Laura Noppe
South Africa
I studied in South Africa in the spring of 2008. Even though the other 17 students and I were well prepared for our trip, there was no way to anticipate all of the amazing experiences and challenges we were about to face.
Port Elizabeth (or P.E.) is a city of 1.5 million people at the very bottom of Africa. It is nicknamed “The Windy City”, much like Chicago in the United States, however the winds there whip around the African continent and come swirling around the Cape and into Nelson Mandela Bay. Our accommodations were about a 20 minute walk to the ocean, in a group of flats called Annie’s Cove. Four people live in a flat, but you technically only live with a roommate from the program whom you share a bathroom and a kitchen with. The other 2 people are generally from a different country and are on the other side of the flat separated by a door. There are maids that clean your flat every week and do your laundry if you set it out. Annie’s Cove is located in something like a suburb of the city, called Summerstrand, and the downtown area is called Central. To get to Central, we would take taxi buses called kombis. Taking a ride on one of these is a cultural experience in itself. You can hear up to 15 different languages at one time, all the while being stuffed further and further into the vehicle. At rush hour times there could be as many as 25 people on a kombi. The best thing is that a ride generally costs under $2. I don’t think we ever really figured out where each kombi’s route was, but the South Africans were really friendly and would always direct us to the correct kombi based on our destination.
School was about a 15 minute walk from Annie’s Cove. The International Office there was very helpful in making sure that we all got the classes that we needed and they helped us find where they were. The campus feels a lot like SCSU except for the occasional palm tree or monkey! Most of my classes were taught by amazing professors, and the workload wasn’t difficult, it’s just important to always go to class so that you can do well on the final. In Africa, homework and attendance doesn’t count for much but if you fail the exam, you fail the class. My favorite class was a community service project where we had several options of where we wanted to volunteer. You could work at a school in a township helping kids with homework and after school activities, a living facility for disabled people, or a township orphanage. I chose the last option and it turned out to be one of the best experiences I had while in Africa. The picture below is me reading to an awesome little girl at the orphanage named Veronica, and the second picture is the main entrance to NMMU.
Yet another amazing thing about South Africa is the ease in which you can travel around the country and even to other countries around South Africa. There is a huge network of hostels that you can stay at for very cheap, which I experienced when I went on my autumn holiday trip to Cape Town. A group of us rented a car and drove 8 hours on one of the most beautiful roads in Africa, called the Garden Route. We stayed at hostels along the way and it was an amazing experience that I couldn’t have left Africa without doing. The picture to the left is at Tsitsikamma National Park along the Garden Route.
We were also given a couple of options from the International Office at NMMU to go on short trips with a bit of an educational purpose. The most amazing experience for me was going to the Frontier, or the farmlands a couple hours east of Port Elizabeth. A group of us went to the coast and transportation was taken care of by the school. We were able to stay with Dutch farming families for a weekend and learn history of the area and the farms, while observing how South African farms worked. The families cooked for us and took us to see how sheep were sheared, to view wildlife on a lake in the mountains, and we even got to go on a night game drive. The farmer that we stayed with feeds a herd of kudu (like a deer) that live in the veld (field) next to his farm with leftover milk from the cows, so we got to feed them as well.
When I wasn’t traveling or studying, there was always something else to do. The Boardwalk is a half hour walk from Annie’s Cove or a 5 minute kombi ride. It’s a huge entertainment area with shops, restaurants, some rides, an arcade, mini-golf, a movie theatre, and a casino. Across the street is Hobie Beach, which is always populated by surfers and people who love the beautiful turquoise water. We would also often go to Green Acres, or Port Elizabeth’s biggest mall. There is great nightlife in P.E., with Toby Joe’s being the favorite club of NMMU students. I liked going to clubs with South Africans because they knew the best places that weren’t always populated with international students. For the weekends, it’s easy and very cheap to take a bus to one of the towns on either side of P.E., such as Jeffery’s Bay or East London. Jeffrey’s Bay is a surfing mecca, where the Billabong Supertubes event is held every July. They also have a Billabong factory store, which was definitely something I was a fan of. The seafood in J-Bay is amazing, and they even have sushi and Mexican food that was a huge favorite for us.
