro from Sam

Hello everyone!! My name is Sam and I am a sophomore at the University of Connecticut. My major is Human Development and Family Studies, but I am hoping to get into the School of Education for Elementary Education. I had considered studying abroad before but I hadn’t really thought about it too much and I didn’t know where I even wanted to go. Then at the beginning of the school year I became friends with one of the people who went to Cape Town last year. I started to talk to him about it and hearing about his experiences got me really interested in the program. I loved the fact that we get to have an internship while we are there and we get to do a lot of human’s right work. As I learned more about Cape Town I was hooked and knew I had to apply and now I can’t wait to arrive.

I can’t believe that in just over a week this whole adventure will begin. I am extremely excited to get there and learn more about Cape Town and South Africa as a whole. I know I am going to learn more than I can even imagine right now and can’t wait to take in all the experiences that are ahead. I am especially excited for my internship at Christel House where I will get to be in a school with children and be able to learn about the education system in South Africa and compare it to our own. I look forward to this opportunity and know that it will be something I will remember for the rest of my life. 

Becky's Introduction

My name is Becky and I am a math major. Finals are over and the realization that I will be in Cape Town in less than a month has hit me like a ton of bricks. I originally wasn’t going to study abroad, but got a little nudge to go to last years study abroad fair by my boyfriend. I always knew if I did study abroad I wanted to go somewhere unlike any place I have ever been. I came across the table for this program and immediately knew this was the only program I could ever apply to. I had to cancel my application the first time because of some class conflicts and was absolutely crushed that I wasn’t able to go, but I realized I would just have to wait patiently if I wanted this experience to happen. As I waited for my time to re-apply I read the blogs of the students that were in Cape Town at the time and told myself my time to be there would come before I knew it. Now here I am…only a few weeks before going and I can’t believe it.

The opportunity I am being given right now is unbelievable. To be completely honest, I cried when I first found out that I could have an internship at a high school for kids from the townships. Ever since I became a math major, I have been questioned why would I choose such a horrible subject? Everyone hates math, but knowing that I could teach children who want to learn math is something I could not pass up. I feel like I have a chance to instill some of the love I have for this subject into children and I cannot describe how that makes me feel. Also, I am hoping this experience will help me appreciate the life I have here at home. I want to push myself out of my comfort zone and learn things about others that I would normally overlook. I took a class in high school where my teacher always told us we could change the world and I never really believed it, but going to Cape Town makes me believe that I actually will. This is going to be the experience of a lifetime and I am so ready for it!