Pre-departure:
I am currently a second year student studying BA Human Resources Management. I love to travel and I really wanted to do an exchange. I began searching through the summer exchanges but the biggest problem for me was that there were so many places to go to and so many options to choose from! So before I began finding a place I made a list of the four countries I really wanted to go to and I chose to look for a course in economics as I was still unsure as to whether I should be studying economics or not. I found an economics course that covered the social inequalities of economics at the University of Bayreuth which also provided accommodation, food and a weekend field trip to Berlin. This made my pre-departure planning a lot simpler because I did not have to stress about accommodation or where to find shops for food, etc.
I enjoyed applying for the course because it forced me to figure out why I wanted to go and what my passions really are. I found out things about myself that I didn’t realize and this helped me get excited about the course I was applying for. I found the video very awkward but it wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be because I was really just honest about who I was and why I wanted to go.
- A tip for the video: Just be yourself and don’t try put on any pretenses or try sound clever. If you are supposed to go on the exchange then who you truly are will be enough. Also when you find a lecturer to write a testimonial for you, find a lecturer who you are familiar with and share your motivation behind your trip with them as it helps them to motivate why you should go in their formal letter.
I travelled by myself for two weeks before the Summer School so the application process for the visa required a lot of planning and documentation. It is really helpful to use the guidelines from the visa office, and to begin collecting all the documents as early into your application process as possible.
I struggled to pack my bag because I am such a lady when it comes to packing for a place I have never been to. This was my first trip to a European country so I did not even know what the weather would be like or what would be appropriate. I was also back packing for two weeks by myself so I had to fit everything into one tiny back pack.
- Tip: Rather pack fewer clothing that you can layer and wear in different ways than try to plan for every kid of occasion. Trust me, you will always have enough clothing and if you don’t, there will be someone friendly enough to help you out.
I also started a journal of places I wanted to go to with maps and key German phrases I needed to know to communicate. This helped me so much. I keep tickets from epic places I had been to and stuck them in my journal along with the stories I wanted to remember. Now I absolutely love reading over all the experiences and reminding myself of the precious and hysterical moments I had.
- Tip: Keep some form of journal. There is no way you will remember everything once you come back and it is awesome to read and reflect on your time away.
Experience at the Host University
The two weeks of Summer School was a whirlwind of new faces from 19 different countries. Getting to know people from completely different backgrounds was definitely a highlight for me! My patience with people was definitely tested as I often had to explain a sentence in four or five different ways to someone. There were many awkward moments of miscommunications, but this also led to stomach-ache-laughter when we finally realized what we had miscommunicated.
I was so challenged at how little we know about other cultures and other countries. I learnt how naïve people truly are about South Africa and had to explain over and over that we do have cars that drive on tarred roads and not everyone walks around with a loaded gun!
While I was in Germany, the Brexit saga had just blown up. It was fascinating to sit around the breakfast table hearing the latest news updates followed by a running commentary between the French, German and UK students. It was mind blowing to realize that the economics I was studying was playing out in front of me as I watched on the news how the European Union was falling apart. I had a front row seat to the fall of the European Union through the conversations between the European students.
We had so many controversial debates between the Chinese and European students about extra tariffs that the European Union places on China’s industry. It was really incredible to watch how the reasoning of each student has been specifically shaped by their education system and how that has such a massive impact on the way they relate to and interpret the world around them.
I loved my course and I loved being taught by lecturers from all around the world. There is something phenomenal about being taught by people who think and teach in a way that is so foreign to you, but still makes sense because it is driven by the same passion for the subject you are learning about. I was definitely challenged to improve my international exposure and to be more open minded.
I was, however, so encourage by the level of education I have received in South Africa and felt proud of the education I have had (at a Government School no less). I in no way felt under qualified or inferior, or thought I had less to contribute. It really made me so proud to make my contribution in the classes and in no way did I feel as though I was looked down upon for coming from Africa. We really are on par with the rest of the world. I realized that our education system is simply the beginning point. What we do with the education we receive determines how effective and efficient our education really is.
