Saturday, July 12 & Sunday, July 13
This weekend 10 of us in the program went on a safari at a place called Buffles Drift about 5 hours north of Cape Town. The drive through the mountains to get there was amazing. We booked the trip at the last minute so we weren’t sure what to expect when we got there. We were staying in “luxury tents” but hadn’t seen pictures. When we got there, the place was beautiful, but we didn’t have much time to explore because we had less than an hour before our safari. The safari was such a cool experience. The 10 of us were in this huge Land Rover. We were really lucky because in the first few minutes of the drive we saw some rhinos, and one actually started to charge our car. The driver drove away quickly before the rhino started running but it was still pretty scary to have such a huge animal about to run after you. Also that weekend we saw giraffes, hippos, zebras, wildebeests, elephants, and a bunch of other stuff. I honestly felt like I was in The Lion King. It was such an amazing experience, and I would love to go to a national park and see animals in their natural environment rather than at a reserve.
Wednesday, July 16
The last few days have been so hectic. We are trying to work with our clients to finalize deliverables. We had to work with the professors to make sure everything we are planning will work out for our clients. We have spent a lot of time in the computer lab this week, but I know it will only get worse as we work on our final reports for each client over the next couple of weeks. Its three weeks into the consulting engagements and I feel like the team is just starting to get closer to the clients. It is hard because we are just developing these close relationships as time is running short.
Friday, July 18
Today was a wine tour to four of the vineyards around Stellenbosch. After working so hard for the last week, it was nice to be able to relax and socialize with everyone outside the computer lab. It was also interesting to learn something about all the different wines and wineries. It was good to relax for a day, but there is still so much work to do that it’s overwhelming. I know everyone will be spending the next two weeks in the computer labs finishing up their reports. It’s crazy that in two weeks I will be packing up to leave, but there is still so much work to be done in so little time. I know everything will get done but right now it just seems like so much to do.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Week 3 in South Africa
Friday, July 4
Happy 4th of July!!!
It’s pretty strange to be celebrating here where most people don’t know why we’re celebrating. This past week it has been down pouring every day, and it doesn’t look like the weather is going to get better for the braai later. A braai is like an American barbecue. It is a whole process and the South African students in the program are looking forward to helping us with it. We all bought a bunch of meet to cook up for the celebration. The rest of the weekend is going to be spent working on our SEE Models, which is basically a critique of the client’s business. We will use the SEE models to develop deliverables for each client. I can’t believe I have already been in South Africa for 2 weeks. Time has gone by so fast.
Tuesday, July 8
The SEE models are due tomorrow night so it’s crunch time. There is still sooooooo much to do and it doesn’t seem like the work will ever end. I am not really used to working in a group which makes the situation more difficult. It’s difficult to make sure everyone is putting in equal amounts of work. It is also so hard to balance because you want to make sure everyone is pulling equal weight. At the same time, though, there is so much work to be done that we can’t really waste time babysitting others. After tomorrow we will be done finally and we can start focusing on deliverables.
Friday, July 11
After a long few days of work, we had a day-trip today to Robben Island. Robben Island is off the coast of Cape Town. It served as a political prison when the apartheid system was still in place. Nelson Mandela and other members of the anti-apartheid movement were imprisoned there. The tour was really interesting. All the tour guides are former prisoners and they share their stories openly. I realized that calling this a prison wasn’t entirely accurate; prisoners were tortured there and overworked and not given proper information about the political situation. Despite all this, they still managed to communicate and mobilize the party. It’s so strange that less than 15 years ago people were imprisoned there.
Happy 4th of July!!!
It’s pretty strange to be celebrating here where most people don’t know why we’re celebrating. This past week it has been down pouring every day, and it doesn’t look like the weather is going to get better for the braai later. A braai is like an American barbecue. It is a whole process and the South African students in the program are looking forward to helping us with it. We all bought a bunch of meet to cook up for the celebration. The rest of the weekend is going to be spent working on our SEE Models, which is basically a critique of the client’s business. We will use the SEE models to develop deliverables for each client. I can’t believe I have already been in South Africa for 2 weeks. Time has gone by so fast.
Tuesday, July 8
The SEE models are due tomorrow night so it’s crunch time. There is still sooooooo much to do and it doesn’t seem like the work will ever end. I am not really used to working in a group which makes the situation more difficult. It’s difficult to make sure everyone is putting in equal amounts of work. It is also so hard to balance because you want to make sure everyone is pulling equal weight. At the same time, though, there is so much work to be done that we can’t really waste time babysitting others. After tomorrow we will be done finally and we can start focusing on deliverables.
Friday, July 11
After a long few days of work, we had a day-trip today to Robben Island. Robben Island is off the coast of Cape Town. It served as a political prison when the apartheid system was still in place. Nelson Mandela and other members of the anti-apartheid movement were imprisoned there. The tour was really interesting. All the tour guides are former prisoners and they share their stories openly. I realized that calling this a prison wasn’t entirely accurate; prisoners were tortured there and overworked and not given proper information about the political situation. Despite all this, they still managed to communicate and mobilize the party. It’s so strange that less than 15 years ago people were imprisoned there.
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