Connect-123

A unique and unforgettable experience

Cape Town was life-changing. Since the first breath I took of its air after landing, I understood I had made the right decision: this country, its nature, the food, the people, everything smelled of beauty and all this beauty turned into family to me in a blink of an eye! I shared this adventure with an incredible bunch of people from my university in England, who showed my same passion to engage with South African culture and history, making this experience even more amazing. Connect-123 also played a huge role in my two months there: besides being extremely helpful and supporting throughout the whole stay, they were able to perfectly understand my interests and to find the right internship for me, giving me the possibility to dive deeply into one of the main issues in South Africa, the education crisis. Tutoring and teaching in a high school in a township, I was immersed in a reality where kids often remain trapped in their disadvantaged background, which makes it difficult for them to get far with or even to begin their studies. My high school students were thus doing something almost revolutionary: finally totally free from Apartheid, they were finishing their last year of high school and were about to step into tertiary education. Assisting them in this passage was a privilege and the smiles and the excitement on their faces are something I will always keep in my heart: they made me feel at home and their being thankful about the littlest things was the best and most rewarding sensation I have ever felt.
I lost my heart in Cape Town, in everything I did and saw and the people I met. I loved my job, which helped me grow as a person and a professional and tremendously clarified my future career path and choices. Someone once said: 'we meet to part and we part to meet' and I like thinking that this will be my first but not unique time in this wonderful country.