The start of the adventure...

Let me first explain why I have travelled to South Africa. After deciding against pursuing a Masters immediately after graduating from UBC, I began applying to several different internship programs and research assistant positions across the globe. I managed to land an internship funded by CIDA (the Canadian International Development Agency), run through the Marine Institute at Memorial University in Newfoundland. I’d be heading to South Africa to work for an NGO called the Sustainable Seas Trust (SST), which promotes sustainable practices throughout impoverished coastal communities. In September, I spent a week in St John’s being oriented about what to expect overseas. There were 16 interns in the program; 4 of us heading to South Africa, the others to Cambodia, Vietnam, the Philippines, St. Lucia and Malawi. I’d be working with a UVic grad named Chida in Grahamstown, where the main SST office is located and where I’ll be living for the better part of 6 months. Alex and Blair, the two other interns heading to SA, would be working in St Francis, on the coast.

It took nearly 48 hours to travel from Kingston to Grahamstown. I flew from Kingston to Toronto then overnight to London, where I spent the day exhaustedly exploring the vast and fascinating British museum  (nearly falling asleep during a tour of the Mexican exhibit). I met up with Chida and another red eye took us from London to Johannesburg, followed by a short flight to Port Elizabeth. The weather was miserable – cold and rainy. Tony, the retired professor who runs the SST, greeted us and drove us from PE to Grahamstown, with a brief stop for homemade pineapple juice on the way. We passed by several game parks and reserves as we drove along the highway, seeing several herds of zebras, a number of giraffes, plus monkeys, eland, ibex, antelope and a few other creatures. Despite the haze of travel, I was giddy about seeing such incredible wildlife so soon.

After a quick grocery shop, we were taken to our new digs (SA word for apartment), located about five minutes out of town. It has an incredible view of the city, plus it’s spacious and clean. I wasn’t sure what to expect from our living conditions, but it’s easily one of the nicer places I’ve ever lived – and for half of the rent! Chida and I ate and then hit the hay. Exhausted, I was asleep nearly instantly, adoring the glorious feeling of a proper bed after two days of plane travel.

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