Kirstenbosch: Botanical Garden

On Saturday Andrea and her uncle took me to the botanical garden in Kirstenbosch. Sadly for us the clouds came as soon as we arrived there. So maybe some of the flowers weren't open, because they needed sun. But it was beautiful anyway:

and some birds

First Week

On my second day of the internship, the day I introduced myself at the school, my fellow interns from Switzerland took me to a beach north of Cape Town.

Cape Town viewed from Woodbridge Island

It was one of the first days of sping, after a long period of rain (spring officially started at September 1st here). The sun was wonderful, I didn't freeze like I did the first days in Cape Town and the view was spectacular. 

Wednesday they brought me to Greenmarket. There is a market there every day of the week with a lot of stuff. A lot of goods labelled to be of african origin. It is nice to look at all the stuff, but seriously exhausting, because the sellers get at you at every shop. They are very clingy and talkative. Later that day I was at a gift shop store at Georges Mall, which was wonderful and very peaceful. I got to talk to the owner there and he told me that most of the stuff sold at the markets and in the streets are actually imported goods from china these days. That's why it is so cheap. He told me some tricks how to distinguish between original and fake. I will see, how I can use that! :)
Coming home from town, right on the corner I passed a girl talking german on the phone. She wanted to check out Christians (my german housemate, who is leaving next week) room in the house. I picked her up, showed her the house and that's how I got to know Andrea. She is a sound engineer from Berlin and in Cape Town to improve her english.

Thursday evening was Ursina (one of the swiss girls leaving)'s last day at work and in Cape Town. We went out having to an ethiopian restaurant: Addis in the Cape. I have never had ethiopian before, lucky for me my german housemate used to live in Ethiopia and gave me a little briefing. 

You order some kind of curry/meal, each person two. You get it on something called injera, something like a large pancake baked of thee, that only grows in Ethiopia. You also get little bundles of injera to eat with. Because it is finger food, the waiter comes around with a pot of warm water before the food is served, so you can wash your hands. 

It was delicious. And very wonderful to try so many flavors  at once. 

Afterwards we stoped at Neighbourhood to get a cocktail. Which was also pretty nice. 

Friday Karin (new intern from Brasil/Switzerland), Luzia (intern from Switzerland leaving next week) and I didn't have to go to school, because the pupils are writing exams this two weeks and they wouldn't have time to see us. We used the opportunity to go surfing! 

Karin, Lucia und ich in Muizenberg

Karin and I had a beginners lesson at Roxy Surf School in Muizenberg. Our coach was Alfonso and he was amazing. Karin had surfed before, but it has been a while, she was able to stand on the bord with the first wave! Me, I needed a few more and a little patience, but I did it as well!
We had a perfect day on the beach with fish and chips and good waves. We already booked our next lesson: Tuesday!

Starting the Internship

I got organized pretty quickly at the weekend. How much it annoys me to have no wifi at home, i am starting to realize about now...

Besides that I could start my week pretty good!
I was late at my first day at the office, but only a quarter of an hour. So that was ok. It was strange to be there. Everyone had a laptop and was working on it. I was kind of sitting around lost and not found. I asked the secretary, Myrtle a very wonderful lady that keeps a lot of things running at the office I guess about what I was supposed to do. Gerrit, my boss was apparently having his breakfast at that moment and will talk to me soon. So I waited and asked my intern-collegues what to do. They told me about some readings I should do and gave me some hints about what was going to happen. Luckily for me, I had my Computer with me, so I could at least use the internet while waiting.
Patience - something I am not very good at, but which I might have the opportunity to train here.

My briefing with Gerrit was pretty basic. I will be doing guidance counseling at a school where mainly township girls go to. They have a very troubled background and might need someone to talk to. I might not be able to help them at all, but if I find one girl I can make a difference with, it will be good.

Mondays and Thursdays are at the office in Kenilworth (a word I still can't pronounce so anyone can understand where I want to go). I go there by train, which leaves Cape Town Central at 8:23h.
Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays at Good Hope Seminary School in Gardens.

On Tuesday I went there, to introduce myself to the principal and the teachers. On Wednesday I already talked to the first girls. Working there is pretty much what I learned in Eichstätt but all different. I do have very little clues about the basics and the surroundings I am working in. School always seems to work kind of the same. After my second day there it seems like it doesn't.

There is a lot I have to learn about the sociocultural context I am working in here.


Thursday was Ursina's last day at the office. The other interns organized a breakfast for everyone. It was very nice to have everyone there chatting. It was god to get to know the others while not working on their computers. 

Arriving at the Cape

Flying to Cape Town is way less exhausting than flying to America for example: no Jetlag! It´s over night and you might not get a lot of sleep, but you arrive in the same time zone, so it´s the "right" time of day.
Even though my landlady and my internship supervisors told me different and several stories about how to get to town from the airport, that was pretty easy, too. I got intercepted by a guy at the exit and he guided me to a shared taxi, that drove me right to my doorstep - while giving me my first tour on the way.

13 Bryant Street

Here I was - an hour earlier than I expected - at my new home, but my room wasn´t ready yet. I waited for an hour for her, than I had 2 hours to get to know my German housemate and to read the 31 (!) pages of leasing contract (which she explained to me for an hour afterwards).

Than I went out, trying to get the basics: food, phone, internet. On my way I met Simba, who picked me up in the middle of the street trying to find out where on my map I was. He walked me where I wanted to go and showed me the city for two hours. He also got me a southafrican sim-card, which I learned works just fine in my phone, so I can use it as I am used to. So food and phone - check!

Sunday I even managed to find a laundry, that was open on that day and got my bedscloths washed. With that I was pretty much settled for Monday!