My exchange trip was easily my favorite and the most influential trip of my life. One of the highlights of my trip was going on a safari drive. We saw the “Big Five” and much more like giraffes, cheetahs, bucks, and impalas. Some more highlights included walking on top of Table Mountain, exploring Johannesburg and Cape Town, making friends, playing soccer every break, and, best of all, going hunting!
Something unexpected that I noticed between California and Johannesburg was the number of buildings. I think it goes over Californian’s heads how industrialized we are. There are houses and buildings everywhere, and even on big hills and mountains, there are houses. In Joburg, at least, considering it is a big city, when you look over the horizon, all you see are trees, nature, and flourishing land. It was a very calming and beautiful sight.
While in South Africa, I connected with as many people as possible, but I ended up making a small group of truly amazing friends. I even shared many laughs with the school café baristas.
The biggest challenge for me was making friends. The first week I was too nervous to talk to people because they were all in their own friend groups, and I was scared to intrude. But once I started playing soccer with them and pushing myself to become involved rather than waiting for someone to come up to me, they were more than happy to have me join in and be a part of their lives. On the soccer pitch was where I met my best friends. From then on I played soccer every single day, laughed, had fun, and got to connect with people on and off the field.
I can easily say this exchange trip has been the most memorable adventure of my life. I would recommend it to anyone and everyone as long as you don’t get homesick easily. The time difference is difficult to get used to, but easy to manage once you figure it out. Going on exchange is life-changing and eye-opening. I will definitely stay in touch with all my friends and my exchange family, and I hope to go back as soon as I can!
The Athenian School Exchange Blog 