YFU South Africa Hosting Program - Tips and Information
 
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 as it has of being black.
English is one of 11 official languages in South Africa. It is, however, regarded as the country's commercial and political language, and is spoken by most people. Therefore, even if you are placed with a hostfamily whose first language is not English, your English WILL improve dramatically 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: you must be open and tolerant of the fact that other languages are also spoken in South Africa, and be willing to at least try and learn more than just English.
South Africa's school system is VERY different to where you come from. You will wear a school uniform, and be exposed to what you will probably regard as 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 you may think it is even less disciplined than your own school back home! YFU South Africa does not only have English partner schools, and we sometimes place suitable exchange students in Afrikaans-speaking schools. Many schools teach in both English and Afrikaans, and in such schools, exchange students can choose in which language stream they prefer to be. 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!
South Africa has a very extreme mixture of rich and poor people and communities. Seeing this is sometimes disturbing to exchange students from economically more equal 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. Diversity is one of the factors that make South Africa such an attractive and interesting exchange destination; socio-economic inequality is unfortunately part of our country's diversity.
South Africa is in a transformation phase of its development. Our country has been a democracy for only 15 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 in transformation 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 and YFU 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!
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!