Week 4

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.