First Step Towards Africa!

The reason I started this blog is getting closer and closer. I initially started it to document the process of getting an Internship in South Africa. I had noticed that quite a few of my fellow students had blogs but I couldn’t find anything all that useful on them. Where did they go for fun? How long did it take to get a visa? How was the food? Were there any restaurants of pubs in particular that wanted to recommend to the world.

Now as my first internship in Pretoria has been approved, my own journey is finally starting. I’ve lined up my cv and am currently (and painfully) labouring over a cover letter. Because I intend to do two internships I have quite a few questions about applying for a visa. Not to mention the fact that I’d like to take a few weeks off and visit some of my family that live in the area.

I’ve emailed the internship mediation agency ‘4exchange’ about a discount on their normal fee. 4exchange handles internships in Kaapstad and Port-Elizabeth for a fee of €450,-. For this profound amount they will help with the following things:

• Finding accommodation;
• Finding an internship in the area;
• Airport pickup;
• Advise when applying for a visa;
• Advise about things like cheap car rental etc;
• A welcoming pack with a South-African SIM-card etc.

Seeing as I wouldn’t be needing any of this except help with contacting the University of Stellenbosch and help with applying for a visa, the fee of €450,- seems a bit steep… I’m hoping they’ll give me a large discount or I’ll have to suck it up and go it alone!

UPDATE: Oh, goodie! They'll give me a €50,- discount! *Ironic voice*