Friday, March 13, 2009

Moving Out, Moving On

Two weeks ago, I moved out of my flat and into a cell at the Old Gaol Backpackers. Today is my last day of work at the Grahamstown LRC. Tomorrow, I leave Grahamstown.

The past six months have been both a professional and personal journey. I have learned countless lessons from my work at the LRC, especially from my supervisor Sarah and her "dogged persistence" (to borrow Kim's words) – a necessary quality in human rights law, particularly in South Africa. It is sad and strange to think that I am leaving work at this office for the last time, and that on Monday morning I will not be at the tea table with my colleagues.

But I am also excited about what lies ahead. Tomorrow morning, I fly to Cape Town, where I will meet my friend Lauren, who is flying to South Africa to travel with me. We have a rough plan to drive across the country (Cape Town, Route 62, Garden Route, Wild Coast, Drakensberg, Durban, Saint Lucia) and end up in Johannesburg around April 1. On April 6, I begin a short internship in the LRC's Constitutional Litigation Unit in Johannesburg, where I will work with George Bizos for approximately four weeks before I return to Canada in May.

Goodbye Grahamstown, hello South Africa! Another journey begins.

2 comments:

KevinKT said...

Look forward to see you back in Canada, and learn from your travel experience that one day we will go there too.

Karen Chee said...

Hi Roanna,

I came across your blog while reading up on the CBA opportunity. Seems like you've had an amazing experience!

I'm a lawyer working in Vancouver.

Would you mind if I emailed you further to find out more?

If you're not opposed, I can provide you with an email address that I can be reached at - thanks so much!