Days 25 - 28

7-2-13

            3.5 Million Rand. That is how much we secured in an investment for Silulo Technologies and this amount will likely grow in the future. I don't think any student on this program has ever had or will ever have the opportunity to say something like that. I feel incredibly proud and lucky to be in this position and I realize that even though Silulo is incredibly established with their feet on their ground, they still need help and I am learning things no other students have learned on this program before. Only my five teammates and myself can say these things and it is awesome and although we didn't win the helicopter ride, this could be considered worthy of one in my opinion. I guess we’re lucky to have completed this presentation on another level. Now we have one less deliverable required at the end of the program since this will count as one. I wish I could express in words the excitement I have from acquiring this funding. As I was sitting in the meeting this morning I noticed the interactions between Silulo and Cadiz heading in a certain direction towards funding, but I felt the need to keep my excitement inside, as everyone was remaining calm. We all joked about this together after the meeting, commenting that the environment was much more relaxed than I had envisioned yet still professional. I was a little worried Luvuyo might have me answer some questions but luckily I sat quietly and observed. I wish that my whole team could have gone to the meeting instead of just two of us. Nonetheless, such an incredible experience that I had today. I hope to feel reward like this later in the program; however, I have a feeling that this will be the most exciting deliverable we will provide this trip. We shall see.

7-3-13

            After plenty of discussion and lots of changes to the potential deliverables we have finally solidified the deliverables for our clients. For Monwood Playgroup we will provide a new accounting system, and updated marketing strategy, data related to her social impact, and a board of advisors. I don't suspect any of these to be a walk in the park. For Silulo Technologies we have already provided the funding presentation and will provide a completed due diligence for funding, the franchisee development process, and metrics pertaining to their social impact as well. These should be any easier than the others. I’m starting to really get nervous about the days ahead seeing as we have plenty of work to complete in only two weeks. I realize that everyone else has difficult deliverables to complete as well, and maybe I am wrong, but I feel that my teams deliverables are much more extensive than some of the other teams. The reason I am inclined to think this way is that both of our businesses have already gone through this program so they were somewhat developed when we began working with them. This makes determining and implementing the deliverables much more difficult.

Like I said, maybe I am wrong and just really stressed out about what the next couple of weeks will be like but its just a thought. I think that it would be in the programs best interest not to bring clients back on for multiple consulting arrangements in terms of the students learning experience. It is not fair to the students who are told they will be completing one thing and then have to shift their plan in order to complete another. If the case is that bringing one a client for a second time to the program would be incredibly beneficial to the students, then I would recommend not to say what the exact deliverables will be from the start and let the students figure out what the business really needs. That would be my only suggestion because I feel that I am getting a completely different experience than what this program is geared for.

7-4-13

            It’s awfully weird spending the Fourth of July in another country, let alone with the locals of that country. However, I feel more patriotic away from home on this day. I guess knowing that I have such an amazing place waiting for me when I return makes me appreciate what I have just a little bit more. As much as I wish I could be celebrating this day with my family at Wash Park in Denver, I feel pretty damn lucky to be with my family away from home. I have made such amazing friends while I’m here and I am very glad I have had this day to take a step back and recognize that. Thankfully we got to celebrate this special occasion at the bar on campus with a braii (BBQ). We ate, we drank, we sang, we danced; we did everything one should do on the Fourth and then some. Today was also the first day I felt a little homesick just since I miss my friends and family. It’s hard to work so incredibly hard all the time and have your closest friends and family not around to support you. That is another reason I am thankful for the people on this program. Everyone is so caring and we have all bonded so much in just one month. Nonetheless, I can’t wait to see my friends and family in two weeks!

7-5-13

            The calm before the storm some might call it. Today was an incredible day but I cannot help but feel the immense pressure of succeeded in the near future. All I tried to do was enjoy today and not think about the coming weeks and it seemed to pay off. I managed to have a wonderful day seeing South Africa and the beauty it offers the world. We drove for almost four hours stopping along the way in some pretty cool paces and, we finally made it to the Cape of Good Hope. We climbed and climbed and climbed until we finally made it to the most southwestern point of Africa. Now it may not sound very cool, but it was absolutely breathtaking. If you looked close enough, you could see the dividing line between the Atlantic Ocean and Indian Ocean and that was incredible. Standing there made me realize just how small we really are, but then I thought about how the difference that each and every one of us is making is enormous. Its incredible the things people can do for other people. The ripple effect of this program will extend to hundreds and potentially thousands of people in South Africa. I wish I had more time here for times like this. I have never seen such an incredible place in my entire life. I don't mean to say that Colorado isn’t my favorite place in the world but this is just so different from home. The fact that rock faces can shoot straight up from the water and tower over the water is just too wild to me. However beautiful it looks, it still seems slight unnatural to me, but in some ways, this is the most natural occurrence in the world.

            After leaving the Cape of Good Hope we drove an hour up the cost to see some African penguins, which are not friendly, even though they are adorable. My friend Tim and I walked around the beach and found some hidden penguins in the rocks. While I did get some great photos of this one guy, he seemed very interested in me. He was clearly cornered in the rocks and not knowing the first thing about penguins I wanted to know how he would react if I got closer. I stuck my foot out a few times and the last time I got close enough he snapped at me and nearly bit my foot! That was the last time I did that. We walked around a bit more and found a penguin home with probably 30 penguins. They had created a home out of a trash filled bush, and the trash I assumed they brought there. Even though they may not be the friendliest of creatures they are still funny to watch which provides some quality entertainment. I always thought penguins lived in cold climates but its pretty warm here so I guess I was wrong. Nonetheless, they were awesome. Today was a fantastic day and though it is the last excursion of the trip, I hope to have a bit more fun before I have to go home.