This
past weekend, we (UConn students) along with 30 other students from throughout
the African continent, traveled to Malmesbury, South Africa (A drive that was
supposed to take about an hour and a half, but we ended up taking around three. Still not entirely sure why, but scenic drive, none the
less). Our destination was Goedgedatch Olive Farm. Going into the weekend, I
did not know what to expect. I was unsure about what a “Human Rights Training
Weekend” actually entailed, and I was confused as to why we were traveling so
far away from Cape Town when we were all right around the city. However, once
we arrived, it became abundantly clear why we made the trip to Malmesbury. The
olive farm was absolutely beautiful. It was what I expected South Africa to
look like prior to arriving, if that makes any sense. There were animals
grazing, olives growing and the ever present mountains marking the boundary.
 |
| Courtney enjoy breakfast at Goedgedatch Olive Farm |
We
began the weekend by introducing ourselves, and stating our primary objectives
for the weekend. Mine was to learn more about the basic principles of human
rights, as I had taken a course on human rights during the fall of my junior
year, and ended the class pretty confused. I can confidently say that this
objective was achieved. We also broke up into various countries in Africa for a
Model U.N. type exercise where we had to convince the World Bank that our
country needed anywhere from $1 billion to $500 billion (the amount kept
changing). I was Rwanda, and although we did not win, I enjoyed learning more
about the country of Rwanda than I ever thought I would.
Courtney and Brilliant as part of the Rwanda team
Other
things I enjoyed during the weekend include: seeing the Milky Way/shooting
stars, swimming at night, eating the most delicious food, walking around the
olive farm, taking countless pictures, and the rooster’s wake-up call each
morning.
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