1/16 - My accommodation was in Stellenbosch, which is a college town 45 minutes from Cape Town. The house has two single bedrooms and one double bedroom. There is a full kitchen, a washing machine (no dryer), a living room with a nice fire place, dining room, and one bathroom. The houses in South Africa are not built to retain heat so when I arrived during their winter time (May to August) I could see my breath while sitting on the couch at night. If you come during those months, make sure to bring warm clothes and pajamas. There are also many cats that belong to our neighbor that come visit us and try to steal our food!

This is a picture of two of my roommates and Oupi. Oupi lived next door to us and is Karin's father. (She runs the internship program) We called him Oupi because it means "grandpa" in Afrikaans which is one of the official languages of SA, and like our grandpa he’d take care of us. On the far right is my roommate Roel who is from Holland.  I lived alone with Roel and another guy, Sergej, from Germany for a month before Rachel (middle) from Philadelphia joined us. Rachel and I had to watch out before we went to bed because the boys always snuck books, food, or other objects under our sheets as a joke.

My internship was with Animalzone. It was a fifteen minute drive from the house. Driving on the left side of the road wasn’t easy at first but it only took me a week to be completely adjusted to it. At the farm, I worked with a wide variety of birds, monkeys, and farm animals. What I enjoyed most was the experience I gained at the veterinary clinic and the time I was able to devote to bonding with the animals individually. There was never a dull moment on the farm, except when it rained too much to do any outdoor work. I recommend a good rain jacket during the winter season and strong water proof boots that can handle being stepped on by hoofed animals.

This is a picture of my new South African friends! Elemarie is on the very left of the picture and she is the farm keeper. I helped her feed the animals every morning, clean cages, transport animals, and do any odd job that fell on her hands.  Elizabeth is on the right, and she is the veterinary technician. I assisted her with examining the pigeons, preparing the vaccinations, catching the animals for examination, and whatever else she felt needed to be done. She was the reason I was able to observe surgery and assist with veterinary duties. They became two of my closest friends in SA.

One of my main responsibilities on the farm was to care for the horses. Before I arrived, no one looked after them and I was given full responsibility for their well being, on top of my regular duties. The horses were the color of dirt when I arrived, but I washed them, groomed them, mucked their stalls, gave pony rides, trained them, and instructed Elizabeth on how to properly care for all five horses. This is Snacker, my favorite! It took only three days to teach her how to walk on a lead. She is so smart and mischievous!

Every weekend we would all go out and visit other interns in Cape Town over night. In the morning we'd all have breakfast together at Arnold's because it has the cheapest breakfast and was delicious. At the table is me at the far left sitting next to Inis who was Sergej’s and Roel’s old roommate.  This was her last breakfast with us before she left for Belgium. Across the table are Rachel and Sergej. Between Rachel, Sergej, Roel and me, there was always something crazy going on in the house!

There are many interns that come from around the world on the program. Bring your cell phone or be prepared to buy a cheap phone in SA because Karin keeps all the interns in touch with each other. On weekends I’d sleep over at Nikoletta's house (front in the white vest), who is from Bulgaria, and a group of us would go sight seeing together on the weekends. This picture is taken at the Waterfront which is a great tourist spot, and behind us you can see Table Mountain.

During my first weekend in SA, Sergej took me to Table Mountain. You are not allowed to be in Cape Town and not climb it. The sights were phenomenal and gave the best view of the mountains and Cape Town. There is a trolley that you can take that goes up the mountain and it has student discounts. It is important to bring your Student ID with you everywhere you go.

Karin, the coordinator, organizes many adventures for her interns. My roommate Rachel, our new friend Dory and I decided to go to Kruger Park together. We spent four days on an African Safari and had wonderful accommodations with delicious meals and a really fun guide (he’s next to me in this photo!). Karin booked the entire trip for us and gave us a discount. Make sure to be prepared for all the activities that are available and check your email for Karin's weekly newsletter.

During the Safari in Kruger we saw many wild animals up close. We saw three out of the Big Five: Elephants, Lions and Water Buffalo. Unfortunately we weren’t lucky enough to see the Leopard and the Rhino. Some of the other animals we saw up close were impala, zebras, giraffes, wildebeests, warthogs, jackals, baboons, monkeys, hornbills and so much more!

The internship programs that are available are very diverse and this gives everyone a chance to visit each others’ workplace for free. Since Rachel worked at Cheetah Outreach, I was given the perfect opportunity to go on a Cheetah Encounter.

Another popular activity that Karin organizes is a Township Tour. Townships are where the poor Africans reside in terrible living conditions. We were guided by Pele who once lived there and we were able to explore the life of a resident. Here Pele is drinking Mqbotee which is a traditional Qosa beer. It was then passed around the pub so we could all have the opportunity to drink it. I wasn’t a huge fan of it, to say the least but I’m happy I tried it.

Besides organizing activities through Karin, interns have the opportunity to organize trips themselves. One weekend Sergej, four other interns and I decided to drive 7 hours to Plettenberg Bay to bungee jump off of Bloukrans Bridge, the highest bungee jump in the world! The jump is 709 feet. I was scared of heights but it is the best thing I have ever done for myself.

I didn’t have enough of heights so before I left SA I agreed to go sky diving with my roommate Roel and a group of interns. This is a picture of all of us before we jumped. Sky diving wasn’t as scary as bungy jumping, but it was more enjoyable and I hope to do it again some day.

An important place to visit is Cape Point which is two hours away from Cape Town. There you have the choice to climb the stairs or take the trolley up to the light house. The climb is difficult, but I recommend it so you can stop along the way to take pictures. This is a picture I took of the Cape of Good Hope.

Along the drive either going to Cape Point or coming back from there, you have to stop by Simon’s Town to visit Boulder’s Beach. That is where a large colony of wild African penguins lives and you can go right up to them. It was perhaps one of the most enjoyable sight seeing visits I had made in South Africa. I miss SA! Two months was not long enough for such a large and beautiful country!