Internships ended this week and I have begun the process of reflection. I’ve worked at Treatment Action Campaign in Khayelitsha this semester and it has been an interesting experience to say the least. I know the experience has been a positive one – I have learned more than I could even know during my time at TAC. I know for a fact that the organization and the people in it have had a profound effect on me and I cannot wait to see the changes in a different context. It has not always gone smoothly and it certainly hasn’t always been fun. Actually, working at TAC has been the most frustrating experience of my life. The atmosphere in the office was so far outside of my comfort zone its ridiculous. English is barely spoken, techno music is blaring outside and there is just a general disregard for American ideals of appropriate office conduct. There have been many days of the past handful of months that I have wondered, pondered, and talked about whether I was getting out of my internship what I needed to get out of it. I felt like I wasn’t getting enough meaningful work to do. Hell, I felt like I wasn’t getting enough work to do period. I have become immensely frustrated with how things are done at TAC.
After venting many frustrations to many people who are probably sick of hearing about them I have realized that I have in fact gotten out of my internshp what I’ve needed to. How do I know this? Because after the ups and downs the entire semester I was legitimately upset as I left on Wednesday. I knew at that moment that the TAC office has prepared me for the tough road ahead; that I will never be challenged quite like that again. As I said I have learned more than I could know. For that…thank you TAC.
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