22.7.09

Internships that don't save the world

So, originally I was supposed to be an intern at CIVICUS (World Alliance for Citizen Participation-- don't ask me why it's abbreviated that way), but on the day we were supposed to meet our mentors, mine "bailed." By bailed, I mean quit the organization a month ago and didn't feel the need to tell the internship coordinator at IHRE even though he had already promised her that he would be my mentor. So Elanza (internship coordinator) went in yesterday to try and get someone else to mentor me, but they're very short staffed and they don't want an intern currently. Which is really disappointing, because I thought CIVICUS would be really interesting, but oh well. It's not Elanza's fault, she did everything she could to help me, and it just didn't work out. C'est la vie. Anyway, now apparently I'll be at Human Rights Commission-- South Africa. I believe it's abbreviated HURISA...again, don't ask me why it's abbreviated that way. (I think it's just HUman RIghts South Africa, but you never know.) Not sure what I'll be doing there, hopefully I'll find out this week.

I keep getting encouragement and comments from people, telling me how proud they are of me for going to South Africa. I don't think I say it often enough, so thank you. :) I don't think you realize how much your support means to me. I really hope that I can...well, live up to your expectations, I guess. I'm not sure how else to say it. I seem to be getting a lot of comments about how I'm saving the world, and several people seem to be under the impression that I'm doing some sort of work with AIDS while I'm here...? I really have no idea where they got that idea, but I'm really not...saving the world or anything here. I'm...well, I'm just a student here. Granted, I'm in a Human Rights program and all my classes are about human rights, but...I really don't feel like a "human rights defender" yet. Mainly because I'm not really doing anything other than homework yet. Maybe after my internship starts I'll feel more like I'm making a contribution, but really, I'm just a student right. I don't want anyone to glorify me or think I'm being a huge world hero when I'm not.

Anyway, I'm starting to get the hang of where my classes are (mostly)...or at least who to follow to get to the right place. :) Still settling in, I'll post pictures of my room and other random things sometime soon. Hope things are well with you, and happy solar eclipse! Watch out for the end of the world!

1 comment:

  1. Everyone has the opportunity to be a world changer, no matter where they are or what they are doing. It's the little things that have the power to make as much difference as the big things. Never forget that.

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