"I had the time of my life in South Africa! If I could, I would do it all over again. Thanks, for giving me the opportunity to experience all this!" Fabienne Wetzel, Germany

As I am writing this, I am sitting in my room in Germany, covered in a duvet and in my warmest clothes and still I am freezing cold. I just returned from the South African summer a week ago: 40 degrees, beach, sun and good times and experienced a huge culture shock when I came home.

Having spent a high school year in England when I was sixteen, I never lost interest in traveling and getting to know different cultures and therefore I started studying Tourism Management in Germany. When I had to decide where to go for a practical semester, I wanted to go somewhere I had not been before and found the perfect company to work with in Cape Town.

I spent 5 months as an intern in South Africa and enjoyed every minute of it.  From the first moment I was treated as part of the team and made friends with the wonderful ladies who work there. We had a great time together and I was looking forward to going to work every day.

My tasks were very varied. From switchboard to sending out invites for our recruitment fairs and keeping the data base up to date – I helped where I was needed. I was also responsible for booking visa appointments for our applicants, which was the most challenging and interesting of all my projects. I was happy that management trusted me with this important task and felt not like an intern but like a normal employee.

But my stay in South Africa was not all about work. In my free time and on weekends my friends and I did what all tourists do: We traveled, explored and discovered Cape Town, the Cape Peninsula and even went as far as the Garden Route and Namibia. We enjoyed the sunshine and the beaches - I experienced my first Christmas in summer with a huge braai and it really was one of those special things that I will keep in my heart forever. Together with jumping the highest bungee jump in the world, riding on an elephant and all the animals I have seen during safari trips or just on the road…

During my time in Cape Town, I saw and experienced not only all the things I would never have the chance to in Germany, but I also grew a lot as a person. Getting to know a different culture, adapting to the South African way of life was quite a challenge, but one I was more than happy to undertake. Now I feel that I took a little bit of the relaxed and easy going personality of the people back home with me and I hope that I will never lose it!

I had the time of my life in South Africa! If I could, I would do it all over again. Thanks, for giving me the opportunity to experience all this!

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