1-year Inbound Program Info & tips

TIP 1: Hostfamily Expectations
South Africa is a multi-cultural, multi-lingual and multi-racial country - much more than most other countries in the world. Exchange students that come to SA with YFU should expect to be placed in any one of our country's cultural and / or racial communities. We do not discriminate in this respect. As a YFU exchange student to South Africa, you should therefore have absolutely NO expectations with regards to the type of community you will be living in... your future hostfamily has an equal chance of being white and Afrikaans-speaking as it has of being Zulu-speaking and Black.
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TIP 2: Language Expectations
English is NOT the most commonly spoken home language in South Africa, despite its status as an official and commercial language. If you come to South Africa, there is no guarantee that your hostfamily, your community or your school will be English-speaking. Prepare yourself for the possibility of being placed in a community where English is the second or even third language. However, remember that your English WILL improve during an exchange year to South Africa! Everybody can speak English, and it is the dominant language on TV, in the cinemas and in the commercial world. But: if your main and only aim is to spend a year in an English-speaking country, then South Africa may not be the place for you.
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TIP 3:
School
Expectations
South Africa's school system is VERY different to where you come from. You will wear a school uniform, and be exposed to which is still a teacher-dominated system, although it is slowly changing. Some schools in South Africa are very disciplined, but on the other hand, you may end up in a school where it may even be less disciplined than your own school back home! YFU South Africa does not only have English partner schools, and there is a possibility that you may be placed in an Afrikaans-speaking school. South African schools follow an examination system, and YFU exchange students are expected to participate in the tests and exams. Our schools have many activities and clubs to which exchange students can belong, and sport is often a very important part of daily school life. Exchange students should not miss out on this opportunity!
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TIP 4:
The Rich-Poor
Divide
South Africa has a very extreme mixture of rich and poor people and communities. Seeing this is sometimes a challenge for exchange students from more economically homogeneous countries - in the beginning, these extremes will be quite shocking, and they may be experienced on a daily basis; it is part of our society, and as an exchange student, you need to adjust to this, and learn to accept it.
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TIP 5:
Your Safety
South Africa is in a transformation phase of its development. Our country has been a democracy for only 10 years, and many of the economic and social scars of Apartheid are still present - both on the streets of the cities, but also in the minds of its people. One of the symptoms of a society like ours, is a relatively high incidence of crime. Your safety is as much the responsibility of YFU and your hostfamily, as it is your own. Listen to the advice of local people, and follow their advice. Our hostfamilies take their role as caretakers very seriously, and sometimes exchange students need to accept that they might not have the total freedom they have back home. If you are unwilling to adjust to this reality, then South Africa might not be the ideal exchange country for you. An exchange year in South Africa demands a few sacrifices from exchange students, taking care of your own safety and abiding by hostfamily rules in this regard is one of them. For the other 99% of your year, you will never regret coming to this amazing and beautiful country!
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TIP 6:
Be sure
about your
choice
For the right person, with the right attitude and the right expectations, South Africa is probably the most amazing and life-enriching exchange destination possible. It is a country that will teach you a lot of things, about the world in one country. It is a fascinating and beautiful country, inhabited by a colourful mixture of people. If you are up to the challenge, then make South Africa, as offered by YFU, your first choice!
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