Logan recognizing he's a different person here

As a group we met up with some of the people that we had met on the human rights workshop weekend. We met at a braii restaurant in Guguletu  where we sat outside and they brought out a huge meat platter. The basic idea was just that everyone digs in. No plates, utensils, or meal orders, just a meat platter and hands. Also since we were in the townships we were able to order beer out of a shabeen which is pretty much just a bar out of someone’s house. That was one of the coolest cultural experiences I have had since it is a pretty common practice in the townships.

Another interesting aspect of this week is that my friend from the US came to visit me this week. Although I only had the chance to see him a couple days because we were leaving for excursion, it was great to see him. It was also a weird experience as well. My life in South Africa seems so separated from my life in the US. Having someone I know from the US in my Cape Town life was a strange experience. How I see the world and how I act is different here then it was at home.  I am kind of a different person in South Africa, and I didn't really realize it until I saw my friend from the US. I am still really glad he came and I had a great time seeing him, I just noticed a difference. But being the good friend that he is, he recognized and appreciated the difference and understood how I found it surreal being with a US friend in Cape Town.

In my internship two other interns and I held a workshop on refugees. We invited people from other NGOs as well as other people that work at Black Sash. We had been working on this workshop for a few weeks so it was great when it finally happened. The people that showed up to the workshop were great people to work with. First of all we were able to here locals experiences and opinions as well as hearing how the refugee process actually works from a refugee living in South Africa. Even with a mini bus strike, which hurts many peoples way of getting to work, almost everyone showed up. Furthermore they showed up almost on time and opted out of a tea break before lunch, two things that are unusual to happen in Cape Town. We were able to complete the entire workshop and training, and I am really looking forward to working with them again when we go to monitor the refugee reception office.