Exchange Experience Report
ANR:695835
Name: Esther Raats
E-mail: estherraats93@gmail.com
Exchange semester: Fall Semester January- July
Academic year: 3
Host University: University of Pretoria
Country: South Africa
Preparing for a new adventure
When I got the email from Tilburg University that I was selected to go abroad, I was very
thrilled and happy. This was the start of a new adventure and I couldn’t wait to go, but of
course there were a few things that I had to take care of first. The most important things
were for example your OV (student travel product), Visa and housing in Pretoria .
Fortunately, Tilburg University provides you an overview of the important things you need to
take care of before you go.
It might be advisable to buy a folder to keep all you important documents of your exchange.
You will find that a lot of documents are often required for your visa and your registration in
Pretoria. Moreover, and this will be the best advice for other exchange students heading for
South Africa, the visa is a great deal of work. They are very strict at the embassy and will
easily send you back home if the documents are not complete. I was send back twice
because I didn’t have copies of my parents passports and I didn’t have the letter of my
parents, which said that I had sufficient funds. I thought this wasn’t necessary because I was
21 already. This was not the case.
The embassy was very frustrating for all the Dutch students. They tend to change the
requirements without any notice. Therefore, it is important to check this beforehand and
prepare your visit to the embassy very well.
Ironically, the embassy is what brought a part of the eventual exchange group together
before the actual exchange began. All the Dutch exchange students were frustrated with the
embassy and we started our lament to each other right there. Coincidental, almost everybody
at the embassy that day was going to Pretoria and so we decided to have dinner in Utrecht.
A few people of that first dinner were to become my best friends during and after the
exchange.
Although, the embassy can be frustrating, it is also an opportunity to meet other people that
are in the same boat. Exchange numbers so that you can provide each other information
about the visa. This is what helped me while arranging my visa.
Ready for take off
When I finally had the green visa paper in my passport I was very relieved. The visa drama
was over and now it was time to pack my stuff and go. The university of Pretoria also sends
you an information package about your arrival, housing etc. by email. They give you the
number of a reliable taxi company named PS Tours that will pick you up from the airport. It is
quite expensive, but they are flexible, it is safe and they are very kind. If you want to go for a
cheaper transport, the Gautrain is a good alternative. It is located on the airport and brings
you to Pretoria Hatfield where the main campus and the residence is. This will cost you 180
Rand, which is about 13 Euros , and includes the Gautrain card and you ride to Hatfield. This
is a lot cheaper compared with PS Tours, which will cost you 450 Rand (33 Euros).
I decided to go for PS Tours and they would pick me up at the airport and drop me off at
Ernest (head of residence) in order to arrange the housing.
I arranged everything , packed my bags and I was very excited to go. At Schiphol I said
goodbye to my family and friends and went off alone. It was emotional and at that moment I
thought: ‘what am I doing?’. But I didn’t knew back then that it would be the best half year of
my life.
My flight and trip to Pretoria was very hectic and stressful. There was a storm and my flight
was delayed, which made me almost miss my transfer. On the opposite side, the flight
attended let me sit in business class so that I could catch my transfer and I could cross
something off my bucket list: being announced by my name at the airport. My advice is to
make sure you have more than an hour transfer time.
As I arrived at OR Tambo international airport in Johannesburg I noticed that my suitcase
was not at the baggage claim. It turned out that, because of my delay, they had taken my
suitcase out of the plane. I started off with some bad luck, but that meant that it could only
get better!
Arrival and housing
After a hectic 24 hours of traveling, I finally arrived at Tuksdorp residence in the afternoon.
Tuksdorp is the residence for all the international students. In my case there were three
houses. Two girls houses and one boys house. All the houses had two floors were each 8
persons lived. I lived with five Dutch students and two Germans. It was a very odd mix of
girls. Different characters and lifestyles, but we turned out to be very good friends. I think we
had the nicest and closest house as we did breakfast with each other every Sunday ( with
American pancakes baked by the Germans!), we went out for dinner a lot, did sports every
day and we went to the cinema. We spend a lot of time together, which made us very close.
It is better to keep you prejudice for yourself and get to know people first. Everybody is alone
and in the same boat.
