It has now almost been a year ago when I had first applied for the Transition Scholarship. This was done in advance by the help of the Law faculty at my home institution of Stellenbosch University. I had applied for a semester exchange to KU Leuven and did not know at the time what awaited me. I had taken a chance, hoping for a successful outcome, trying not to get my hopes up, as the possible of disappointment in not receiving the scholarship, remained. On the day I received the news that I had been awarded the scholarship, I could have marked the start to an incredible journey. Up until this day, now almost a month after my arrival back in South Africa, I will never be able to thank the International Office of Stellenbosch and the Transitional Fellowship Programme enough. The opportunities they have given me in supporting my exchange, both academically and financially, were unprecedented. They have given me a platform from which to step into an entire new phase of my adult life, introducing me to an international network of students and academic relations, guiding and supporting me on a path of such incredible perspective- about my life, my personhood, my values and my ambitions. They have also given me the necessary support to pursue my goals and truly explore what the world has to offer. This is something that cannot be measured or relativized. It has been an inexplicable honour to receive this opportunity for exchange, an honour which I hope to have shown my appreciation for, in what I have brought back to South Africa and to my own mind-set and life values in the end.
In this short essay I will briefly discuss the courses I had taken during my exchange and what academic value they had added to my South African Law degree. Insofar as my transcript of records has been sent to the university separately, I will not discuss the outcomes here. Furthermore, I will share some of my experiences, extracurricular activities, thoughts on what I believe I have learnt through this experience and lastly also extend some advice to future exchange students.
As I was taking part in a semester exchange for my Law degree, all my courses were related to law in some form. I had chosen courses from both the KU Leuven Law and Criminology programmes. From the get-go, Criminology had taken me by the utmost academic surprise. I immediately knew that I had been placed amongst lecturers and students of academic excellence and throughout my time there, intellectual stimulation was of the highest possible standards. In the field of law, I had chosen Discrimination Law, Law and Religion and Philosophy of Law. These were all very different courses and so contributed to a very broad, inclusive and generally holistic approach to my academic life in Europe. Under the Criminology programme I had chosen the courses of Psychology, Law and Criminal Justice as well as Restorative Justice. These two subjects quickly became a sphere in which I found myself being able to delve into the possibilities of what it would mean for me to have a law career. When you study for so many years in the environment of a single university, you unfortunately become complacent at times and later start to doubt the possibilities of a career. KU Leuven allowed me to gain a new appreciation for the knowledge partner Stellenbosch University had been to me and gave me the opportunity to build on that knowledge, honouring and furthering it through the diligent guidance of a new academic environment of new insights and new expertise.
Every single subject I had chosen opened up a new world of thought and structure, worlds which undoubtedly challenged me and allowed me to partake in dialogues and evaluations that broadened many of my previous horizons. I was especially surprised by the courses of Restorative Justice and Law and Religion. I can honestly admit that these two courses had been the luckiest draws in terms of personal growth and reflection. It had been such a pleasure taking these courses and being guided by professors who were truly experts in their field. I have gained more than I can momentarily describe from these courses. My time at KU Leuven has infused me with so many new hopes, ambitions and admirations. I have been struck by academic and inspirational lightning, without which I would not have known this extent of my passions, willingness and desire to take part in the world and contribute to society.
In terms of extracurricular activities, I had limited myself to a large extent. This was not done impulsively, but with due purpose. During my time at Stellenbosch University I had filled my days and years with off-campus events that had indeed helped to form me and had certainly made a huge impression on me and my development as a student. But this also meant that my focus and energy was not always directed towards my academic life as it supposedly could have been. I have never had any regrets concerning these decisions, however, I was hoping to enrich myself in a different way during my time abroad. I knew that these enrichments would obviously include personal endeavours, traveling, gaining access to new histories and cultures. But I also wanted my time at KU Leuven to introduce a new academic standard to my life. Not only to challenge myself more in that regard, but also possibly prove myself worthy for postgraduate studies abroad, when my exchange period would eventually have come to an end. Bearing this in mind, I didn’t sign up for many activities and rather decided to be guided by intuition, rather than preordained commitments. I really wanted to allow my overseas experiences to be enriching and liberating in many ways, and this was the approach that I had decided would suit that pursuit best.
Although I didn’t sign up for any semester-long commitments, it didn’t mean that I could not find plenty of opportunities to take part in off-campus activities along the way. I had the opportunity to sing in a small choir for two consecutive nights in collaboration with a student orchestra. I had taken part in a three day seminar on the potential for Restorative Justice in cases of Sexual violence, I had signed up for a culture card which gave me discounted access to the cinema, theatre performances, etc. I had also attended an incredible festival in Bruges that consisted of musical performances, different forms of installations, artworks, architectural significance and film. All in all, these had been part of my off-campus activities that occurred in an ad hoc manner, thus allowing for a lot of room to incorporate many different activities along the way, creating wide mental spaces and opportunities for variety.
