I figure I could make good use of my 5 hour layover in Johannesburg, so here's my post about this past week's orientation.
The story of my internship in Africa begins in the woods of Hew Hampshire. This seems wrong in many ways. When I told friends and family that I would be camping for my Grassroot Soccer orientation, they looked at me with blank stares. They had one of two things in mind (or if they were astute, both): how was camping in New England supposed to prepare you me for an internship in South Africa and/or how was I going to survive roughing it for a few days? Their concerns were very valid.
As I boarded the Greyhound at 5AM, I obviously had some pre-departure nerves. With my brand new hiking pack strapped to my back and a cheap sleeping bag in tow, I felt like I looked awkward and out of place. Who the hell even has a sleeping bag in New York City?
After a long, slow trip through New England, I finally arrived to the Grassroot Soccer office in Norwich, Vermont, right on the other side of the Connecticut River from Hanover, New Hampshire, home to Dartmouth University. It was great meeting GRS staff, especially David Harrison, our point-person for the past few months, the intern team's omniscient father figure, and our biggest cheerleader, who has fallen victim to my frantic e-mails for the past few weeks. As I walked through the office, shaking hands and meeting all the new interns as they trickled in, the experience suddenly became real. It wasn't just stories I'd heard from friends or read about in blogs. It was happening to me. It was my own story now.
From there, we set off on our 5 day orientation (it was more like 4, but who's really counting?). We spent the first half in Harris Cabin, a lodge owned by Dartmouth that's a short ways away in the mountains. This was the "roughing it" part that I was warned about. First, we all had to carry everything we would be needing for the next few days up a short hike, and this included all food and supplies. This proved to be a little more difficult than I was expecting, as I was exhausted from carrying all my stuff and two large jugs of drinking water up the path. Once we got up though, we were greeted by the cabin which was spacious and charming, though it did lack electricity and potable running water, and you had to use an outhouse a few yards down a path in the back. Putting a group of tired, smelly, twenty-somethings in the forest is a great recipe for success to make them bond.
Orientation was led by a handful of GRS staff members: Austin, the intern coordinator; Leah, the head of global partnerships in the Cape Town office; Hooter, the rambunctious coach trainer; and Bonisiwe, or Sista B, a former GRS coach from South Africa. Their spirit, excitement, and knowledge really helped us be inspired. Throughout time in Harris Cabin, we played a lot of games, got to know each other, and were introduced to some of the GRS curriculum activities. It was much like summer camp... 2.0. We really got a feel for the organization in those first two days and also for the outstanding individuals with whom we'd be working. I was also surprisingly christened with the nickname "Doctor," which I will happily adopt for the next year.
The second portion of orientation was in Pierce Inn, an adorable bed and breakfast closer to town, and this is where we did a lot more of the logistical preparation. After taking long awaited showers, we sat in on presentation after presentation about the organization's history, initiatives, and everything else under the sun that we'd have to know. Though sitting through loads of Powerpoints was not the most fun, we always broke away every so often to do another GRS activity, play a game or two, circle up for a juggling sesh, or do an energizer.
What was probably the most fun was the intern welcome dinner in which we got to mingle with staff and board members. Donning brand new yellow GRS shirts, we had great food and drink, and we were able to meet a whole bunch of people who play integral roles in the organization. Other than chatting up at dinner with the chair of the board (who I didn't know was the chair of the board until after the fact) and thoroughly creeping on co-founder and former Survivor winner Ethan Zohn, the night was just fantastic. It ended with an impromptu talent show around a campfire that started with the other interns egging me on to sing "Ave Maria."
A fantastic surprise during our time at Pierce's was a visit from Jessi Lee, a friend from school (and sister, according to Facebook) who had just returned from her internship in Cape Town. It was great hearing about the experiences that she and other intern alum had while they were serving in their different sites throughout Africa. It was also crazy to think about how many of the current GRS staff were former interns.
The days seemed to fly by so quickly, and before you even had time to think, it was time to depart. Most of the group was leaving directly from Pierce's, taking the bus from Hanover to Boston, and flying out from there, traveling together all the way to Johannesburg where they would all separate into their respective sites. I was one of only two people who were traveling solo, as I was taking the train back to New York City for the night and leaving out of JFK in the morning. It was sad to think I wasn't going to travel with my new family, but I know that we'll be making several visits to each other's sites all year.
And alas, here I am now in the OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg waiting for my connecting flight to Port Elizabeth. The 15-hour flight went by surprisingly quickly, it seemed. I was asleep for most of it, which helped, and while I was awake, I chatted with the South African man seated next to me who gave me a lot of advice (though he did end up hogging up the arm rest and basically fell asleep on my shoulder).
I can't wait to make it to PE this afternoon and reunite with my fantastic site partner, Claire. I've heard so many stories from past interns, and I can't wait to meet all of the staff on the ground! Only a few more hours 'til I make it to my new home for the year!
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