My First Week...
Sunday 1st April
... has been a mixed one, actually. A general feeling of apprehension with regard to making my mark on a new job, in a new city on the other side of the world from all my family and friends had been interspersed with moments of hilarity, the glow of making new friends and breathtaking views of a spectacular backdrop to it all. There is always a fear of being judged inadequate with any new venture, and despite having dealt with my first week of solo travel in a fairly triumphant manner, the first week working at the WFA has proved a slightly tougher challenge. I know it will take time to settle into the role here, and at the moment I am in a "training period" so am being introduced slowly. In reality it's meant I have ended up doing all the jobs no-one else wants to do... such is the lot of the new intern!
Life is not made easier by living in a dorm room at a local youth hostel (I won't move in to the provided accommodation for a few days yet) and all the invasions of privacy and routine that come with that. The hostel, Ashanti Lodge, is actually a really lovely place to stay but has quite a party vibe and whereas that suits the backpackers down to a T, I have now moved into the working world and so don't fully appreciate the need to have mother's meetings in Spanish at 5 in the morning, or to switch the light on when everyone else is clearly asleep!! Some people have no consideration, it seems.
Thankfully life is not all work and interrupted sleep... the area I am staying in is perfectly situated to make the most of Cape Towns nightlife, and cheap food and drinks are the norm here. We have been out nearly every night this week, and I have got to know Grace, Sam and Natasha very well! Yesterday (Sat) we went mountaineering (well, almost) - and climbed Lion's Head (well, I did nearly!!) The Discovery Channel were doing a local launch for their new Everest series, which involved turning this South African mountain into Nepal for a day - there were fake monks and realistic Sherpa food samples, even a "blizzard" in a tent!! The deal was that you climbed the Lion's Head and had your photo taken at the top, which entered you into a prize draw to win a trip to Nepal. This was being drawn that evening at an "after-party" at a bar in Camps Bay called La Med. So we set off all enthusiastic and passed some glorious views of Cape Town looking down over both the city bowl sides and Green Point/Sea Point etc. Unfortunately the heat proved to much for me and as I was starting to feel nauseous decided to rest in the shade while the others continued to the top. I wasn't too bothered to be honest - it was a great view from where I stopped, plus I had made it all but about 20 minutes, which is still quite impressive in my book. And there was no way I wanted to deal with heat exhaustion in a dorm room, no thank-you-very-much-at-all!! I did feel the shame every time a kid passed me sitting on my rock, on their way down from the summit. But shame doesn't cure heat exhaustion, does it? So on my rock I stayed.
Reunited, we made our way down the mountain and on to La Med for some much needed sugar and shade. One of the course camera lecturers was filming the event, and when he found us at the bar invited us over to have drinks with the TV gang. It was a really nice chilled out evening with interesting people and even more interesting drinks - what more could you ask for, except a couple of very attractive young men... oh yeah, we had those too!! ;)
... has been a mixed one, actually. A general feeling of apprehension with regard to making my mark on a new job, in a new city on the other side of the world from all my family and friends had been interspersed with moments of hilarity, the glow of making new friends and breathtaking views of a spectacular backdrop to it all. There is always a fear of being judged inadequate with any new venture, and despite having dealt with my first week of solo travel in a fairly triumphant manner, the first week working at the WFA has proved a slightly tougher challenge. I know it will take time to settle into the role here, and at the moment I am in a "training period" so am being introduced slowly. In reality it's meant I have ended up doing all the jobs no-one else wants to do... such is the lot of the new intern!
Life is not made easier by living in a dorm room at a local youth hostel (I won't move in to the provided accommodation for a few days yet) and all the invasions of privacy and routine that come with that. The hostel, Ashanti Lodge, is actually a really lovely place to stay but has quite a party vibe and whereas that suits the backpackers down to a T, I have now moved into the working world and so don't fully appreciate the need to have mother's meetings in Spanish at 5 in the morning, or to switch the light on when everyone else is clearly asleep!! Some people have no consideration, it seems.
Thankfully life is not all work and interrupted sleep... the area I am staying in is perfectly situated to make the most of Cape Towns nightlife, and cheap food and drinks are the norm here. We have been out nearly every night this week, and I have got to know Grace, Sam and Natasha very well! Yesterday (Sat) we went mountaineering (well, almost) - and climbed Lion's Head (well, I did nearly!!) The Discovery Channel were doing a local launch for their new Everest series, which involved turning this South African mountain into Nepal for a day - there were fake monks and realistic Sherpa food samples, even a "blizzard" in a tent!! The deal was that you climbed the Lion's Head and had your photo taken at the top, which entered you into a prize draw to win a trip to Nepal. This was being drawn that evening at an "after-party" at a bar in Camps Bay called La Med. So we set off all enthusiastic and passed some glorious views of Cape Town looking down over both the city bowl sides and Green Point/Sea Point etc. Unfortunately the heat proved to much for me and as I was starting to feel nauseous decided to rest in the shade while the others continued to the top. I wasn't too bothered to be honest - it was a great view from where I stopped, plus I had made it all but about 20 minutes, which is still quite impressive in my book. And there was no way I wanted to deal with heat exhaustion in a dorm room, no thank-you-very-much-at-all!! I did feel the shame every time a kid passed me sitting on my rock, on their way down from the summit. But shame doesn't cure heat exhaustion, does it? So on my rock I stayed.
Reunited, we made our way down the mountain and on to La Med for some much needed sugar and shade. One of the course camera lecturers was filming the event, and when he found us at the bar invited us over to have drinks with the TV gang. It was a really nice chilled out evening with interesting people and even more interesting drinks - what more could you ask for, except a couple of very attractive young men... oh yeah, we had those too!! ;)
posted by Susie at
10:33 AM
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