Lucy's Experience

September 8-9 

Hallo from Johannesburg, South Africa! I can’t even put into words how much this trip has changed my perspective on culture. I came into this trip not knowing very much about the country, but from what I have seen it has made me take a step back and examine everything a bit more. I find some things in their country a little odd to me. One thing that I find confusing is how they drive on the other side of the road. It is sort of cool to look around at the roads and highways to see the ways that they travel. When I was around them, I noticed that they were speaking in German which is very unusual in South Africa. A lot of words and phrases are different here. For example, chips are called crisps, cookies are called biscuits, traffic lights are called robots, elevators are called lifts, bathrooms are called toilets, and a trunk of a car is called a boot. My host family also loves to use the words ‘shame’ and quite. They tend to just say the word ‘shame’ after they hear something horrible or sometimes they might use the phrase, “Oh what a shame!”. In almost every sentence, my host sister would say the word ‘quite’ and we both laugh and bond over that. I am adapting to their culture because I have even found myself saying ‘shame’ and ‘quite’ on my own!

This weekend I have done a lot of exploring! On Saturday my host family took me to the Lion and Safari Park. There, I got to see countless animals from hyenas to giraffes that were 100 feet away! After we went through all of the animal enclosures, we got the chance to pet baby lions. That was by far one of my favorite things that I have ever done! Just being able to be that close to them was really a chance of a lifetime. On Sunday we went to the Farmer’s market for brunch. It was very interesting to see all of the different kinds of food that they have. I wasn’t expecting South Africa to have as many ethnic food choices, but boy I was wrong! After a quick stop at the Farmer’s market, we headed over to the Crocodile Park. We got to see many crocodiles there, but I was very surprised that there weren’t that many in the water. I also got to witness the feeding of the crocodiles. The last time they fed them was the second week of May! My host sister and I also took on the challenge of going zip lining over the crocodile exhibit. I have to say that I was very scared at first, but looking back it wasn’t that big of a deal. We went to a show there and I got to hold a baby alligator, a small corn snake, and a huge anaconda snake!

I definitely went out of my comfort zone this weekend because snakes are something that i have always been very terrified of. St. Angela has a quote that states, “ You need not be anxious if you do your best” I think this quotes speaks great volumes for me on this trip. Although I may be anxious at times, St. Angela always brings me back.

 

Olivia's Experience

Today we visited many beautiful and breathtaking sites. We went to many beaches, but the most memorable one that we went to was the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Point National Park. This is the southernmost point in west South Africa, and it was beautiful. It was a huge climb to the lighthouse, but it was all worth it in the end. You could see for miles, and I felt like I was on top of the world. When we visited the Cape of Good Hope we were in Cape Point National Park, which is the whole tip of Cape Town. We were able to see various animals, like gazelles, baboons, and so many different birds. Along with those land animals, we were also able to go to Seal Island. This is a whole cluster of huge rocks where Sea Lions just chill out and sunbathe. 

Today was our last day with our tour guides. One of them was named Percy and he was the funniest guy you've ever met. He knew South Africa like the back of his hand. He gave us advice and answered any question we had, he also provided really interesting information about the Apartheid and many struggles that he and his tribe went through during that horrible time. Overall, today was a breathtaking and surreal day. We were able to go to places that I have never dreamed of, and I am so thankful for this day. Peace from South Africa!

Abigail's Experience

September 3rd-5th

Hello from South Africa! The past two days have been a roller-coaster for everyone. Our 28 hour journey all started at the St. Louis airport where we said good-bye to our family and hello to the adventure ahead of us. Then, we flew to Detroit, Michigan where we ran to catch our next connecting flight to Amsterdam. The Amsterdam airport was overwhelmingly big and I felt like we had to walk miles before reaching the next gate. After all of these connecting flights we were finally off to Cape Town, South Africa. Although being stuck on a plane for many hours was not fun, I loved being surrounded by people from all over the world on all of these flights. I had plane seat neighbors from Europe and the United States just like us. Overall the travel on the way here was very smooth and easy.