I think what I loved most about my exchange is my residence. Tuksdorp is a small crazy and
exciting world on its own. There lived approximately a group of 40 exchange students and
everybody got along very well. There were French, Brazilians, Mexicans, Americans and
Germans. It was very interesting to learn about all the other countries. The international
students were very open and liked sharing their culture.
For me it felt like a camping side. We saw each other every day and walked to each other’s
houses whenever we wanted too. We played soccer outside on the grass and partied in the
house of the boys, which we called club 9. Every Friday we did ‘Friday braaiday’, which
meant that we had a big BBQ for the international students and all the other students could
join as well. On Wednesday the boys participated in a soccer tournament nearby. The girls
always came to support and on Thursday we played soccer at that same court with the boys
and girls. In the end the group of exchange students became very close. It was a crazy mix
of people, but it was a perfect combination of people. We became the Tuksdorp family.
Below some picture of my girls house and the other girls.
Admission and the University
The university is located in Hatfield and is 10 minutes walking away from Tuksdorp. It is a
safe area and we used to walked to campus every day, also in the evening. This is the main
campus and here is where you need to do your registration and enrol for courses. The first
weeks of registration and choosing courses was very hectic. I had my contract that I signed
with me and delivered it at the student service centre. For me this was not a problem, but I
know that every year there are problems with that contract so make sure you have it with you
filled in and signed.
Those first weeks I was able to attend different courses to see which one I liked. I had to
change my courses several times and this was quite a hustle. To change my courses I had to
stand in line and wait for a couple of hours until it was my turn. This is when I learned that
one need to have a lot of patience in Africa. If something went wrong, surprisingly good or
whatever, they had a saying for that, namely: ‘this is Africa’ or in short T.I.A. I used that
saying a lot during my exchange. You also have to stand in line for a computer in the library.
This was a whole new experience compared to Tilburg University.
The main campus itself is beautiful. It has old and new buildings and is very green. The
weather seems to be nice every day and the students are outside most of the time relaxing in
the grass. In the first weeks I tended to ask students where my classes were and I
immediately made some friends. The people are very kind and will be pleased to help you.
In the student centre, across the humanities building, you can get all kinds of food. There are
also a couple of ATM’s. It is advisable to get your money on campus as two of my friends
were harassed and money was stolen from them at the ATM’s in Hatfield Plaza ( the
shopping centre nearby).
The people from the international office are very helpful. I was able to contact them with my
problems and they helped me out.
The sport campus is located in the same street as the university, but you have to walk down
to South Street and head west from Tuksdorp. I was able to close a monthly subscription for
180 Rands p/m. We used to go boot camping every morning with John T, which was a lot of
fun! At the University of Pretoria the students are very sportive so it is easy to go along.
Popular sports are soccer, rugby (Blue Bulls) and cricket. Their sport facilities are very good.
During the world soccer championship in 2010 the soccer team from Argentina stayed at the
Villiers sportcampus and several cricket teams from all over the world come here.
The students at UP ( University of Pretoria) call their university TUKS and their slogan is
‘Tuks of niks’ in Afrikaans.
Below some pictures of the campus.
Academic
Whenever you change your courses, it needs to be approved by Tilburg University and it
may take some time. The courses I eventually took were all bachelor courses. I had three
third year courses and one second year course. I have to say that I had to study hard during
that half year. The academic system is very different. During the semester I had several
exams and also a lot of assignments. Sometimes they give unexpected class tests to keep
you focused. What was frustrating was that they want you to remember the content literally
and sometimes understanding is not enough. My advice will be to study with students from
UP and ask the teachers what they expect on the exam.
In sum, I liked the courses I took. It gave me insight in different study areas and I had the
idea that I learned more than in my past years of study. The courses were all in English and
easy to follow. Afrikaans is also not that difficult. It sounds a bit like baby Dutch.
Furthermore, the university uses click-up, which is the same system as Blackboard. It is easy
to use and understand.
Below the courses I took:
Course
code
Course
name
Exam
Level
Credits
IPL 310
International
Political
Economy
International
Business
written
3
30
ECTS
(converted
to Tilburg
University)
12
written
3
20
8
OBS359
BDO319
BEM 212
Management
Human
written
Resource
Management
Consumer
written
Behaviour
Total
credits
3
20
8
2
16
6,4
86
34,4
Cost of living
The cost of living are almost the same as in The Netherlands. The rent of the room went up
and my total amount of payment was 1500 euros . We almost always cooked with the house
and this made the costs for dinner a bit lower. The products in the supermarket are a bit
cheaper than in the Netherlands, but it doesn’t matter much. The same goes for clothing. My
biggest expense was on traveling. The textbooks were also quite expensive and most of the
students don’t even buy them or buy them second hand. A good second hand store is Wize
Books, which is just outside of campus.
