Hello to followers old and new! Last year, I kept an online blog all summer of my experience on a summer human rights fellowship in Kampala, Uganda, and I understand it got very popular in some circles.... so, here I am again, a year later and about to set out on another great adventure (funded by my very generous law school). I know more law than ever -- though I still know pretty much nothing -- and I am heading back to where I think I really belong: South Africa.
I lived in Cape Town for about 10 months from 2007-2008, though it was in two short stints rather than all together. Except for a brief visit to Johannesburg last August, I haven't been back to South Africa in four years, and I am excited! As much as I love Cape Town, I am going to Johannesburg this summer because... well, because it's where the jobs are. In one sense, I'm not all that excited about it as a location, because Joburg is kind of just a city. On the other hand, it's really different from Cape Town, has a very different history (colonial, apartheid-er, and post-apartheid), very different racial and ethnic makeup, etc., so I think it will be a fascinating study of contrasts if nothing else.
I am working for an NGO that does human rights litigation throughout southern Africa. They have a number of district programs, but the two I've expressed interest in are their HIV/AIDS program and their international criminal law program. Their international criminal law program just won a case in South Africa that will force the South African police to investigate Zimbabwean officials living in SA who committed crimes against humanity (including torture -- it's being referred to in the media as the "Zimbabwe torture case") in Zimbabwe, in accordance with South Africa's international and domestic criminal law obligations. Exciting stuff!
That said, I am laughably unprepared to leave. It's currently Friday. Well, it's actually almost 3am on Saturday morning, but we'll call it Friday. I leave Gainesville on Tuesday, spend a night in New York, and fly out for Joburg on Wednesday morning. I still have to.... clean all my clothes, figure out what I'm actually taking overseas, buy all the necessities like a new toothbrush and enough of my sensitive teeth toothpaste to last me the summer, etc. I was in such a rush to clear out of my apartment and to get everything out of the way of my subletter that I drastically and tragically over-packed coming home from Philadelphia, so clearly I need to do some paring down....:
That's all I've got for now. Just wanted to set this blog up while I was thinking about it and had the time.
Oh, one final note about the blog title. First of all, Johannesburg is known as the "City of Gold" -- because of its historical connection with South African gold mining. And it's going to be a winter in said city of gold because, sadly, South Africa is in the southern hemisphere... which means that May-August is the dead of winter. No summer for Katie in 2012. The sacrifices we make...
I lived in Cape Town for about 10 months from 2007-2008, though it was in two short stints rather than all together. Except for a brief visit to Johannesburg last August, I haven't been back to South Africa in four years, and I am excited! As much as I love Cape Town, I am going to Johannesburg this summer because... well, because it's where the jobs are. In one sense, I'm not all that excited about it as a location, because Joburg is kind of just a city. On the other hand, it's really different from Cape Town, has a very different history (colonial, apartheid-er, and post-apartheid), very different racial and ethnic makeup, etc., so I think it will be a fascinating study of contrasts if nothing else.
I am working for an NGO that does human rights litigation throughout southern Africa. They have a number of district programs, but the two I've expressed interest in are their HIV/AIDS program and their international criminal law program. Their international criminal law program just won a case in South Africa that will force the South African police to investigate Zimbabwean officials living in SA who committed crimes against humanity (including torture -- it's being referred to in the media as the "Zimbabwe torture case") in Zimbabwe, in accordance with South Africa's international and domestic criminal law obligations. Exciting stuff!
That said, I am laughably unprepared to leave. It's currently Friday. Well, it's actually almost 3am on Saturday morning, but we'll call it Friday. I leave Gainesville on Tuesday, spend a night in New York, and fly out for Joburg on Wednesday morning. I still have to.... clean all my clothes, figure out what I'm actually taking overseas, buy all the necessities like a new toothbrush and enough of my sensitive teeth toothpaste to last me the summer, etc. I was in such a rush to clear out of my apartment and to get everything out of the way of my subletter that I drastically and tragically over-packed coming home from Philadelphia, so clearly I need to do some paring down....:
That's all I've got for now. Just wanted to set this blog up while I was thinking about it and had the time.
Oh, one final note about the blog title. First of all, Johannesburg is known as the "City of Gold" -- because of its historical connection with South African gold mining. And it's going to be a winter in said city of gold because, sadly, South Africa is in the southern hemisphere... which means that May-August is the dead of winter. No summer for Katie in 2012. The sacrifices we make...
nice timbuktu bag!
ReplyDeleteAny chance some stuff (toothpaste and even clothes) can be mailed over there? Good luck getting everything done!
ReplyDelete