South Africa is a beautiful country with so many different types of people, and all of them are interesting to talk to. You can do anything you dream of there, from thrill-adventures to cultural experiences to just a relaxing afternoon on the beach next to the Indian Ocean. I would encourage anyone who loves these things to go as soon as possible and take advantage of all the wonderful things this country has to offer. I was always afraid that I would never study abroad when in college and that I would graduate with the regret of not taking the chance or missing the opportunity to study abroad. Don’t be someone who has that regret, and check out South Africa!
I went to Croatia in the summer of 2009. After my semester in South Africa, I was itching to go back overseas and experience Europe. The specific course was on Victimology, to be taught by about 30 renowned professors coming from all over the world to Dubrovnik for the course’s 25th anniversary. Our group consisted of 11 students and two professors of Criminal Justice/Sociology – Dick Andzenge and Lee Gilbertson. The six females lived in one apartment (two people to a room) and the five males in another, while the professors had their own accommodation. The school was called Inter University Dubrovnik and it is a satellite campus of the University of Zagreb. However, it is only one building at this point, about a 10 minute walk from our accommodation. Every day for two weeks we went to school for four hours in the morning, had a siesta for four hours in the afternoon, and then went back to school for four hours in the evening. The school day consisted of hearing different lectures from professors about various topics within the genres of victimology, criminology, and sociology. Many of the lectures were being given to the other professors in the room who were hearing their innovative ideas or research for the first time.
Over the weekend between the two weeks of class there was a trip. This year since it was the course’s 25th anniversary, one of its founders Paul Separovic took us all to his native island of Korcula. We were able to visit one of the world’s biggest wine-growing regions, meet mayors of different towns, visit a prehistoric cave and hear a capella singers there, stay at a four star hotel, go to cultural dances, visit a Franciscan monastery, and hear the history of the island firsthand from a native. During the week we also had two trips, the first to one of the world’s largest oyster farms in Ston, Croatia, and the second a two island cruise and fish barbeque at sea. We were always given extra opportunities to learn about Croatia and Dubrovnik, such as receiving free tickets to see the Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra, going to a folk dancing concert, viewing an art gallery with exhibits on war including the Serbian invasion of Croatia, trying different restaurants, and more. Of course during our siesta time when we weren’t working on our presentations we had time to go to the beach and swim in the gorgeous blue sea. At the end of the course, everyone presents on a different aspect of Victimology and incorporating new ideas they have learned over the two weeks. A short paper on the course is also due after you return from the trip.
When the course is over the professors lead the group on a tour that changes yearly. The year I went we were privileged to go on a cruise! We flew from Dubrovnik to Venice, Italy, and had some time to explore there. The next day we departed Venice from our huge cruise ship, the Costa Fortuna! We were able to explore Bari, Italy, where we saw the beautiful cathedral of St. Nicholas and an ancient military fortress. From there we visited Katakolon, Greece, which is 30 minutes from Mt. Olympus and the ancient town of Olympia. A few of us went on an excursion to the site of the first Olympics and saw ruins of the first gymnasium, the Temples of Zeus and Hera, the spot of the original Olympic flame, and the first Olympic stadium. We continued on to a whirlwind tour of three Greek islands: Mykonos, Santorini, and Rhodes. We were treated to relaxing nights on the sea, five-star dinners, entertainment, and the two pools and four Jacuzzis. One of the best parts of being on the cruise ship was talking to all the people from different countries – our group was part of the very small number of Americans on board! When we returned to Venice, we flew out that afternoon to London! We had that night and all of the next day at our leisure to explore London. Some of the group went on a double-decker bus tour to see the sights, but a few others and I rode the Tube to many different sights including Buckingham Palace to see the changing of the guards, Westminster Abbey and Big Ben, Parliament, Piccadilly Circus, Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, and the Tate Modern art museum. We ended our night by seeing the musical Billy Elliot at the Victoria Palace Theatre. The next morning we flew home to the United States!
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This was my first experience on a short-term study abroad program, and I found it amazing. To compare it to a semester long program is very difficult because they are so different in nature. Most of your activities on a short term program are planned out ahead of time by the faculty leading your program with the assistance of a travel company. Traveling on a semester long program is different because you are able to plan out all your travel yourself besides the initial travel to the country. However, on my semester long program in South Africa I was only able to see one country, but when I went to Croatia; I was able to experience four countries! Going on a short term program is an amazing way to get your career abroad started, or to “scratch your travel itch” after you’ve done a semester long program. On most short term programs you can earn three credits, but some, like Croatia have the option of up to six credits. Don’t hesitate to study abroad and experience as many amazing things as I did in Croatia in three weeks!
