LIVING IN CAPE TOWN (4)

During my final weeks it started to hit me just how quickly time was passing by.  I sadly began to realise I wasn't going to be in Cape Town for as long as it had once seemed and so I decided to disconnect myself from my phone and social media to make sure I was really living in each moment. 

During my last two weeks I was incredibly lucky to get the opportunity to shadow three of the top Magistrate Judges at Wynberg Magistrate's Court.  It was one of the most surreal experiences that I've had.  I worked with civil, criminal and child law cases.  Thinking back to when I was leaving the UK, at that time I would have never dreamed that I would end up working in the High Court. It makes me so grateful that I got on that flight despite all of my fears, apprehensions.  Working in the court also gave me so much confidence and reassured me that I do want to be a lawyer. 

Later in the week my friends and I went sailing at the Waterfront.  That night we also went to an authentic Mexican restaurant and my American friends were shocked at how apparently "un-mexicanised" us Brits were when we had no idea what to order...

LIVING IN CAPE TOWN (3)

If homesickness is going to happen, I've read that it will most likely be around the 3rd week but I haven't felt it yet and I am so glad.  One of my worries was that I would end up feeling homesick and therefore unable to fully enjoy my time here.  Surprisingly, the opposite has happened.  The longer I am here the less I want to go home.  I've fallen in love with the laid back, social culture.  It really contrasts to the industrial culture of the UK, which is heavily dominated by working and corporations, as I suppose many countries are now.  I love how there are an endless number of small family businesses here and how friendly and helpful all of the local people are. 

This week my friends and I went for a night out on Long Street. We found a great bar with a live band and a club upstairs called the Dubliner.  I can't remember what time we got home but it was a wild night and I was hit with the sudden realisation that I'm in love with a friend I've made here.  You know those moments when someone makes a quiet joke that only you'll hear and as you pause to smile at them, it feels as though everyone around you drifts far away into the distance? Maybe just me.

Anyway, we also went to the Hout Bay Market on Friday which was incredible.  It was in the evening and there were all sorts stalls with food, drink, clothes, jewellery, anything you could imagine really.  It was a lovely atmosphere and a great way to spend the evening.  Everyone is so chatty and friendly here.  The next day we went to the Old Biscuit Mill, which is a similar sort of market except it is in the morning.  I had a crepe with bacon and eggs for breakfast with a blueberry smoothie.  All of the little stalls of fresh food smelt amazing, there were way too many to choose from.  Later that day I went with my friends Katy and Hannah to the V&A Waterfront Mall and I was happy to discover the store called Mr Price. It is literally a South African version of Primark and I was in serious need of some new clothes. 

At work this week I ran a two hour workshop with the women about the South African Bill of Rights and the Children's Act 2005.  I was only told two days beforehand that I would be presenting so I worked day and night to prepare.  I was really pleased with how it went.  Many of the women had asked me individually about the rights of their children's fathers depending on whether they were married or unmarried, etc.  This can be quite a confusing area of the law but luckily for me, South African and Scots laws are very similar in this area. The women were interested and engaged throughout the workshop and had many questions on both topics, which made me really happy.

Considering that South Africa has one of the most advanced written constitutions in the word, whereas the UK does not even have a written constitution at all, I was shocked that many of the women had never even heard of it.  They had never been taught or made aware of their own rights, which is so upsetting.  I am glad that I picked the topics that I did.  

Every person should be taught that they are born with certain rights regardless of who they are or what their status is, each person is entitled to and owed the same fundamental protections simply by being.