Mandy during her internship in South Africa

Mandy in Cape Town: “Does Afrikaans really sound so much like Dutch?”

To be honest, I thought I could arrange this all on my own. I started by updating my CV and writing a motivation letter, then I emailed various companies in different countries to see if I could do an internship with them. Unfortunately, I got very little response or just rejections. I was really disappointed because I wanted this so badly. Then I decided to ask Abroad Internships for help, and to this day I have no regrets! I could hand over all the hassle and received several interesting options. After just one Skype call with a company from South Africa, I had already found my internship. I was going to intern there for five months. Besides arranging the internship, many other things needed to be organized, like visa, flight, accommodation, insurance, etc. Fortunately, I could turn to Abroad Internships with all my questions. Especially getting the visa can be quite difficult, but it’s all worth it.

Farewell Party and Student House

The last weekend before I left, I held a farewell party for friends and family. Of course, it’s not fun to be away from your friends and family for a while, but I was sure that my internship would be a great experience for my personal and professional development.

Finally, the time had come and I was allowed to leave for Cape Town. Saying goodbye at Schiphol was really tough, but I kept thinking about all the wonderful things that were to come. After a journey of more than 24 hours, I was picked up by the owners of my accommodation and dropped off at the student house. I walked into the house and heard people speaking Dutch! I thought, huh, does Afrikaans really sound that much like Dutch? But then I found out that 12 of the 15 people in the house were Dutch, super cozy! Because of this, I clicked with everyone right away and my nerves quickly disappeared. I really didn’t have time to calmly look around the house or unpack my bag, no, I had to go straight to the beach and out for dinner. I really liked that I was included in the group right away! During the first few days in Cape Town, I didn’t have to go to my internship yet, which gave me the time to settle in, explore the city, and get to know my housemates better.

First Day of Internship

On my first day of internship, I was a bit nervous. I left the house at 8:00 am by Uber (taxi) since I had to be at the internship by 9:00. I knew it was a 15-minute ride, but of course, you don’t want to be late on your first workday. My tip is: be aware of cultural differences!! In South Africa, being on time is not a good sign. I arrived as planned at 8:15 at the receptionist, and she told me my boss was not there yet and that she would call him to check where he was. It turned out she had to wake him up because here they typically start half an hour later than planned, so he wouldn’t arrive until 9:30! And to top it off, my boss was in a bit of a morning mood... After a rocky start, everything began to fall into place. I was introduced to everyone and got my own spot in the company. The rest of the week was very interesting but also quite relaxed. The hard work we are used to in the Netherlands, they don’t really know that here.

All in all, it was a week I will never forget. The people and experiences I had in just one week were amazing!