This year’s South African exchange was once again an amazing and unforgettable experience. We (12 class 6LM students) were hosted by wonderful families, who made sure that we could truly experience authentic South African culture.
Our journey started on the 22nd of February. After landing in Cape Town, we were brought to the Stellenberg High School, which made this exchange possible, where we met our host brothers and sisters in person for the first time. In the evening we enjoyed a welcoming function with traditional South African snacks.
The following day we got to experience Stellenberg High School’s 40th anniversary, with the famous South African musician “Early B”.
On Wednesday, we were shown the Township of Langa and talked about how the society of South Africa is still impacted by Apartheid. Our tour guide Mbuntu led us through the Township and explained to us what innovations the people of Langa are doing to improve the living situation. One of these was the “Cloud Deliveries”, a shop where young adults could check online if there were any jobs available. Later that day we visited Robben Island where the former President Nelson Mandela was imprisoned.
The next morning, we took the gondola up Table Mountain and enjoyed the amazing view. We rode down the mountain with the famous “Red Bus” and stopped at the Waterfront, a luxurious shopping isle.
On Friday we got to experience a typical South African school day.
We enjoyed the weekend with our host families and came back on Monday to visit the reptile park “Le Bonheur”. There we were allowed to hold pythons and cage dive with Nile crocodiles. Later that day we visited the Drakenstein Lion Park where abused lions are rescued and allowed to live a relatively natural life.
On the following day we tried surfing in Muizenberg, a beautiful beach for surfing. In the afternoon we went to the authentic Boulders Beach and got a glimpse of the endangered South African penguins.
On our final day in South Africa, we drove to the Buffelsfontein Reservoir and were able to enjoy a breathtaking safari. We saw many South African animals such as giraffes, zebras, antelopes and many more. In the evening we had a final evening get-together with a once-in-a-lifetime Braai. Since it was our final evening in Cape Town, we all were very emotional.
We wanted to say thank you to everybody who enabled this unforgettable journey and are looking forward to hosting our South African brothers and sisters in Austria.
Matylda Nawrocka & Sophie Neubauer, class 6L
