Experiencing the Real World: Interning at Urban-Econ

I know in my last post I said that I would write the next day about unique challenges about living in South Africa, but sorry - I lied. Instead, I'm going to tell you about my internship. I will write about the other challenges later (maybe).

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Tomorrow marks one week since I started my internship at Urban-Econ, a developmental economics consulting firm in Cape Town, South Africa. It has only been 5 days, but I am so far loving my research assistant job here.

I have been assigned to work on a project concerning the economic development of the Central Karoo district in South Africa. Central Karoo is one of the poorer, less-developed regions of the country, due to its desert landscape and its long distance from major tourist destinations and city centers (i.e. Cape Town is 5 hours away, Johannesburg is 8). So far, I have been researching possible opportunities in the manufacturing, transportation, tourism, and mining sectors that the district could exploit in order to promote economic growth in the area.

Before coming to South Africa, I laid out several goals that I wanted to achieve during my internship. My main goal was to be unafraid of asking questions or asking for help when I needed it. This is a problem that I have in school. In lectures, even smaller 20-person ones, I am very reluctant to raise my hand to ask a question or ask for clarification. In a workplace environment, the possible consequences of this action (or rather, inaction) are much worse. Thankfully, my coworkers and supervisors have been very welcoming and always willing to lend a hand. On my first day of work, my boss told me, "In our office, there is no such thing as a stupid question. So ask lots of questions." She even added half-jokingly, "If you don't ask any questions, I would think that you are stupid." I am proud to report that in the past week, I have not been stupid. I hope that overcoming this challenge now will help me back in school, too.

Another challenge in my internship is being responsible with the fair amount of independence I've been given and staying focused on my work. The office has a flexible hours policy in that we can come in and leave at any time (within reason, of course) as long as we stay for 8 hours, with one hour for lunch. There are some coworkers that come in at 9 or 9:30, but my goal is to come in between 8 and 8:30 every day. It wouldn't look right for the only intern in the office to be the last one in every day! The hardest part is getting up - the sun rises just before 8 every day (it's winter here in the southern hemisphere), so when my alarm starts blaring at 7 AM, it is completely dark out. In addition, even though "winter" in Cape Town means it only gets down to the 50s or so, it feels colder because the rooms in South Africa are not insulated. And we all know how hard it is to pry yourself away from your warm and cozy bed. I am cringing just thinking about having to do it tomorrow morning, but my internship is worth it. My research is helping us make recommendations about what the Central Karoo district should and should not invest in to promote economic growth, and it's really cool to think that my work could influence policy. I'm extremely thankful that VAC found this opportunity for me, and I cannot wait to spend the next couple months learning more and more every day.