This weekend we went to Plettenberg Bay, home of the famous bungy jump, the very bungy jump that I swore I would never jump off of. I hate the idea of bungy jumping. Hanging upside down over a rocky ravine where at any second I could fall to my death? No, thank you. However, fortunately or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it, my roommates would have none of that. They kindly informed me that I would be jumping whether I wanted to or not, because I would regret it so much if I didn’t. I’m proud to say that they convinced me and that somehow I found the courage to throw myself off of a bridge 216 meters above the ground. I was the last to go of our group an watching 18 of my brave roommates go before me made me realize that I wouldn’t want to share this experience with anyone else. From Katherine making the first jump (of the day!), simply shaking her head as if she couldn’t believe it was happening, to the few who burst into tears at the view (you know who you are) to Joe who looked like he was going to die of whiplash f\because of his less than graceful jump, watching them made me realize that I can do it. And it did, jumping off much like a child who can’t swim jumps off a diving board, knees bent, falling forward with hands pressed over the eyes. Refined, just like me. Oh, and the song that was playing as I plunged to what I was convinced was a certain death? “I got a feeling” by the Black Eyed Peas: “I got a feeling, that tonight’s gonna be a good night”. Yes, yes it is.
Right now I am sitting at my computer trying to finish a presentation for work. It is a tradition at Africa Unite for the interns to make a presentation when they are leaving talking about what they learned during their time here. I don’t even know where to begin. I’ve done more work here and held more responsibility than I ever had before. I’ve learned how to take minutes in meetings even when I have no idea what people are saying, organized a weekend long workshop nearly single-handedly, participated in mediation meetings to try to prevent xenophobia, volunteered in at a daycare center in Nyanga with the most amazing children in the world, and been unbelievably inspired by the people who work at Africa Unite. I’m not sure how I’m going to say all that I need to say in this presentation because there is so much that happened. All I know is that one of the main reasons this internship taught me so much is because it was in South Africa. I love doing things at a different pace, a different style, and most importantly, in a way that is filled with respect. Every project that I worked on was done in a way so that all parties were satisfied. Africa Unite does not work by riding in on their high horse, waving a magic wand, “fixing” people. Africa Unite works from a grassroots level, empowering people in the community to do what they deem is necessary to better themselves. As a total control freak, that was something that definitely took some getting used to, but I love how Africa Unite has taught me to listen to people and encourage them to solve things on their own, being more of a support system. Wish me luck on condensing that random stream on consciousness into a power point presentation!
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