Having the opportunity to learn about and experience South Africa and Swaziland culture will affect my future greatly. The experience made me more grateful for what I have, work harder than I have before, and assured me that I want to adopt when I decide I want to start a family. This study abroad was eye opening, a great experience, and definitely memorable to say the least. I definitely believe our culture could learn so much from theirs, especially when it comes to making bonds stronger between businessmen and when it comes to programs in adoption or foster care. I couldn’t have imagined a better study abroad to apply for and go on, as my first and last one.

 

Being immersed in the South African and Swazi culture made me incredibly grateful and appreciative of all I have. While they work so hard to earn money for their families, it’s only a small percentage of what people in the United States make. The average salary in South Africa is one hundred and ninety-seven rand, which is roughly fifteen thousand dollars in the United States. It was shocking to see how cheap everything was throughout our trip. I thought Professor Manley was joking during our pre-departure meeting when he stated meals were only going to cost three to five dollars but he definitely wasn’t. Even the zip line and big swing only cost twenty-two dollars, when in the United States those two activities would have cost at least three hundred dollars for each person. I am also very appreciative of having electricity at the flip of a switch. During our time in Shewula Mountain Camp, we experienced what it was like to live without electricity and one communal bath. Using our phones as flashlights and going to bed at eight or nine was definitely a different experience. I did love how during the day we all bonded by reading our books or coloring in our coloring books in the dining area versus sitting on our phones and being in our own worlds.

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I truly learned the definition of hard work while abroad. Almost everyone we met throughout our two weeks in Africa worked hard in order to support themselves and their family. I truly experienced this at Shewula Mountain Camp. When we went on the walking tour to meet the locals in the area, we saw how they make almost everything they need themselves. Seeing how they made pap and their own beer was so cool. Especially since we tasted the pap that night at dinner. It was definitely an experience I won’t forget. Their worth ethic is very similar to ours. They believe that working hard is a daily activity. This showed in the ladies who ran Shewula Mountain Camp. The day after I got stung by the scorpion, I spent a lot of time in the dining area while the others went on the hike and showered afterwards. I only saw the ladies take one short break and that was to write things down inside of a journal. They worked hard preparing our meals throughout the entire day. Not only did they work hard, so did the staff at Bulembu. I have never seen such selfless people work hard for another’s benefit. Everyone from Kurt down to the aunties did everything in their power to make sure the kids excel and have a happy life. The aunties work long shifts watching kids who are not even their own just so they live a comfortable life. This is not an easy task nor one that many people can do.

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The cultural similarities between the United States, South Africa, and Swaziland don’t stop at the thought of hard work pays off in the end. Just how working hard is a similarity, so is eating a full plate of food, loving the same artists, movies, and books as we do, and their cities being almost identical to ours. This trip showed me that South Africans love to eat, just how we do. A big portion of the trip revolved around when the next meal was going to be and it was great. We ate at a lot of buffets and ate a ton of food. I don’t believe we saw many small portions anywhere. Even when we ordered quick lunch food at Nando’s Chicken, we were given giant chicken burgers or a large portion of chicken with fries and a salad. We ate a lot of yummy, unique food and it definitely made the trip memorable.

 

Even though they are on the opposite side of the globe from us, they know what movies are popular, the biggest celebrities, and even the latest drama happening in Hollywood. I came to recognize this when we had the opportunity to sit down and eat with the kids in the dining room. The five girls I sat with loved to sing and knew all the words to songs that had just been released the day we left for our trip. I was amazed at their beautiful voices and how well they could sing songs we listen to on the radio. They were also very informed on what exactly was happening in Hollywood at the time. They asked me if I knew who “Fifth Harmony” was and who exactly had left the group. I was so amazed because I had only found out about the split a couple hours before from another girl on the trip.

