EIL Intercultural Learning

I was delighted when I found out that I had successfully secured a position on the Global Awareness Programme with EIL. It was the only travel award that I had applied to and had felt really passionate about all the component of the award. I was excited about going away for eight weeks to South Africa and I knew working in a HIV respite centre and living in a township would open my eyes to various issues and allow me too consider a new culture and way of living.

Orientation  Arriving in South Africa was daunting; I honestly didn’t have a clue what to do really. But as I met the other volunteers on my orientation group I started to relax. The orientation week was a great way to see how truly beautiful South Africa’s landscape is and it allowed us to grasp a glimpse into the various different aspects of South African culture from it’s animals and wildlife to it’s scenery, history and enterprise.

People at home have stopped asking if I would like a cup of tea, simply because they know my reply will be yes! All my family, friends and even most acquintances know how much I love my tea! Before I left for South Africa my mom asked if I was going to bring tea bags with me and when I replied no, she was shocked.

I’m into week three at this stage, which means I'm starting to get used to the place. By no means would I say that I know the ins and out of Kayamandi, the shacks are like mazes with only tiny routes going through them all. My mental GPS is quite confused still when it comes to navigating around the shacks, shack E157 could be right in front of you and then, shack D89 beside it. So it's safe to say I'm still getting the hang of things.

Once I had got to the volunteer hostel in Cape Town I met lots of other volunteers,and ofcourse the generic volunteer conversation was had, this little almost interview like chat is generally to break the ice and to find out the core details. It goes along the lines of your name, where your from, how long you are here from and then; what project you are working on. Generally, I managed to get by the first 3 parts with no problems, I can say that most of the time, I succesfully managed to tell people my name, nationality and length of stay with absolutely no problems!

Ever since I have started telling people that I would be going to South Africa, the main question that I have been asked has been without doubt; will you be there for the World Cup? To which my reply was mostly; 'eh, yea...maybe'. I went out with zilch appreciation for soccer, I knew nada, but being in Cape Town for the 2010 FIFA World Cup Final has changed my opinion of the sport.