Pre-departure:
I could not believe my luck or rather, heavenly mercies when the PGIO informed me that I had been accepted for the summer exchange programme. Initially, I had applied to go Australia but alas, I guess heaven had other plans and I ended up going to University Paris-Est Creteil (UPEC) Summer School.
I am a third year Electronic Engineering student at Stellenbosch University and went to the Renmin University of China Summer School in July 2016. I primarily want to travel, and specifically wanted go to China, to experience the renowned culture shock to become less ignorant of other cultures. I am certain that I came away from this trip with a great appreciation of people and totally new perspectives on the world. No matter how hard we try, we only know what to believe, think and act within the parameters of what we have been taught. So although we may try to enter into a new culture with what we think is an open mind, we can walk away realising just how closed it actually was. I believe it is our unavoidable responsibility as South Africans living in such a diverse country to develop a cultural sensitivity to our fellow citizens.
Pre-departure:
After I got the email confirming that I had received a grant to attend the summer school in Bologna, I started preparing for my trip. There were many things to get done, least of all the paper I was to submit and present and the summer school itself. The grant covered airfare and accommodation only. I applied for and received a travel bursary from PGIO to cover my transport, visa, travel insurance and food costs. It is important that you ensure that your basics are covered before travelling anywhere, these include:
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