Going out for dinner is cheap and fun! Therefore, we did often.
Culture
When I arrived in Pretoria the first thing that stands out is that the majority is black. This is
something I needed to get used to. Not that this is a problem, but the case is that you stand
out also as a white person. I became very aware of myself and what I noticed and didn’t
expected, is the fact that the aftermath of the apartheid is still present. You will see it in the
students at UP who don’t really mingle and you will see it in the inequalities between the rich
and the poor.
I didn’t experienced a real culture shock when I went to Africa, but I did experience one when
I went back to Holland. Everybody was grumpy, nobody helped me or noticed me. I miss
Africa really bad. The moment I arrived at Schiphol I wanted to take the plane back to South
Africa and here is why. In the beginning the slow pace in which things are done, annoys you,
but after a while it is actually really nice that everything goes that slow in that heat. We called
it; ‘the African pace’. Also people have the time and don’t pass you by all grumpy and hasty.
They have time to talk to you, help you and what I like most, they are very kind and always in
for a joke or small talk.
I had a South African friend named Lerato and she taught me a lot about the South African
culture.
Boboti, Malva pudding, eating with your hands, the dancing etc. I am really glad that I could
experience all of it.
Social life
As I said before, we the group of exchange students did a lot together. We had a braai every
Friday, played soccer and went on road trips with each other. In these six months I saw
seven countries: South Africa (Gauteng, Free state, Kwazulu Natal and The Cape) Lesotho,
Swaziland, Mozambique, Namibia, Zambia and Botswana. These are amazing countries.
The one even more friendlier than the other. We had a lot of adventures for example driving
into a township at five in the morning and seeing lions attack elephants. All these
experiences together made us very close and we were truly a family. We knew each other
very well.
To get to know locals, the classes are a good meeting place. I met a few and they showed
me around and let me experience South Africa.
Some pictures of the road trips:
Stuck with our brand new van in Lesotho
Kruger:
Mozambique:
Swaziland:
Namibia:
Zambia:
Victoria Falls
Friends from Tuks:
Personal development
Although I had my own place in Tilburg for a couple of years, I still found it a big
transformation to move to another country for half a year all by myself. It was scary at first,
but I embraced it and really made the most of the half year. I opened up to new people and
was able to learn so much. I also learned a lot about myself. I could take care of myself and I
learned for example that I like to have people around and that I am more adventurous than I
thought. It was really nice to finally have the time to think about what you like and who you
are. There is no one from back home that says something about it. There is time to do all the
stuff you want and to recover from all the hectic years. I had several bad experiences. My
grandma died in the first two weeks of my exchange. I was really close to her and it made me
want to go home and be with my family. I did not went back home and now I know it was the
right decision. Of course I was grieving, but it also made me stronger. I also got a kidney
infection, which made me experience the South African hospital from the inside, and my
brother got in a car accident. Quite some bad things, but in the end I got back on my feet, all
by myself, and I went on. I learned that I am stronger than I thought.
We also experienced some bad things on our road trips. Our bags got stolen and we learned
that city centres are most of the time dangerous places, especially for white people. I learned
to use my common sense very well and don’t be stupid in areas where you can’t be stupid.
Overall I loved experiencing new things and to bond with the group. I can easily say that it
was the most amazing time of my life. I would do it all over again and change nothing. I do
not regret anything. If it was possible, I would have expanded my stay, but only if the others
would stay as well.
I have fallen in love with Africa and I think everybody will.
Tips for future exchange students
- Start arranging your visa right away
- Plan sufficient amount of transfer time (one hour is not enough!)
- Pay your rent when the rand is high
- Bravo’s has the nicest pizza in town
- Aroma’s has ice like you have never tasted before!
- Duncans Yard is a nice place to eat
- So are Craw Daddys and Boergouisie
- Open up to new experiences
- Don’t be home sick too much
- Make the most of your exchange!
- Let yourself fall in love with Africa