For the last of my entries, I got inspired by a post of my fellow IEDPer, Morgan, who shared her daily schedule while in her internship in Germany. Here is a quick glance in my life as an intern here in Cape Town. Thursday, August 29, 2019. 8AM: My alarm rings at 8am, but I often wake up before the alarm. I am generally enjoying … Continue reading 24 hours as an IEDP intern in Cape Town
On this blog post I thought of talking a little bit about the different activities I have been doing here in Cape Town. The greatest adventure of them all happens definitely at work, where I analyze over 3000+ responses of beneficiaries for the project we are evaluating and design with the feedback of my colleagues an evaluation matrix that will guide the quantitative and qualitative … Continue reading Hiking up Table Mountain on a day I shouldn’t have and more adventures in Cape Town
Who am I? Hello! Sawubona! Molo! I am Vasiliki. I am from Thessaloniki, Greece and this summer (/winter, because everything is relevant!) I will be interning at an educational non-profit organization in South Africa. My internship is structured in the most ideal way. I will be working at the M&E division, so I will be primarily based in Cape Town. However, since the head offices … Continue reading (Best) first week in Johannesburg!
Hello from Cape Town! For the last weeks of my internship, I have been working in the Cape Town office. In my last day, my colleagues organized a small farewell ceremony for me. Once again, I realized Joburg is not the best but my all internship experience and people in the office are awesome. During my internship, I have learned a lot not only the … Continue reading Adventureful South Africa
My final week at JET Education Services (JET) was a sprint to the finish line. I began the week right where I started my internship, at the Johannesburg office. After eight weeks away in the Cape Town office it was nice to see Joburg based co-workers in person, but I didn’t have much time to catch up. Instead I was busy helping to put the … Continue reading The Final Sprint
I cannot believe I have been in South Africa for a month. I should mention that I don’t find strange anymore having the second winter in the same year. I have a blanket at the office to stay warm 🙂 I can say that I am handling the culture shock very well thanks to the work and traveling around. Regarding the work, I have done so … Continue reading Being teacher in South Africa
Have you ever read a massive report with lots of figures and wondered how the authors chose what to analyze? (For an example: Education For All 2000-2015: achievements and challenges). I admittedly, had never pondered this question, when a report is over 500 pages I assume that everything that can be analyzed was analyzed. My thinking on this topic changed when I began to analyze … Continue reading Data Crunching
My South Africa adventure has started with my visa application. After a challenging visa application and interview process to get in South Africa, my passport was back to me with the visa after two weeks of painful waiting. Right after a long flight, I landed and straight went to the office. On the way to the office, I was very excited because it was my … Continue reading My IEDP journey in South Africa
How would you run an education system in a country with 11 official languages? Talking about language policy in South Africa can quickly turn into a spirited discussion, with some arguing that the current system never fully cast-off is racist apartheid policies, others arguing that English should be the only language used and still more arguing that the current system is the best. To understand … Continue reading The Power of Languages
Prior to my arrival in South Africa, I was concerned my fluency in only one of the country’s 11 national languages, English, would limit my ability to communicate with locals. Turns out, I am not even fluent in English – at least not South African English. On my first day in Johannesburg I had to ask for directions. The conversation went as follows: Me: “Hello, … Continue reading Two Weeks – Two Cities – Arrival in South Africa
The International Educational Development Program 