Coming to a Close
Work:
The goal for this week was to put the finishing touches on everything I have been working on throughout the summer. I edited my Country Note based on feedback from the rest of the research team and finalized the dataset. Both outputs are complete and ready to be used for comparative analysis. I also spent part of this week creating a step-by-step guide of how I approached my assigned tasks this summer to make transition smooth for future onboarding members of the research team.
The switch to Google Forms that the team has been contemplating and working on over the past few weeks is still in the preliminary stages. I gave input on the format and offered to do a test run using my data to see what the output of the new software looks like. I still work part of next week, so if the team creating the forms gets to a point where that would be useful, that will likely be one of my final tasks.
Separate from my traditional work week in Cape Town, the last week or so has also brought on events and deadlines for me in the US as well. The first deadline for law review was due at the end of last week and I attended a zoom information session for law review as well. I am also a legal practice fellow, and orientation was Thursday evening/Friday morning at 1am my time. I am excited to meet the incoming 1L class and hope I can offer my section as good of an experience as my fellow did my 1L year. Working with deadlines in multiple time zones has been challenging, but I’m hopeful that it puts me in a good place to avoid jet lag and sets my semester up well.
Adventures:
I was able to take an incredible day trip down to the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Point this week. It is absolutely one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. The drive down from Cape Town to Cape Point was only a few hours and once we arrived, the wildlife and scenery was stunning. Cape Point is an iconic spot that houses both an old and new lighthouse. It’s a steep climb, but the path of stairs to the Old Lighthouse offers amazing views of the rest of the peninsula. Once at the top, there is a path called the Lighthouse Keeper’s Trail that diverts toward the New Lighthouse. This path is essentially a thin strip of land in between two large bodies of water that culminates with a view of the New Lighthouse. Many people end up just seeing the more commercialized Old Lighthouse, but I’m so happy my guide suggested making the trek down to the New Lighthouse.
After hiking down from the lighthouses, we headed nearby to The Cape of Good Hope. The Cape of Good Hope is the most south-western point of the continent of Africa. On the cliffs that surround the area we saw Zebra, Eland, and quite a few other animals, including the notorious baboons, just roaming around. The area was so peaceful; it truly was the confluence of animals, land, and sea.
I fly back to the US midweek next week, and I am getting increasingly nervous about lost luggage. I got a notification that one of the airports I connect through stopped taking checked baggage entirely for a day and gave passengers no notice. I also have tight turn-arounds for my connecting flights, but I’m hopeful things will work out fine. I love traveling and getting to learn and explore in new places, but airports are not one of the places I want to explore more.