Youth for Understanding South Africa International Youth Exchange
into the new year” and I definitely did not go swimming the 1st of January ever before. The Festive season in South Africa has been unusual yet exciting for me and I am sure, that I will return to this beautiful country one day for the December holidays! Veronica Esters, Germany: Christmas in South Africa was very different. Me and my Host family celebrated Christmas on the farm of my host grandpa with my host aunt, host uncle and host cousins. My host dad just fixed his and finished his new landrover so my host dad, my host sister and I drove with this car to the farm and my host mum and my host brother with another car. My host sister and me enjoyed the sun outside in the back of the landrover but after a while my dad stopped the car. A wheel of the car broke and we had to fix it in the heat of the South African sun. After 1 ½ hour and a big sunburn later the car could drive again and we went on driving to the farm. After arriving at the farm and greeting everybody we all jumped in the pool to cool down. In the evening we had the typical South African braai. When everybody had the food on the plate it got dark… no Youth For Understanding South Africa Newsletter January 2011
electricity for the rest of the evening. So we had to use small lamps and candles which made a nice feeling. After finishing dinner we went to our plastic Christmas tree where all the presents were lying. My grandpa gave everybody the presents and then we opened them. My two little host cousins were very especially excited about it. As we were finished it was almost midnight and we made a little countdown to the 25 th December and we wished everybody a “geseende kersfees”. We spent the following days in the pool, with eating and enjoying being together with the family. Sunday morning we woke up early and drove with the landrover of my dad through the area around the farm to see some animals. I think one of the biggest differences of this Christmas was to have a hot Christmas which made me have a Christmas feeling very difficult and of course that I wasn’t around my German family. Even that I got a bit homesick in this time. I enjoyed the South African way of celebrating Christmas. It was an experience I never had before and I’m glad that I can make all these experiences in my year in South Africa.
Ingvild Tapio Kinge, Norway: Christmas – the time of snow, darkness and hot chocolate in front of the fireplace as Christmas carols and the smell of pastries fill the house. Or so I thought: Christmas Eve was anything but white and dark; it was sunny and warm, and my hot chocolate’s substitute was a class of water with clinking ice. Christmas Day was basically spent in my oom (uncle) and tannie’s (aunt) swimming pool with sunscreen dripping from our faces. Even though the surroundings didn’t match the Christmas I’m used to, family time is just as an important Christmas message here in SA as in Europe. As well as having a great time with the family, I was introduced to another uncle and his family, a mother-in-law and...! I realized how close I am to my family here and that SA has a really special place in my heart. Instead of missing home, as I expected I would, my mood leaped up and made me as happy as ever.
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