America! The land of dreams, potential and possibility!
The day that I heard that I was accepted as an exchange student at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro was the day that my life took a dramatic change, although at the time I did not realise this. The preparation began by considering various courses that would be suitable, checking all my VISA requirements and mentally preparing myself for jumping into one of the coldest of winters that I would ever experience! Although having done a lot of research on the available courses, we soon learned that only a hand full were available in my field of study. In hindsight, I should have used this opportunity to take courses in various other fields in addition to my major subjects.
The VISA process was surprisingly quick and swift, although this did mean that an early morning trip to the embassy in Cape Town was in order! Once my VISA was secured, I then started to look at various airfares on a variety of airlines. Would it be easier to fly direct and pay a bit more in order to have a greater peace of mind and reduce fatigue when changing time zones? Or would I prefer to save that money and do a layover instead? Since I was travelling during the Festive Season, flights were more expensive than usual. I would advise new exchange students to arrive earlier in order to avoid expensive plane tickets. In the end, I opted to layover in London for a week to visit family and from London embark on the shorter flight to Washington D.C.
Packing my suitcase was another obstacle to overcome. I needed to pack enough for 6 months yet still have space so that I could bring new things back. After a lot of experimenting, I found it useful to roll up my clothes as this utilised space a lot better than simply folding ones clothes. In addition, I packed a few days’ worth of clothes in my carry-on luggage just in case my baggage got lost. This turned out to be a good idea as many of my soon-to-be friends ended up in the USA with only the clothes on their backs because the luggage got lost between connecting flights.
I finally arrived at Dulles International at 3pm (10pm South African time). Going through customs took much longer than I anticipated and was made worse by my fear of thinking that I may have overlooked any necessary documents. When I got to the other side, I had to search the airport for my bag as it had already come off the carousel. As a result of customs taking so long, I had missed the last bus that would take me to my hostel. In the end, I had to catch various different transportation systems in order to get to my hostel, which I eventually did at 6pm (1am SA time). I would suggest that one arrives at a new area at a reasonable time according to the time zone that one just left. It is a lot easier to overcome things if one is not tired. I would also recommend taking food and water with as finding a reasonably priced place to eat in a new city is not as easy as one would think. From D.C. I then travelled to Greensboro.
We were first put through our paces at the orientation, which helped us a lot as we were able to meet all the internationals and get a good idea of the campus layout and how everything worked. In true college style, the term begun with a great big party at one of the local pubs. Classes started soon after. I was particularly interested to attend my classes as I was not sure how my knowledge measured up in comparison to the students who had always studied at UNCG. One of the greatest differences that I encountered was the marking system. In the US, the general failure grade was anything less than 75%, and an A was over 90%. Although this sounds rather ambitious to us South Africans, these pass marks are not too difficult to achieve so long as one keeps working and stays up to date with the coursework. In South Africa, I have experienced that lecturers mark very strictly according to what is right or wrong. However, in the US, they approach marking by considering the pupils chain of thought.
The argument to this would be that in the working world one does not have the true solutions anyway so they prefer to train their pupils to argue their approach motivated by the available theory. I took the minimum amount of courses required under my VISA status, which proved to be a good idea. This gave me more time to meet a variety of different people and to do various activities that I would not have had the time for otherwise. This ensured that I had a well-rounded academic and cultural experience. I also had sufficient time to spend on my coursework which enabled me to get a perfect GPA score. I feel that the academic program at UNCG enhanced what I had already learnt at Stellenbosch and gave me the skills to enable me to approach problems in a completely different and innovative way. This will be invaluable to me in my choice of career. I took part in a variety of activities on campus. The UNCG campus had excellent facilities which included a state-of-the-art gym, which was free for all students. They also had a rock-wall indoors which was great fun to climb. I also took part in kayaking, stand-up paddle-boarding and hiking.
Returning to South African proved to be more difficult than I thought it would be. Having experienced the vibrant and extremely liberal American culture, the South African people suddenly appeared to be rather narrow-minded in comparison. In addition, I suddenly had to put up with load shedding again as well as the FIFA scandal. This was not improved when I had the challenge of trying to start my car again after 6 months of little use! However, seeing my friends and family again was a wonderful and being in the wonderful environment of Stellenbosch definitely made up for any negative encounters.
My family were all exceptionally patient and listened to all of my various stories and viewed over 1000 photos. I realised how much the exchange had changed me when I returned. I find myself to be more accepting of anything odd or outrageous, and a lot more relaxed and motivated. I feel that I can overcome very stressful situations as I had managed to do so successfully during my trip. I also find myself to be more friendly and kind in my manner of talking, which is quite the American style of doing things! However, I have also forgotten some essential things such as forgetting to lock my car (once I had replaced the battery)! Although I am near the end of my studies, I would definitely go on another exchange if I had the chance as it influenced my character and outlook on life in such a positive way! I have a lot to thank the US for, and even more to thank the staff of UNCG and all the people who were involved in helping me to realise this dream! I could not have had a better experience!