 

Lastly, the city of Johannesburg was incredible. I never expected the city to look how it did. When I thought of South Africa, I thought of safaris and The Lion King movie, not a city that looked almost similar to Houston or Dallas. When we took our tour of downtown Johannesburg before going to the Apartheid Museum, I couldn’t believe that we were in South Africa. It was crazy to see buildings like that outside of the United States or Europe. It was such a beautiful site because it was so unexpected and so similar to the scenes back home. I would have loved to explore more cities while there, but seeing Johannesburg was absolutely perfect. 

 

Cultural differences included not sticking to the clock for everything, prices, experience being valued over a degree, and not many people have means of transportation. For starters, African time is definitely not similar to American time, and not because they’re eight hours ahead of us. Here in the United States we have strict deadlines, must be on time to certain events, and are always watching the clock to see what we are doing next. In South Africa and Swaziland, time isn’t as big of a deal as it is here. The night before we would be given a time by Seveso or Musa to meet at the buses and seven out of ten times they wouldn’t even be there exactly at that time. The only time we had to be on time no matter what was when we were leaving to go to the airport, other than that, time wasn’t a big urgency in South Africa or Swaziland.

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As I stated before, prices were so cheap compared to the United States. Most everything surprised us when paying, especially the food and activities. Even the last minute souvenirs we bought at the airport, which we wouldn’t even think of purchasing in the United States, were relatively cheap. I got a box of fifteen tea bags with Nelson Mandela’s face for only seventy-five rand, equaling almost six dollars. It’s still crazy to think how strong our dollar is compared to most foreign currencies.

 

Experience being valued over a degree is a big difference between the three countries. When speaking to Kurt about what the students do their senior year in order to prepare for college he stated most do internships and then go straight to the work field. He explained to us that in South Africa and Swaziland experience is more important than a college education. This is very different than the United States where almost everyone is told that you must go to college in order to get a good job. While I believe college isn’t for everybody, just how they do in South Africa and Swaziland, it definitely isn’t this way for many people.

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Lastly, another thing that differentiates the United States and South Africa and Swaziland is we are used to taking some sort of transportation everywhere we go. A very small percentage of people living in the United States walk or take their bike everywhere they go. Even in a city like New York City, where it is nearly impossible to drive in the city and most people walk, there is still a large percentage of people that take taxis as their transportation. In South Africa and Swaziland, we saw so many people walk miles and miles to get to their destination. Musa and Seveso told us that gas and cars are expensive to own and operate so many people just walk to work and anywhere else they need to go. This makes sense because most cars we saw on the road were both super nice and probably owned by wealthy people or were different types of public transportation. At some point near the Sterkfontein Caves, we saw at least twenty people walking on the side of the road together to get to work or wherever else they were going to.

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Meeting the kids at the orphanage confirmed my decision in wanting to adopt a child when I decide to start a family. At the age of three months, I was adopted by my amazing parents. Due to being born under the influence of drugs and alcohol, the state deemed my birth mother as an unfit parent and put me into the system. I was lucky and was adopted shortly after by my forever family. I have such an amazing life with my family and couldn't imagine my life without their love and support.

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Seeing the kids at the orphanage gave me so many different emotions. While I was sad that they were there for multiple reasons, I was also happy to see that that they have a stable home in the leadership program Bulembu has set up for them. While I was incredibly happy to see that they enjoy their schooling, activities, and roommates they stay with, it still breaks my heart that they don’t have a family outside of Bulembu staff. I can only imagine how happy they would be if they were adopted by a loving family that wants to welcome a child into their home. But, I don’t believe adoption is as common in Swaziland and South Africa as it is in the United States.

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Experiencing how well the kids had adapted to the program at Bulembu, it made me think of the orphanages and foster care units here in the United States that don’t have leadership programs set up in order for foster children to truly succeed in life. Knowing this makes me want to help out kids who were in a position I was once in and open my arms to a child in need, just how my parents did. According to online databases, only fifty percent of children in foster care graduate from high school and only ten percent of those students attend college. I believe our foster system would improve greatly with a leadership program set in similar to Bulembu.

