When my plane landed in Cape Town, all I could think to myself was “Wow, my dream of coming to Africa is finally here.” Ever since I was 10 years old, all I wanted to ... read more
"Alive. That is the word that comes to mind when thinking on my experience as a VAC intern in Cape Town South Africa. Every day was one of adventure, learning and life changing experiences. The ... read more
Bundled up at home in the Oregon rain, it's hard to imagine that only a week ago I was basking in the sun in the front yard of the Milton house. Cape Town is an ... read more
"I had an amzing time during my stay in South Africa. I interned at the Athone School for the blind in Bellville and was able to work with the skills department. I was able to ... read more
"From the day I landed in South Africa, until the time I reluctantly got on my return flight home, my world changed. The amount of amazing opportunities and experiences I had while I was living ... read more
"During my time in South Africa I had many wonderful experience. I did my internship at a school in Bellville. I met some wonderful people at the school. They helped me to learn and grow ... read more
"Pursuing a marketing internship at Gary’s Surf School in Cape Town, South Africa was just as cool as it sounds. When signing up, I envisioned working at the beach in summer time, surfing some waves ... read more
Isabelle Dinkela
Genre of Internship: Refugees
Dates of Participation:
December 2012 - February 2013
"Before I arrived in Cape Town, I had no idea about the city or the people but VAC gave me a warm welcome here and made sure that I had all the help I needed. ... read more
Markus Hierzberger
Genre of Internship: Education
Dates of Participation:
December 2012 - March 2013
"I came to South Africa with the main goal to improve my English, but also to meet a completely different culture and a lifestyle which isn't similar as back in Austria. To reach my first ... read more
"Upon reflection of my time in Cape Town, I realize there is so much I want to share yet so much I cannot put into words. Do I write about my drive to work every ... read more
"Having left Cape Town over two weeks ago I’d say this testimonial can be deemed tardy at best. However, in defense of being called lazy, I find the timing fitting for what I want to ... read more
Anna Klebine
Genre of Internship: Human Rights
Dates of Participation:
November 2012 - February 2013
"My time in Cape Town, although way too short at 6 weeks, was incredible. I'm at home in the cold in Chicago, still processing everything that I experienced over that month and a half, and ... read more
Precious Acker
Genre of Internship: Human Rights
Dates of Participation:
November 2012 - February 2013
"My experience in Cape Town exceeded my expectations, South Africa has truly become my second home. The spirit in Cape Town makes you feel welcomed and and the diverse group of people you meet through ... read more
Abby Ferguson
Genre of Internship: Child Welfare
Dates of Participation:
October 2012 - December 2012
"Coming to Cape Town I had no idea what to expect. I knew nothing about Cape Town, or Africa for that matter, when I left. I chose to go there more for my internship than ... read more
Will Stevens
Genre of Internship: Criminal Justice
Dates of Participation:
October 2012 - January 2013
"I came to South Africa under the misapprehension that I would leave the country with more answers about myself than questions. What instead happened was a complete reshuffling of how I see myself in the ... read more
Travis Cox
Dates of Participation: Between May 2010 & July 2010
“Hi, my name is Travis Cox and I’m from Monroe, NC, USA. During my stay in Cape Town I worked with WBHO Construction, one of the largest contracting and engineering firms in South Africa, and across the African continent. The Volunteer Adventure Corps staff exceeded all my expectations in finding an internship specifically tailored to my wants and needs. I particularly wanted to work for a large scale, international construction company, and I really wanted to see a management perspective. The project that I took part in was a reconfiguration of the Cape Town Container Terminal. The goal of this project is to considerably increase the capacity of one of South Africa’s largest ports. I was stationed on site where I received my own office and everything that I needed to jump into the construction industry. With WBHO I was given numerous responsibilities on site and in the office. These tasks ranged from managing crews on site, to compiling progress updates, to planning for upcoming sections of the project. I attended company meetings, and was involved in numerous meetings with subcontractors as well. All of these experiences proved to be extremely useful learning tools, and I often found myself working longer hours because I enjoyed what I was doing. I was fortunate to be placed with a supervisor who is very reputable in the company, and through this experience I was able to meet many influential people within WBHO, as well as other subcontracting firms.
I thoroughly enjoyed the city of Cape Town, and VACorps offers a lot of programs and weekend activities to make sure every intern gets a truly one of a kind experience. Coming to Cape Town through VACorps also provided me with an awesome group of other interns which eventually became a close knit group of friends to share my experiences with. No one should ever get bored while living here. During my stay I hiked Table Mountain, Devils Peak and Lion’s Head, went off-roading, scuba diving, springbok hunting, wine tasting, and way too many other awesome things to mention. Needless to say there was never a dull moment. The VACorps staff was there every time that I had a question or concern, and held my expectations for my trip as a priority. They are also a great source of information about cool things to do in Cape Town that a tourist may not typically think of, and they aren’t that bad to hang out with either.
My advice to anyone that is interested in coming to Cape Town through VACorps is first of all, DO IT! If you don’t plan on having the time of your life while in a completely new, unfamiliar, awesome, exciting place, then Cape Town may not be for you. Otherwise, think up your dream internship, start looking up cool things to do while you’re here, and leave everything else to your personal VACorps staff member. If you’re lucky you may even get to meet me here in the Mother City, as I am sure this won’t be my last visit.”
-Travis Cox, pictured during a VACorps Friday activity, partcipated in a civil engineering internship from May to July of 2010.
Latest Flickr Photos
Scroll down to view our Latest Flickr Photoset and check out what adventures we're up to in Cape Town and around South Africa.
