Fetcher Renken – Tennessee, USA (2020)

Fletcher joined the VACorps program in January 2020, as part of his gap year, and participated in a film and photography internship.

“When I was starting the process of planning my gap year, there were two places that I knew I had to visit. The first was New Zealand, and the second was Cape Town. I knew I had to visit both of the places, and luckily for me, I did. When I first arrived in Cape Town I left everything open, I didn’t try to guess what it was going to be like, I just came in open to whatever. I believe that is truly what made this experience so special, that’s what made it such a great time. I started my internship in film about a week after I arrived, and I learned so much in such a short amount of time. The main thing I learned however is what it really means to work hard and how rewarding it can be.

The whole city is always moving it’s always busy, it almost feels as though that the city is living, like it has a soul. You really do feel it when you visit, it’s unlike anyplace out there. My main tips for coming to this city are to be open to anything, new experiences, new food, make new friends(very easy to do everyone here is so friendly.) Stay as long as you can, three months is a great amount of time to be here. The weekly activities and the staff are so helpful you can go to them for anything, they are always there don’t hesitate to go and talk to them. Mainly though just have fun, enjoy yourself, live your life to the fullest.”