Jon Groves has made the absolute most of his university experience by taking a year abroad in South Africa. Having lived in Tanzania for ten years as a child, he seized the opportunity to return- this time as a student! Jon kindly told Her Campus about his amazing year…
HC: What were your first general impressions when you arrived?
JG: I flew into Port Elizabeth and then made the journey to the university itself, which was in a place called Grahamstown. What struck me immediately was the general remoteness of the area; the scenery was incredible and so different from England. We drove through some epic mountains and the views just stretched on for miles – you can go so far without actually seeing anyone at all which is an amazing experience. Grahamstown itself is small but really beautiful, a lot of Georgian architecture, loads of cricket fields because everyone just plays cricket all the time!
HC: Where did you live?
JG: I lived in university halls, which were split into male and female buildings. My room was very smart, and my window looked out of the pool, which was really cool. The atmosphere was great, very sociable and everyone knows everyone, which creates a really good community feel. As long as you get involved in things it’s very easy to make friends quickly, and there is so much going on, especially sport- you can do rock-climbing, archery, all organized by the halls. We had an inter- halls dodge ball competition to which literally half the university turned up, and my team actually managed to get to the final resulting in a free steak, which was a massive bonus!
HC: Did you eat in your halls?
JG: We all ate in the dining room, which was really social and a great way to get to know people. We had a group of about 12 of us and we all ate every meal together. I met my friends on day one and then got to know them all very quickly, and actually in the second semester some of them got an apartment which was great because we had lots of barbecues at their place which were just really chilled. I think it’s very important to have a good group of friends in somewhere like Africa because you really rely on them to look out for you.
HC: What differences were there to Leeds University?
JG: It was a pretty small Uni so you got to know everyone really quickly as you were on campus the whole time, you knew all the people who worked at the pub etc, which gave it a strong community to feel, quite different to Leeds which is more spread out.
HC: Did you go anywhere else during the year?
JG: My favourite was a visit to Transkei – a former homeland where they placed ethnic groups during apartheid. It was a real experience as there are actually still people living in huts so it’s an eye opener. My friend’s family have had a trading stall there for generations so we stayed there for free for a few long weekends – it was so relaxed, we had a fried breakfast every morning which was delicious then would take some beers along to the beach and go fishing, surfing, body boarding, just amazing. It was such a chilled out vibe, you don’t even follow the time. I didn’t look at my watch for a week. I also went to Zimbabwe during the 3 month vacation which was a highlight. My friend owned an outdoor adventure centre and we went tubing on one of rivers which was incredible. Had a bit of a scary experience in the forest as a mate had to go get phone signal to call his girlfriend so we all had to trek through the forest in the dark, with leopards roaming around, bush babies running past, you could hear the monkeys but couldn’t see anything because it was so dark!
HC: What did you miss the most about England?
JG: Not too much to be honest with you! Obviously family and friends, but nothing else really. My family came out at Christmas, which was great. We travelled to Cape Town and went on safari, which is something l used to do as a kid with my parents. Oh, I did also miss Starbucks Cappuccinos!
HC: Do you think the year was easier for you because you used to live in Tanzania?
JG: Yeah, I do in a way, because it was good to have some shared experiences with the locals, and be able to tell stories from being in the bush. I also felt like I knew what I was doing to a certain extent. Saying that anyone could have gone and had a great time but the key is just to join in and get involved!
HC: What did you think of the academic side?
JG: I thought it was much easier than here; I didn’t put too much effort in as I only had to get 50%. As long as you do the work over exams you’re pretty much fine. It was a similar lay out to here, with lectures, seminars, and then there were tutorials every week, which you did have to do work for unfortunately! There was no one else from Leeds, only one other English guy from Leicester. I got on a lot better with the South Africans overall.
HC: Do you think the students are less lazy than typical British students?
JG: Yes definitely – my friends used to wake me up at 6am to go to the gym! They were all huge rugby lads and if I was lying in bed at 8am they’d start bullying me until I got up! The thing is it is much more sunny out there all the time, so you feel like you want to go out and do stuff.
HC: What was the food like?
JG: Mainly meat and beer! My friends went hunting for antelope quite a lot and then made big meaty stews. The restaurants in Grahamstown were not so good, the home cooking was much better and it was easier to do BBQs a lot. Cape Town had really nice food and restaurants though.
HC: What was the nightlife like?
JG: I went out a lot; there was one club and a great pub called the Rat and Parrot, there’s actually an associated one in Harrogate by chance! It always had sport on and everyone used to go for pre-drinks as it was only £1.40 for a pint. People didn’t really make too much effort when theywent out, you could go to the club in boardies and flip flops and no one judges or worries about anything. It was the same music as they play here, maybe a bit more up to date actually as well. The atmosphere is much more chilled, everyone dances, and everyone knows everyone in there!
HC: How did you manage your money?
JG: I spent most of it on travelling, bungee jumping, the touristy things. Living was cheap in Transkei as I was staying with friends and going for meals cheap and easy.
HC: So were there any negatives of the whole thing?
JG: In Africa you do have to be quite patient with things- if you want to get something done or posted for example you can’t expect it to happen straight away, it’s not as easy as it is in this country. Also when travelling you’ve got to lookout for yourself as it can be dangerous. Someone did steal my laptop from my halls room but we got it back! The police caught the robber and they beat him up in front of us and then put him in the cells so that was pretty awkward to watch as they actually kicked him. The police there are very different, you have to show them more respect than in this country.
HC: Were you sad to come back?
JG: Yeah I was; I left Africa beforewhen I was younger so it was weird to have to do it again. I’ve been using BlackBerry messenger as a way of keeping in touch and have got plans to hopefully go back to Zimbabwe if I can.
HC: What advice would you give to someone wanting to do it?
JG: It’s easy to worry in Africa about lots of things, but I would say just be aware but don’t obsess and worry too much. Get as involved as possible with sports or equivalents; don’t worry about joining things just go for it and do it. The whole experience is so much more enjoyable if you have a good group of friends.
HC: Can you sum it up in 3 words?
JG: An amazing experience.