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I am still shocked at how happy and full of life the kids at Bulembu were. They had so little yet were so happy with their friends, roommates, and aunties. It says wonders about how Bulembu has truly given them a comfortable home, a program to excel their leadership skills in, and an environment where they can be themselves and be happy. I hope that one day I can go back, visit, and help out in any way I can. I’d love to give back to such an incredible program where we truly saw the change that was happening in those kids.

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I learned so much from this trip and can’t imagine learning it in a classroom. Learning everything through a hands on experience like this study abroad was incredible. I especially loved the part of the trip where we presented our project in a more open style. Doing the project taught me about nonprofits in South Africa and Swaziland but actually spending time in Bulembu taught me so much more. I loved how we got to present our topics in a circle and were encouraged to ask questions. We all got to see how our topics blended together and even got to experience them first hand during our study abroad.

 

I wish we would’ve had more time in the Apartheid Museum but I still learned so much in the small amount of time we had. For starter, the tickets stated whether you were white or colored. Depending on what race you were, depends on the entrance you went through. If you were colored or non-white, you had to go through metal bars and see experience how many obstacles people of that race when through during the apartheid. Having to show your papers and information to almost every policeman or guard. While those of us who had white or Caucasian written on our ticket didn’t have to go through any barriers. We experienced the ease of just walking into building with no security checkpoints or searches. It was also very eye opening seeing the size of the jail cell Nelson Mandela was incarcerated in. For a man being over six feet tall, that cell would not be a comfortable place to stay for twenty-seven years. I could barely lay down in there, I can’t even imagine what he went through in there.

 

Another thing I learned while abroad was bugs and animal are very sacred in their culture. We got our first taste of this while eating in the restaurant at Hippo Hollow when Shannon tried to kill a giant pinching beetle with a spoon. We were told by Seveso that in a situation with a snake, you would die because it is cruel to kill an animal with no intent to eat it soon afterwards. This was completely shocking. When there are bugs flying around or bothering us, we don’t think twice but to kill it. We saw this happen once again in Shewula Mountain Camp. When our huts were filled with scorpions, centipedes, and other critters, Musa and Seveso used brooms to get the bugs outside but didn’t kill them. While my mindset on killing bugs won’t change after hearing how they are sacred creature, it was definitely a unique experience to see how one culture values something over another.

 

I believe our culture can learn a lot about the South African and Swazi culture. To start off, family is so important to their culture and it is put before work and anything else. I feel that in the United States we value money and work over most everything and family is just a happy side option. From what I experienced abroad, family is so important and everything is done so that the entire family benefits. They work hard in order to support the needs and wants of their family. This was made apparent to me by Seveso when he asked how much an Xbox was in the United States. His daughter had been asking for one for her birthday and he explained how much he would have to work in order to afford one for her.

 

As well as family, friendship is much more important when it comes to business deals. Kurt told us that in order to do business, he had to befriend the other business associates and then he could do business with them. This was very different from business professionals in the United States. I feel most of the time, those who do business together are strangers or barely know one another. I believe businesses might succeed more if there was a personal relationship built first and then a professional relationship later. The fact that Kurt had to have a personal relationship first spoke wonders of the business partners he has. He can probably trust them more, ask for their advice, and get more help from them because of the relationship they have built together.

 

Overall, this study abroad was the trip of a lifetime and I am incredibly grateful I had the opportunity to go. I learned so much, met some amazing people, and made amazing memories along the way, even though a scorpion stung me in the process. I definitely would love to go back to South Africa or Swaziland in the future and be fully immersed once again in its amazing culture. This trip not only taught me about their cultures, it taught me more about myself. I never would have imagined I would have slept for two days in a place with no electricity, ate exotic food, or jumped off a cliff into a waterfall. It was a place for new adventures and opportunities. Africa definitely stole my heart and I can’t wait to see when I have the opportunity to go back and explore some more.