Tessa in South Africa

Participant

Tessa

Country

🇿🇦 South Africa

Duration

8 months

Short bio

My name is Tessa and I’m 22. I study International Leisure Management at NHTV in Breda and I did an 8-month internship with United Through Sport in South Africa. Personally, I found choosing a (graduation) internship one of the hardest things to do, mainly because I had no idea what I wanted. The only thing I did know was that I absolutely had to avoid an office job. The option of doing an internship abroad soon came up. I think it’s important to speak and write English well, and to be honest I’d had enough of Holland for a while. So the decision to go abroad was quickly made. I didn’t really look at the countries, but at the internship placements. Still, I was very curious about South Africa, and that’s how I soon ended up at United Through Sport.

My story

“I enjoyed my internship for all 8 months and I can recommend it to everyone!”

Tessa · volunteering in South Africa

First of all, what an incredibly great organisation this is! The fact that it’s based all over the world gives you lots of opportunities (for the future too). I also found it really special that through this internship I could support South African communities.

I definitely didn’t have an office job. Sports lessons were often given in the townships three days a week. I actually knew very little about all the sports, but thanks to a good introduction week and all the other volunteers (often including a professional) you were never on your own. Because you’re out in the field a lot, you really see what impact United Through Sport has on the children and the townships. Another, totally irrelevant, advantage: because you’re outside all day, you get a lovely tan that makes people back home jealous!

The other two days I was in the office with interns organising events for UTS. The events themselves weren’t necessarily a big challenge, but the fact that they give you complete freedom in how you want to organise them means you get a lot of responsibility, and you learn a great deal from that. The organisation is also quite flexible. When busier times are coming up, you can ask for an extra office day so you don’t have to do everything in your own time. I did an 8-month internship, which I personally think is the maximum time for this internship (maybe even a bit too long). At some point it gets harder and harder to find the challenge in the coaching and the events, but that certainly didn’t make my time in Port Elizabeth any less fun. What you do need to be able to handle is having people around you.

Because you live with lots of volunteers in a fairly small space, you always have people around you. As far as I’m concerned: SO MUCH FUN!

Life in Port Elizabeth is fun too. On Tuesdays I was often singing my heart out at the karaoke night at Barneys, and at the weekends I often danced away at White Tiger and Beershack. A quiet evening watching a film on the sofa was of course an option too. And don’t let all the stories about crime in South Africa get to you. My experience was that there is a lot of crime, but that in Port Elizabeth it’s not too bad. We always used Uber in the evenings and followed UTS’s advice properly. As long as you don’t do anything silly, nothing is likely to happen.

What has stayed with me most is the South African culture. I had no idea what to expect, but I absolutely loved the whole way of life there. I enjoyed my internship for all 8 months and I can recommend it to everyone. It may not be the most challenging internship in terms of event organisation, but living abroad for 8 months is a challenge in itself. I learnt a huge amount from different cultures and gained a new family. It’s definitely worth considering doing your internship with UTS!

Good luck choosing your internship!

Love,

Tessa