Pre-departure:
In order to depart to the U.S.A the visa application has to be done. It is important to make sure that you have the valid I-20 document which ensures a speedy visa, with a lot less complications. I would also recommend to book your flight tickets well in advanced, due to the late acceptance response this is a bit of a hassle. In regard to the flight tickets it is also better to look online and then go to Student Flights with the selected flights and prices. The company is obliged to provide these prices and will greatly help with cost reduction. By buying tickets through them you will be able to make a return date change which will be very convenient, because of later travels.
Note that your visa will expire before or just when the classes end. Don’t worry about this, because you will receive a 30 day grace period and will be able to stay longer. So book your return flight at least for two weeks after the visa expires. This will ensure time to travel and an easier flight change (if you will need it).
Going to the US you are used to being in South Africa and more mild temperatures and will have to take into account the more severe temperature changes. Thus I packed a little bit of everything. I made sure to pack enough warm thermal clothes, hand and head gear. When it reaches -20 ⁰C you must have enough warm things to keep the cold out. I would recommend also to have enough t- shirts and clothes to wear inside. Being a first world country you will not be cold inside a building. In fact I feel like I get colder in my Stellenbosch flat when it is 10 ⁰C than when it is -20 ⁰C in Morgantown.
I would also recommend to buy snow boots when you are there and not in RSA. Firstly it is the same price and the quality that the US has is far better. This also has an added benefit of not being in your suitcase.
Other that than I would strongly advise against having a backpack for your travels to Morgantown. There is a lot less space and for the traveling that I did a normal suit case would have been a lot better. In the US you will have to rent a car or take a bus for transport. Walking around with all your luggage like in Europe will rarely happen.
Renting a car is very easy and pretty affordable (if you are 25 or older). I made sure to get an international driving certificate from the AA, which allows you to travel inside the States. It is very cheap and trust me: you will drive in the US.
Make sure that you have a comfy neck pillow for the plane and it is also very important to have relaxing medication, like Rescue, to cope with the traveling.
Lastly have at least 200 dollars with you before departure, this will help you buy the necessary food and items at the airport and for the first few days.
Experience at the Morgantown:
Going to Morgantown was a bit of a shock in an academic and personal sense. As a master student in civil engineering I am used to hard work and challenges, but I still found it a bit of a shock. Firstly my course doesn’t have set classes in Stellenbosch, it has a short course with a big project. In contrast, what I experienced in Morgantown was set classes and mainly filled with PhD students. Sitting in class with older and more experienced students was a bit daunting at first, but their knowledge and experience truly uplifted my self-esteem and understanding of the subjects.
I did three courses during my stay at West Virginia University: Flexible Pavements, Sustainability and Surface Water Quality Management. All these courses were Post-Graduate courses and of 3 credits. Coming from a class situation, in my undergrad, of more than 150 people in a class to a maximum of 10 people was quite a surprising and wonderful experience. The Surface Water Quality Management course was truly a challenge to me. The class was taught with an inductive learning approach, this means that the students create the presentations and teach the class. This experience was wonderful and terrifying as well. It taught me valuable skills that will help me in my professional and academic career.
On a personal front I stayed at 544 Spruce Street, which is also known as the International House or I-house. Living there was absolutely incredible! In the house you are exposed to people from all over the world with different cultures and world views. I only knew one person in Morgantown prior to arrival and staying in the I-house I had a family within a week. Having such a home, which is filled with other exchange students, truly helps with adapting to a new country and culture.
Adapting to the American culture was surprisingly easy. Most American people are very friendly and will be very willing to help you find your way. The campus is set out to make International students fit in with activities and helpful leaders. With the bursary I received a meal plan, this meant I was allowed 20 meals a week. I was thus always very well fed and only on rare occasions had to buy my own food. The meals that were provided are not really the healthiest of sorts, which is why most exchange students gain a bit of weight. Luckily there were some healthy options and a gym to obtain acceptable fitness.
The one thing that bothered me was the difference between the exchange students and the American students. I found it difficult to make American friends, not due to a lack of trying, and so did most of my friends from the I-house. It is not clear to me whether it is due to the isolation of the exchange students or due to the difference in American culture. I think that more integration is needed in the future for exchange to West Virginia University.
Return to Stellenbosch:
Returning to Stellenbosch was quite a difficult affair. Firstly the thing that they don’t warn you about is the influence that jet lag has when you travel from West to East. Having a time zone difference of 6 hours has a definite impact on your health and adjustment to coming back home. Coming back to a country where the crime is so high, you become aware at how natural it has become to be afraid on a constant level. Sure living in Morgantown there were risks, but I never felt afraid of walking home at night or being mugged by walking in nature. It has truly made me rethink of being a permanent resident in this country, which is very sad indeed. I also feel that economically it would be in my best interest to go work abroad for at least a year or two. Having to convert the Rand to the Dollar, you truly understand and appreciate the value of a strong economy.
It was also a pleasant and wonderful experience being able to speak my home language (Afrikaans). Not having this exposure in America was truly difficult and it was such a pleasure being able to express myself in my home language again. The African way of life is also very different to the American way. Coming home you are faced with extreme poverty of which you rarely experience in the States. This is quite a shock to the heart and makes you wonder why the world is so different. Doing the Sustainability course at West Virginia University I learned that enough food is produced in the States to feed the entire world. I also learned that more than 40% of food in the states is wasted. Learning this was absolutely shocking. Knowing this and seeing how hunger and poverty is destroying our wonderful country it led me to wonder how fare the capitalistic system is.
It is good to be back none-the-less: seeing the beautiful mountains of Stellenbosch and walking through Victoria Street gives me a sense of pride being a Matie student. I feel extremely proud to be from a University which has in not one aspect been second to the host and which also costs a tenth of the price. It is also wonderful to know that I have lived in a place that truly changed my outlook on life. Without having the bursary I would never have been able to afford such an experience. It also gave me an experience with an internationally acclaimed engineering school, which also looks good on my CV.
The challenge now is to find a way to use this experience to improve my last bit of being a Matie and above all to help people that are truly in need. I know that with some of the knowledge that I gained I can truly make a difference in people’s lives. If not directly, I can help improve the country’s infrastructure and help manage the water which is the most crucial resource that we have.