Cape Town, South Africa Exchange Summer 2018
Week 1
My name is Alexander Hasse, and this summer I visited Cape Town, South Africa on a Warner Exchange Grant. The first week my host family picked me up at the Johannesburg Airport. Then, we immediately headed to the Kruger National Park for the school holiday. The Kruger National Park was one of the most extensive national parks in all of South Africa. My host family and I drove around and looked for wild animals from the safety of our car. The big five is what every tourist in the park hopes to see on their visit. I saw the big five (lions, leopards, rhinoceroses, elephants, and buffaloes). Along with those animals, I saw cheetahs, zebras, giraffes, hyenas, and hippos. I was able to see the beauty in the African bush surrounded by the native wildlife. It was really interesting to see the anti poaching people patrolling the park. Rhino horns are very valuable, and people try to take them from the Rhinos in the park. Our rental house bordered the Sabie river inside the national park. Still being jet lagged, I was able to watch the sunrise most mornings. It was amazing being able to see the animals in their natural habitat rather than in the Nashville Zoo at Grassmere. My host family taught me how to brai meat while in the park. I learned that having a brai was a very social event in South Africa.
Week 2
For my second week, we returned to Cape Town. My family lived in Newlands which is right across from the national cricket stadium. My host family took me to the top of table mountain where I could see the entirety of Cape Town and where the Atlantic and Indian Oceans meet. Table Mountain is one of the seven wonders of nature. My host family also took me to Muizenberg, a local beach, where I learned how to surf. I found it interesting that they have shark spotters at the top of the cliffs to look for sharks. I also visited the waterfront which is where the harbor was, and the waterfront is modeled after San Francisco's waterfront area. Later in the week, it was Mandela day, and it was recommended that every citizen does 67 minutes of community service. I accompanied my host family to their synagogue where we made peanut butter sandwiches. These sandwiches were later given out to people in the townships. There was a strong feeling of community, and Mandela’s influence was felt even though he is gone.
Week 3
In my third week of holiday, my host family brought me to Betty’s Bay, a small beach town. We were able to go see the penguins right next to the beach. It was a very relaxing weekend before school began. My host brother took me to a Comic Con Convention at the event center. I was able to see all the video games they play in Cape Town like Fortnite,Counter Strike, and Overwatch. I also visited the Cape Town Comedy Festival at the University of Cape Town. There were comedians from around the world. It was particularly difficult though to understand the South African humor.
Week 4
In my first week of school, I found that the South African education system different from MBA’s curriculum They learned their subject matter over their four years in high school gradually instead of taking specific classes. For example, one week they would learn geometry, and the next they would be learning calculus. It was very interesting being in an Afrikaans class. Afrikaans, being a Germanic language, made it possible for me to pick up on some of the meanings of words because I have taken two years of German. I also began playing field hockey. I was put on the sixth under 16 field hockey team. I had never played field hockey. It was a completely foreign sport to me. It was refreshing trying a sport that I had no previous experience playing.
Week 5 and 6
In my second and third weeks of school, I went on a hop on hop off red bus tour where I was able see the city with the other exchange students from across the world. I visited a lot of the beaches like Hout Bay, Muizenberg, and Betty’s Bay. There were people selling beautiful street art. In my last field hockey game against Reddam, my field hockey team won for the first time in their season 4-1. On my last day of school, my host dad took me to Robben Island where Mandela was in prison for 27 years. It was a very informative trip learning about the apartheid era in South Africa. My host dad told me that he thought it would be interesting for me, but he thought that the history of the apartheid movement and Robben Island was very shameful for the people from South Africa.
Cape Town was very different from Nashville. In Cape Town the amount of poverty was staggering. The unemployment rate was very high. There were people begging for money at every robot, and people willing and eager to do anything for money. For example, random strangers would guard my host family’s car for the smallest amount of money in the grocery store parking lots. My host family’s house was surrounded by a wall with an electric fence lining the top. My exchange brother was taken aback that my house in Nashville has little to no security. The drought in Cape Town was very serious as well. I was limited to 50 liters per day. The citizens in Cape Town were very frugal about using their water. This exchange experience was a once in a lifetime experience, and I am now able to see life through a different lense after being fully immersed in another culture.
Staying in a home with five people in it was also different for me. During my whole life it has always been my mom and me. It was really awesome having two little host sisters and a host brother to hang out with. I forged an especially meaningful connection with my host dad. He was genuinely interested in me and my ambitions and interests in life. By the end of the trip, I looked at him as a father figure in my life. Since my exchange, we stay in touch daily. Although he may not know it, he has had a profound influence on me.
I would like to thank the Warner family for making this wonderful experience possible, and I would also like to thank Mrs. Scholer for helping organize the trip.
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