Durban, South Africa: We're all just living life the best way that we can. Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

Each of the lectures that constituted the seminar class provided a new lens from which to see social and political change in South Africa. I truly enjoyed each lecture and learned something new from the unique perspective that was being presented. Simultaneously, the course work for the seminar class was not necessarily rigorous. However, this was not due to a lack of emphasis on educational experiences. The SIT staff created assignments that forced us to be both reflective of our experiences and introspective in our analyses of those experiences. And, while we had few assignments, each assignment had a purpose that was evident at the time or became more clear as we spent more time in South Africa. Alternatively, I would say that the Independent Study Project was both the best and most difficult thing I have undertaken in my educational pursuits to date. The SIT Durban staff has incredibly high expectations for the ISPs that their students produce. At the same time, they were there every step of the way to make sure that we found the answers to our questions and produced the best paper we possibly could. In each of the courses that constituted the academic program as a whole, I would categorize the grading as completely fair and reflective of effort as much as quality. While expectations are set, and students are graded according to those standards, the staff care more about what we learn than what we are able to produce. It is this focus that I believe made the program and the lessons I learned that much more valuable.

On-site administration of your program

The SIT staff is amazing and goes out of their way to make sure that everything goes smoothly for their students. I have no real complaints or weaknesses that I feel need to be highlighted. With 21 students, the sheer size of our group sometimes caused difficulties. However, the Durban staff themselves have no control over this and I was amazed at their ability to make everything work out everytime.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

I choose to study away with SIT partly because of the opportunity to live with multiple host families in addition to living independently. I had positive experiences with each of my host families and if there ever was a negative experience (for myself or my fellow students), it was simply a learning opportunity. In the same way, during our independent research, I had the opportunity to both live by myself in a hostel for a couple of weeks and meet tons of different people and to live in an apartment for a couple of weeks with students from my group. When living in the apartment, we did buy some apartment supplies. However, SIT has developed quite the collection of supplies that students can borrow.

The food is all great! Especially the Indian food! And all of the fresh produce! A lot of the food is similar to things that would be eaten in the United States, it just tastes a little bit different. Also, a lot of the restaurants have American food. Eventually, I got tired of eating pap in my homestays, but part of studying away is making it work. I know some of the host families struggled accommodating vegetarians, but they all tried their hardest. Also, it is in no way impossible to stay vegetarian while in Durban. In fact, due to the large Indian population, it is actually a lot easier than it might be in other parts of the country.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

Every part of the program is intentionally planned in order to provide another piece of the puzzle that is South Africa. The staff went out of their way to expose us to different parts of Durban and to provide us with opportunities that many South Africans don't even have. Also, during the independent research time, it is great meeting South Africans on your own and forming friendships outside of the confines set by SIT. The program has found/created a nice balance.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

I never felt unsafe over the course of the program. While there were some incidents with other members of my group, it was nothing that wouldn't happen anywhere in the United States as well. Also, our families were extremely protective of us, to the point of not letting us go to the outhouse by ourselves. Also, the SIT Durban staff have established continued relations with a doctor's office. While I never had to seek health attention, my fellow students always received adequate healthcare attention.

(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost)

The Zulu instruction that constituted the foreign language component of the program was very focused on ensuring that we could interact, even if only at a elementary level, with our families and any other people we interacted with over the course of our months in Durban. Because much of what we learned was focused on what we would need to know over fully understanding the intricacies of the language, it was often to difficult to understand why some things were said they were or why something meant what it did. However, communication in everyday languages were most certainly possible, at least to a certain extent. Many people appreciated our attempts to speak Zulu just as much as they recognized that most of the communication would end up occurring in English.

Select all that apply

• Host Family
• Apartment
• Hostel

Select all that apply

• Americans
• Host Family
• Other