Anticipation...

Tomorrow.
I can't believe it's tomorrow.

22 students from NU (half from business and half from arts sciences) will be working with 20-25 TSiBA (Tertiary School of Business Admin) students. TSiBA is a business school (no kidding) in Pinelands, a suburb of sorts outside of Cape Town. The students who attend TSiBA live in the townships in the Cape Town area (Cape Flats, Nyanga, Khayelitsha, Mfuleni). Townships were created during the time of apartheid, as a result of the government designating town/city areas as "white only". This forced the black and coloured to the periphery of the town/city. Some townships can be centers for violence, crime and poverty. At the same time, great movements and people have risen out of townships--Nelson Mandela, Desmond TuTu, the ANC and the Anti-Apartheid movement. Either way you look at township life, the students of TSiBA are going to have some amazing stories and be great teachers.

So, two NU students and two TSiBA students will be working together in business teams to consult a township entrepereneur on how to expand/improve their business--which helps more people to find jobs and provide for their families. Hopefully, enacting a ripple effect that improves the local economy and allows people to provide for the basic needs of their families. It's going to be tough--especially as I am not a business student, but I have love, enthusiasm and excitement that I hope will make up for my lack of business knowledge.

We'll be in Cape Town/Pinelands for one month, attending business and south african history/econ classes in the morning and consulting in the townships in the afternoon. We'll also be going on some pretty amazing excursions together--Cape Point, Robben Island, Table Mountain, a safari and much more. (shark diving anyone?)

Then, 3 other lovely ladies and I are exploring a tiny morsel of the beautiful continent of Africa. We'll be going to Johannesburg and Durban before taking off for Zambia (Victoria Falls! Bungee jumping!) and Tanzania (the lovely paradise island of Zanzibar).

It's going to be the experience of a lifetime. I can't wait!