    When we arrived in Cape Town we were greeted by our tour guides that are taking us around the city for the next couple of days. They are both very nice and introduced themselves to each of us one by one. As we walked out of the airport I was looking around and I saw so many pictures and illustrations of Nelson Mandela (he is also on all of the rand which is South Africa’s currency). I could obviously see how important he was here. One of our tour guides later supported this observation by telling us “Nelson Mandela made South Africa free for us. There is no longer division between blacks and whites”.

On the first day of touring Cape Town, we visited Table Mountain and the District Six Museum. Table Mountain provided an outstanding view that looks out above Cape Town. To get up to the top we rode in a gondola lift that shuttled us up on a cable. The views were breathtaking and the sights were so good that it made up for it only being 4 degrees up there. Ground level temperatures this time of year in Cape Town are in the comfortable upper 50s. I had two sweatshirts on but I regret not packing a heavier coat! At the District Six Museum there were many pictures and street signs on display from before Apartheid. I learned Apartheid means “complete separation” and in South Africa it was specifically a system that forced black people out of certain areas in Cape Town and declared those areas for whites only. We spoke with an elderly man who was living in District Six when Apartheid took place and it was very interesting.

As I bring this to a close, I realize how incredible it is that I am here. I am so grateful and blessed that I was able to participate in this once in a lifetime trip. It is so exciting to experience new things and I cannot wait to see what comes next!

South Africa Trip 2018

The trip to South Africa has begun! Please keep your eye on this space for blog entries in the upcoming days.

Molly's Experience

Being able to have the opportunity to be a host student has been one of the best experiences I have had. I got the chance to host Aashna. She was a kind, outgoing girl who I had so much fun getting to know. While her time here was way too short, we had great memories that I will never forget. From going to the Arch to the City Museum to seeing Lion King at the Fox to the baseball game to all of the food we ate, we truly became great friends and had many laughs. This experiences has taught me so much, not only about myself, but also about South Africa and their culture. One of my favorite parts was just being able to talk to Aashna and the rest of the South African students about the similarities and differences between the US and South Africa. Over the time Aashna was here, we became very close. I already miss her and all of the other students so much. Hopefully I can make a trip to South Africa soon!!:)

Rebecca's Experience

This has been one of the best experiences I have had at Ursuline. I was hosting Mbali, and we had been texting for a couple months before she got here and we were already close friends when she arrived. Mbali and I got to do so many things in St. Louis, such as the Zoo, the Art Museum, we went to the Loop, the Chesterfield Valley and more. But no matter what we were doing we were always laughing and having fun. The trip was so short for them but I know for me I have enough memories to last a lifetime. By the end of the trip Mbali and I were already planning when I should come visit her in South Africa.

Caitlyn's Experience

I was so happy to get the chance to host Jade! I knew nothing about South Africa and couldn't imagine what it would be like to host her. I anxiously waited for the day she would arrive but as soon as we met at the airport we immediately became friends. I knew then that this week would be amazing. She was so fun to be around and I learned so much about her and where she is from. Jade helped me open my eyes to other cultures and explained some of the differences we have such as words and proportion sizes! I loved hosting her and miss her already along with all the others I got to meet. I hope we stay in touch and I get to visit her soon in South Africa.


Although their trip was short we got to do lots of things. We went to the cardinals game, Ted Drewes, Forest park, the zoo, Lumiere park, the Snow Factory, Fitz's, Crushed Red and the mall. However, my favorite times were when we would sit in our room and just talk about our lives together and laugh at each other's accents. We would compare our schools, boys, and friends and we were able to become very close. She was no longer just a host student that I only knew from snapchat and Instagram, but became my sister for a week. I will forever remember this week and cherish our memories. I hope to do this again soon because my family and I loved having Jade stay with us!