Youth for Understanding South Africa International Youth Exchange
the entire school everyone wants to be friends with you and know everything about what life in Germany is like. Conversation don't get very deep because lives are just simply too different and you have to be a bit careful with what your saying and what you'd rather not say. Taking out the camera in class always ended up in a huge photo shooting session with people dancing, posing and screaming 'shoot me!' Church was the most daunting yet interesting experience I've ever made. I'm definitely not used to people falling over, screaming, laughing, singing and dancing in church but it was nice to see how different people can live their religions. So yes, I enjoyed every single second of these 2 weeks, not regretting anything and looking back with a big smile on my face and having made a few more friends. I'd definitely do it again and I'm glad I made the decision to go because it's totally worth it! Thanks to YFU for making it possible!”
The interviewers message (SB): Although Thobego is just a teenager, he was interested in hearing and learning about my life, culture and country. He was willing and motivated to show me how he is living. He wanted us to have some idea about each other’s lives and culture, and learn and grow from the experience. I felt inspired that someone who’s life was so difficult and disadvantaged hadn’t given up hope. He has dreams of building a better life which would allow him to assist his family and community. Thobego is working very hard to realize his dreams. I hope that we will remember Thobego’s struggle for survival before we complain about the insignificant hurdles we face in our comfortable lives. The interview with Thobego (told in first person): My Family I am very fortunate to have both my parents still with me. Many children in my country are orphans or have single parent homes. My parents are good people who have encouraged us to be the best we possibly can be. I have a father, mother, four brothers and two sisters. My Life My father worked in a mine in South Africa since 1975. Later he worked as a cook. In 1989 he fell in love with my mother. We then moved to Swaziland and lived there from 1989 to 1994. My father however, worked part-time in SA and we only saw him once a month. In 1992 he became unemployed and manufactured baskets and sold them but he earned very little money for them. Times were very difficult and we were extremely poor. In 1994 he found a job as a sugar cane cutter working in the fields for a South African company which manufactures sugar. We then had to move back to SA to live with my grandmother. The sugar company didn’t need my father’s services anymore in 1997 and he was again unemployed. Six months later, he found a job as an avocado picker. The rest of the family went back to Swaziland. I started school in Swaziland in 2002 and continued until grade 5. My father realized that schooling in Swaziland was too expensive and moved us back to SA where I started grade 6 at the local primary school. From 1999 to 2006 my father had been changing jobs a lot as his employment was always temporary and jobs were scarce. In 2007 my father’s luck changed and he was employed as a gardener in a landscaping company. In grade 7, which was the end of primary schooling, I was presented with 5 certificates for achievement. To celebrate the achievements of grade 7 students and bid us farewell our teachers rewarded us with a visit to the Kruger National Park. Now I am doing grade 11 and I aim to pass grade 12 with very good results so that I may study further to have a brighter future. Continue in the next page à
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Youth For Understanding South Africa Newsletter Cultural Exchange