Everyone attending the Summer school at the Bayreuth University stayed together at the Youth Hostels and the hotel. This was really helpful in making friendships as we did everything together and could really become solid friends.
- Tip: Never underestimate the power of small-talk on the way to class! It builds bridges. However, it is really easy to be swept up in the excitement of everyone and lose touch with your own thoughts and emotions so it is really important to still make space for yourself alone, whether that looks like going for a run or a walk or simply taking yourself for coffee!
The Summer school coordinator was amazing as she organized activities for us to go together each day such as welcoming and farewell dinners, visiting the beer gardens, palaces and other popular tourist sights. We also spent a weekend in Berlin which was such a highlight for me. Seeing the Berlin wall, the museums, the 1936 Olympic stadium and the city tour was such an adventure! I don’t think there are enough words to explain what we saw or what a privilege it felt. It was simply incredible!
Return to Stellenbosch
Going on this summer exchange was one of the best decisions I have ever made. It challenged me to expand my focus for my future to beyond the city I am currently living in. It made me realize how accessible the rest of the world really is. We limit ourselves by not taking the risk to go and make the most of the opportunities. It challenged me to stop viewing the world only from my perspective but to be more objective and ask people about more than just their opinion. This helped me understand what had formed their perspective in the first place. A decision to understand the culture a person comes from in order to understand who they are is a decision to love that person. German people can be very hard and unemotional.
Coming back to South Africa I realized how incredibly friendly and kind our culture is. I have a new appreciation for the friendliness of the car guards and a new respect for the people who fill your car at the petrol stations with a smile on their faces. Kindness and friendliness is also a choice, and it is a choice so many people in our culture make naturally. I had taken that for granted but coming back realized just how incredible kindness and friendliness really is.
In Germany everything works exactly to the minute. Efficiency is key in all they do and the people work very hard. Over the month of being in Germany I became used to the quick-moving, blissful efficiency of the German systems. However, when I arrived back in SA and there was only one police officer stamping the passports of 365 passengers at Immigration, I was reminded that Germans may have mastered the art of clock making but Africa was given time. Our own time. Africa time is actually just a polite way of saying that nothing in Africa happens on time. This was such a challenge when I came back. I felt like I had stepped off a high speed train that goes at 280km/hr and climbed onto a bus travelling at 20kn/hr.
- Tip: Adjustment back into your own culture can be challenging. It takes time to adjust, be kind to youself in the process.
In Germany I travelled a lot by myself as it was so easy and safe to climb onto a train and go to any small town. I could wander through the streets at any time of the day or night. I learned to enjoy the incredible independence that travelling alone in Europe had given me, so being back in South Africa felt very suffocating. Travelling and walking was all of a suddenly organized and stricter than I had been used to for over the month. And the freedom of time to waste in trains was consumed by the ever-increasing demands of class, assignments and people.
It was also so difficult to try and explain to people some of the experiences I had had or how my life was impacted as they had no frame of reference for it. People are not as excited about your experience as you are and this sometimes dulls the excitement of your trip. It is like trying to explain to someone from the Free State what Table mountain looks like…they cannot comprehend how massive or exquisite it is because their only reference is a koppie that you can see from half an hour away.
- Tip: Accept that so much of what you experienced will be something only you can treasure and appreciate. Only you can fully grasp or understand the massive impact an experience like this has had on your life. You just have to trust that the fruit of your life will testify of what you experienced.
I will definitely travel again and I would encourage everyone to go overseas. Not because there is anything that South Africa lacks, but because your world view is completely challenged. You are forced to expand when you enter the foreign and unknown and where you are forced to become your own best friend and travel companion. You learn to trust yourself. You learn to allow the still small voice within you to become even louder. And you begin to allow yourself to dream beyond the one-police-manned South Africa Immigration Counter at the airport.
It was a real privilege to go overseas on an Exchange.
Thank you.