Pre-departure:
Visa:
This was my 1st time leaving the country, so the most important thing is to get a passport so that you may apply for a visa. I got my passport in February before I applied for the summer school. Please note that the German embassy is very strict about the size of the visa photo – they then asked me to go to this other shop to take a visa photo specific to the German embassy, so allow time for that.
The Schengen Visa costs about R1350 and it allows you access to all European countries except the UK. When applying for the visa you will be required to have an amount of like 60 Euros per day in your bank account, but then if you mention that the university has already covered fees and accommodation this amount is lowered. It took me 4 days to get the visa, but don’t leave it to the last minute, because it can take longer than that. But all in all the visa application is very simple if you hand in all the required documents.
Flights:
I booked my return flight ticket before applying for the visa because flights were cheaper then. And I would suggest that you check flights for yourself before going to the agency. The agency got me a flight for R14 000 but when I checked Skyscanner for myself, I found a flight for R 10 000 return, so I saved like R 4000.
Another thing to note is that if you are flying to Stuttgart its cheaper to fly from Cape Town to Frankfurt and then take a train to Stuttgart which is like an hour or 2.
Must do:
The important thing to note above all is to attend the Pre-Departure Orientation presented by the PGIO. This was helpful because I met with other people also going abroad, I heard how they were doing their preparations, got tips on what is important and how to manage my money, where to buy the best travel insurance and all. This orientation is vital for a successful stress free preparation.
When it comes to finance, it is better to change some money to Euros so that you will not be stressed abroad with a high exchange rate. Also it is important that you speak to your bank and let them know that you will be travelling abroad, because if you do not, then your card will be blocked because they might think someone stole your card.
Do not let the excitement of traveling get to you because you might get distracted and neglect your work, especially if you have exams.
Experience at the Host University:
The topic of the Summer school was Pathogens and their host interactions, so we dealt with topics from parasitology, virology, microbiology, veterinary science and crop science. These were very interesting topics for me because I have knowledge of almost all these topics. I majored in entomology for my bachelor’s degree and did my honours in Microbiology and I am currently doing my masters in Microbiology. I found the summer school very relevant to my research.
The nice thing about this summer school is that, it is very general and open to students from any field. I was in class with people from Pharmacy, Zoology, Biochemistry and Human life sciences, so very diverse, which means that the content is designed in a way that anyone from any field can follow.
The lectures are very intense, from 8:30 am till 5pm from Monday to Friday. Each lecture is about 45 minutes long. The lecturing system is the same, through power point and the lecture notes uploaded on ILIAS, which is like SUNLEARN for German University students. They have a cafeteria called the Mensa…and that’s where we can buy lunch, for a small amount of 2.5 Euros. The food was really nice and very German, if you know what I mean.
After lunch time there is a practical session from 2 pm to 5 pm for the latest. The practical sessions were laid back and very easy, if you have done microbiology before, it will be a walk in the park. We had an excursion to the zoo, organised by the lecturers and that was a nice break from the classroom.
At the end of the three weeks we had an assignment where we had to work in groups of four and put together a 20-minute power point presentation on one of the topics covered in class. On the last day of the programme we had to write a test (MCQs). The test was relatively easy.
Other activities:
I was sharing a house with two guys (from Denmark and Italy) and two girls (Barcelona and USA). These individuals were extremely friendly and they loved cooking, so we always went shopping for dinner and took turns cooking each nations traditional food. The weekends were free so we could do anything we wanted.
Apart from eating we also went on trips. Stuttgart is where Mercedes-Benz and Porsche have their headquarters, so we went to the Benz Museum. As a class we used one afternoon to visit a town near Stuttgart, called Esslingen. It’s a wine city just like Stellenbosch, so we got a city tour from a tour guide.
I was very fortunate to have my boyfriend with me in Germany, he was there for a different summer school but we were at the same University. So, he planned for us to spend a weekend in France, which is 3 hours away from Stuttgart. We saw all the landmarks of Paris and ended the evening with an old friend on a boat cruise, on the famous River Seine, right next to the Eiffel Tower. This was the high light of the whole trip because that is where my boyfriend proposed to me.
So on the last day of the summer school we had a barbeque and we received our hard earned certificates. The following day was all about packing and saying our goodbyes. After three weeks away from South Africa I was ready to go home and hear someone speak Zulu or Xhosa.
Return to South Africa:
I had been abroad for three weeks, so I was really excited to come back home and see my family and friends. The return was very smooth. In Europe it was summer and back in South Africa it was full blown winter, so the sudden change in temperature affected me so badly.
I was off-school for a week because of influenza. But I bounced back a week later, I was eager and determined to get back to my research and apply the knowledge that I had accumulated abroad. My department asked me to give a short presentation on the summer school.
Going abroad changed my view about South Africa in general. Before leaving SA, I had great imaginations about how amazing Europe is, and when I got there it was really amazing. But what I can say is that going abroad made me appreciate South Africa and how far we have come in terms of technology advancements. And I stand corrected, but I think that if only South Africa can improve on their transport system and make it more efficient then we will be the same as countries abroad.
I really enjoyed the stay, the people were very friendly and willing to help even though some did not understand English. What this trip made me realise is that, as much as these countries are beautiful, I would prefer staying in South Africa and just go abroad for a two week visit. What makes me say this is that, after the second week of the summer school I was already tired of the place it was starting to feel more like home.
I am definitely planning on going abroad to see more countries and learn more cultures and languages.