I have learnt many things from my exchange experience. It is almost impossible to list these individually or give every experience its own name. Perhaps I could start by calling it Perspective. I have gained so much perspective in the last six months. Perspective on the world, on my own situatedness, on my hopes for my own life, for my own community, for society has a whole. I have been able to evaluate my own life from ‘the outside’, asking myself what I want out of life, what I want to contribute to and partake in, where I would like to see myself- concerning both physical and intellectual environments. This is not limited to time or space of university itself. It goes before and beyond theoretical determination, throws you into an abyss of possibilities, leaving you awestruck, longing for improvement of yourself and the world around you. Longing for endeavours that inspire and challenge you and that allow for reflections on the self and the other.
I conclude with some advice to future exchange students. Advice which I believe may not apply to everyone in the same degree, but nonetheless may remain of use in one way or another. In the first instance, it may be true that the administrative part of your preparation for exchange can sometimes be disheartening. Do not let this get you down! Anything worthwhile asks for something of yourself, a sacrifice of some kind, a contribution to be made from your side. This is part of your journey and part of the growth that you will experience. Accept this from the start as part of your responsibilities and move forward. Once you are on the plane heading toward your host institution, you will feel the first sigh of relief. Once you reach the front door of your residence in the foreign land, you will sigh happily again. Once you have the enrolment week and orientation days behind you will start to feel an escalating liberation. You will soon forget the troubles of arrangement and preparation and simply start experiencing, living and learning. These things are priceless and cannot be disregard in the bigger picture.
Depending on your personality, introvert or extrovert, find a way to make friends and to communicate. Of course, allow yourself some solitude and space, but do not isolate yourself. Not only will isolation be detrimental to your wellbeing abroad, but it will also rob you of the indispensable opportunity of meeting new and exciting people. Do not underestimate the duration of a semester exchange. A lot can happen in six months, many lasting and valuable relationships can be formed in this time. I had made friends overseas that not only continue to connect me throughout the world, but also allowed me to expand my knowledge- about people, about cultures, about histories, about passions. People are important. People are very important. Use the opportunity to network on all levels, be it academic, business oriented or personal. Open yourself up to the new world around you. Be accessible. Be approachable. You will not regret inviting the new into your life, forming true friendships and making lasting memories. This will probably be one of the most enduring elements of you entire exchange.
Lastly, I would advise not sticking to what you know, but rather allowing yourself to be truly confronted with the unknown. When you are in a new environment, do not find refuge with people from home, albeit friends or family. Shake off large parts of your dependence, even if only for a short time, and you will reap benefits you never even anticipated. Learn from the community in which you find yourself, respect their customs and traditions, even if you disagree with them. Do not expect people and places to cater to your needs, but rather become humble in acknowledging theirs. Listen to people, be aware and be present. If you are able to admire your surroundings and all that you are able to learn within them, you will undoubtedly thrive.
As I am writing this letter, I am slowly starting to settle into my “old life” again. Although, I don’t think it’s ever just as simple as that. Your old life is one that had previously been familiar to you, and so it remains. Of course you will still recognise the people and the places and you will think to yourself that not much has changed, when in fact, a lot has changed. I think one of the most important tasks of your entire exchange, waits for you at home – it being your responsibility to honour the things you have learnt and the growth you have experienced abroad. It’s very easy to start thinking of your days abroad as a long forgotten dream, almost as something that never really happened. But I think that defeats the purpose. In my mind it is important to integrate the days and months you spent among the unfamiliar, into the larger narrative of your life. Don’t think of it as an isolated experience somewhere on an island in the landmarks of your life. Think of it as part of your life’s continuum, even though you might not be surrounded by the same witnesses once you’re back home. Accept the fact that people won’t always understand the things you saw, heard or took part in. But allow this to also be a way of keeping these experiences safe, utilising them to form part of your own personal knowledge about yourself.
You will probably step back on home ground filled with many different emotions. In my case, I was inspired and motivated to move forward and perhaps even go back to Europe. I felt persistent about “doing something with my life”. But questions were unfortunately still to be answered. In fact, many questions were still to be answered once I got back home. In some ways, being back home hits you hard with a sort of “reality check”. For a while, it seems like your dreams are suddenly too big and your aspirations too high and a lot of the familiar also starts to get you down- whether it be your usual favourite places or old favourite faces. You experience some sort of alienation or estrangement. But I don’t think this awareness should count only as a negative for you. Such defamiliarization is also a token of growth and personal enrichment. So in the end, it also counts as an affirmation of time passed and the person who you might have become in the previous months. Rest assured, your inner and outer worlds will soon resonate with each other again. Meanwhile, accept the in-betweens and remember to move forward, because living in the past, no matter how great the memories are, remains a stagnant way of living.
Personally, my semester exchange revealed a whole new perspective to me, as I have mentioned earlier. This perspective is one in which I have come to see myself as part of a whole. Of course, every person is an end in him or herself. But each of us is also a means to some bigger and greater end. Each of us, apart from our inherent value, also adds an instrumental value to the world around us. I believe that the exchange programme is one of the best possible ways to gain access to this perspective-filled road. One of the best possible ways to give to yourself, to your community and to the world- all in the space of a single journey. Do not hesitate to enrich and change your life, forever.