What kind of experience is it to study in South Africa?

Studying in Africa sounds incredible. Many people will think it must be a ridiculous idea, and South Africa is no exception. In fact, South Africa is a place that is unwilling to leave before going and unwilling to leave after going. Let's talk about what kind of experience it is to study in South Africa.

I was depressed before I left, but there was something different when I arrived.

At first, when I learned that I was going to study in South Africa, almost no one around me was happy for me. In the meantime, the most received instructions were "eat enough, protect yourself from the sun, pay attention to safety", etc., and even encountered sympathy and was advised not to go by friends. Influenced by various aspects, although the visa has already been processed properly, I still haven't set off at school, and I have no plans to travel as soon as possible. After knowing the situation, my tutor told me that studying abroad would be a rare life experience. My tutor has been a senior visiting scholar in Nigeria and Senegal, and he knows Africa well, but he didn't paint a picture of Africa for me, just told me what to do from the perspective of academic research. Before I got the invitation letter, although I knew something about the Mandela Metropolitan University in South Africa, I was still uneasy and uncertain. However, despite my reluctance and ignorance, I embarked on a plane to South Africa.

"It's not much different from our country. It's well built." When the plane stopped at Johannesburg airport, there was a comment from China compatriots nearby. It seems that many people, like me, went to South Africa with "uneasy" hearts. When I arrived in port elizabeth, where Mandela Metropolitan University is located, blue occupied my whole mind. I don't know whether the sea reflected the sky or the sky reflected the sea. Elizabeth (referred to as "PE") has long been renamed as Mandela City, but the locals are still used to the old name. When I first arrived in South Africa, the weather was not very hot, the harbor was breezy, pedestrians on the road were sparse, and cars were polite to pedestrians. Black people were more common but did not appear thin and thin. When the minibus shuttles, the conductor sticks his head out of the window and shouts English with a Xhosa accent. According to common sense, it should be a route destination. To be on the safe side, I took a taxi as soon as I got out of the airport. When I arrived at school, I found it was the weekend, and it was hard to find anyone on campus. The taxi driver asked me kindly about my plan and offered to help. Fortunately, I met Mando, an enthusiastic international student from Zambia, and many things went smoothly. He contacted the person in charge of the residence and international education college for me, and taught me how to order food and calculate tips. His help reassured me when I was unaccompanied and at a loss.

My life and study are taken care of, but I insist on guarding my heart.

In the course of my subsequent life and study, I got the help of many African friends like Mando, and also got the understanding and recognition of some white people. Madi, the white manager of the apartment management office, was able to change the kettle for me with a smile after I used the broken kettle three times in a row. Dr Isah from Nigeria took pains to take me to register for many times, and Dr Tafazawa from Zimbabwe put aside his own business to accompany me for nearly three days to help me buy books and materials. Such help is too numerous to mention.

during my study in south Africa, I had many exchanges with doctoral students from Congo, Ethiopia, Mali, Burundi and other countries, which injected a new perspective into the understanding of many issues (not only academic research). As long as you are integrated into the circle of international friends, you will not become the "other" in the eyes of others, and traveling with someone will add a lot of fun to life and study. In fact, the best time in South Africa is to share the story of China's development with African friends. Many African friends are eager to know the miracle of China's rise, but most of the information they can see is biased reports from western countries.

When I was about to return to China, some African friends came to say goodbye to me several days in advance. There are photos taken as a souvenir, plain farewell, sincere wishes and sincere prayers for me. To my surprise, Crispin, who usually disagrees with me and has the most arguments, implored me to learn about China's enrollment policy towards Africa from African students studying in China after returning home. He wanted his sister to study in China, which is really called "no discord, no concord". When communicating with foreign students, there are bound to be cultural differences or even conflicts of beliefs. It is very important to keep your own views and bottom line, so as to win the respect of others, make things more clear, and finally reach a * * * understanding.

Learn from others' strengths to our advantage. The South African approach may learn from

The Plan of Studying in China of the Ministry of Education, which proposes that by 22, China will become the largest destination country for studying in Asia. South Africa has a lot to learn from to realize China's ambition of becoming the largest destination country for international students in Asia.

first, promote infrastructure construction and improve the service system. In the apartment for international students of Mandela Metropolitan University, there are all kinds of kitchen and bedroom supplies, hot water is supplied 24 hours a day, and people clean and change sheets every week. Such service gives people the warmth of home. Lotowndo, an exchange graduate student at the University of Stellenbosch, told me that many universities in South Africa have corresponding facilities and services, while Crispin, an international student from Burundi, said that he chose to stay in South Africa for doctoral studies after his master's degree because of the convenience of services.

Secondly, strengthen the sense of responsibility of professors. The word-of-mouth of students is the guarantee of future students. The professors of Mandela Metropolitan University attach great importance to students' learning. Even after working for more than ten years, I am still as strict as a student. I made an appointment with my South African tutor to meet in the supermarket lobby every week to talk about the plan and progress of reading and training. Later, I changed to meet every two days to give timely feedback on the research progress and revise the paper.

Secondly, promote enterprises to participate in education and promote the diversification of funding forms. Many graduate students in South Africa are funded by enterprises, which effectively guarantees the study and living expenses of graduate students. Some graduate students apply for multiple grants, which can be as high as 12, rand per month (equivalent to more than 6, yuan). Some sponsors transfer funds to designated cards to ensure that the funds are used for scientific research and study, and only use them to purchase study materials.

Although South Africa can't represent the African continent, it has a lot of sex after all. For China students, studying in Africa is a new choice. As Boubacar, Deputy Consul General of Mali in Guangzhou, said: "In fact, Africa, like China, is also in a very rapid development stage."