YFU SOUTH AFRICA – NEWSLETTER MAY 2010
TIME TO SAY GOOD BYE AND WELCOME IN 2010
This is the time of the year when we say goodbye to those have been with us since 2009.
We are also preparing to welcome those joining us in 2010, so ...
Good bye to Inbounds 2009/2010: Much too soon the time to say good bye is upon us. We
enjoyed having you with us, wish you all the best for the future but also know that you will be
back! In this issue we have two letters from students’ last fun days in sunny South Africa as
well as in input from a former exchange student that is now an intern in Port Elizabeth. This
newsletter contains a farewell letters from an intern as well as from students departing in
June.
Welcome to the Inbounds 2010/2011: This time of the year we are also preparing for the
new arrivals on 6 August 2010. YFU SA staff members and volunteers are finalising the
placements of the 35 new inbounds with their host families and schools. In the next
newsletter we will have news of their arrival and orientations.
Junior Volunteer Council: YFU SA has also established its first Junior Volunteer Council
(JVC). We are very proud of this achievement and look forward to their contributions to the
greater good and growth of YFU SA in future.
SANIBONA YFU SOUTH AFRICA!
Hard to believe: it is almost six years ago when
I left South Africa as a 17 year-old exchange
student with mixed feelings – being so grateful
for my awesome exchange year, happily
excited about going home and deeply
sorrowful about leaving my South African
home.
And now I am back! My name is Maria
Hoffmann, however, YFU knows me as Mia. In
2003/2004 I was an exchange student in
Durban and since my return, I have been
involved with YFU in Germany. It was rather a
spontaneous idea to take a gap semester at
university to come back to South Africa for
seven months. So when my plane landed at
O.R. Tambo in Johannesburg in February 2010,
I was immediately excited about the South
African clime that I had missed for quite some
years.
After having stayed in Joburg for two months, I
went to visit my wonderful South African
family in Durban. At first it was such a strange
feeling to be back, but after only one hour it
felt as if I had never left! My host sister Shenee
and brother Calvin, who were 13 and 11 years
old back then, have kind of grown up, there is
a new dog in the house and my host parents
have changed their jobs. But there are some
things that will probably never change: it is my
second home after all! In April, there was a lot
of time for me catching up with some old
friends and neighbours, spending fantastic
days at Tugela beach and a great visit at the
Umfolozi Game Reserve. Furthermore, I was
fortunate to go on a two weeks’ trip to see a
bit more of beautiful Southern Africa:
Zululand, Swaziland, Gauteng and Lesotho.
From the 1st
of May I am now the new intern
at the regional office in Port Elizabeth, where I
am staying with the Goeda family – one of the
most YFU committed families I have ever met.
I was particularly excited to meet Keegan
again, as he was an exchange student at my
mid-year seminar in Berlin in 2007. Likewise I
enjoy meeting old YFU friends (like Fezi and
Koki) as well as making new friends. At the PE
re-entry orientation last weekend, Nadia and I
had to discover that the YFU world is rather
small, as we had actually met six years ago in
Cape Town!
It is truly special for me to come back to South
Africa as a YFU intern to re-live my South
African experience, to work with zealous YFU
volunteers and to contribute to a successful
exchange year for our exchange students this
year.
So now I have spent one busy month in Port
Elizabeth looking for host families and taking
care of the inbound and outbound students. I
am so looking forward to a grandiose stay
with YFU in Port Elizabeth! I am looking
forward to a great World Cup 2010, of course!
I am looking forward to so much more of
South Africa!
Mia
Port Elizabeth: Keegan, Nadia, Elena and
Nosh.
Mia, one of the interns from Germany,
writes from Port Elizabeth;
OUR FANTASTIC SEASIDE RE-ENTRY
WEEKEND
By Mia (YFU Intern in Port Elizabeth)
The students in Port Elizabeth together with
the teamers enjoyed seafront weekend
accommodation for their re entry orientation.
We had a fantastic YFU weekend ahead of us,
with beautiful sunny weather, fruitful sessions
and loads of the weird energizers (Funky
Chicken, La Banana, The Little Bird – just to
name a few) which, to my surprise, some
moms joined in at Family Day on Sunday
afternoon.
During our free time we enjoyed the seaside,
even spotting some whales and dolphins far
out.
The highlight of the weekend was, beyond
doubt, our fantastic gala dinner on Saturday
night, when Iris’s cookery spoilt us
exceedingly! Everyone had dressed up smartly;
most stunning however were the guys wearing
best suits. So we enjoyed an amazing three-
course banquet by candle light.
For the Family Day on Sunday afternoon, a
bunch of different people gathered for a lovely
braai by the seaside: exchange students, host
families, students going abroad and their
mothers, YFU volunteers and friends.
As I was a teamer at the South Africa pre-
departure orientation in Germany, I was more
than excited to meet some of the German
students again and listen to their stories. It
really gives me goose bumps to see how much
students change and how much they grow in
their personalities during their year. This is
why we do exchange!
Ayoba!
A GALA DINNER IN PORT ELIZABETH
Gala Dinner: ( left to right) Irina, Elli, Fabz, Mara, Anni, Mia and Nadia with Iris Goeda in front
KZN Durban Trip 23. – 27. 04. 2010
At the end of April, a group of 11 exchange
students went to Durban for the long
weekend.
After an about 9 hours drive we arrived in
Illovo. In the middle of the night we pitched up
our tents and hit the sac.
On Saturday morning we explored the beauty
of the ocean and the beach right next to our
camping area. Later we visited Croc World, it
was actually a bit boring because the
crocodiles didn’t really want to move so we
could just watch them lying around.
The whole day already it was quite cold but we
“crazy” people couldn’t resist jumping into the
sea afterwards. The water was even warmer
then the air and the waves were huge. We
had an amazing time.
In the evening we spent time together, telling
stories and had some really good pootjie kos.
Sunday morning after breakfast we headed to
Amazimtoti and then it was beach-time!
Tanning in the sun and swimming in the sea. In
the afternoon we discovered the awesome
predators of the sea at the SHARK BOARD in
Durban. There we watched a dissection of a
shark and we were all amazed by this
dangerous animal. We spent our last day in
world. After a great dolphin show some of us
went shark or scuba diving. I went shark diving
and it was amazing to be so close to this
beautiful creatures.
The WILD ‘N WET world right next to it offered
us some really nice slides and we all had lots of
fun. In the evening when we came back we
were really tired and we all just wanted to
sleep.
On Tuesday when it was time for us to go
home we didn’t want to leave because we all
had an awesome time in Durban.
I want to thank you Werner for the great time
and I think we all enjoyed it a lot.
Cadine from Austria
MY MEMORY OF SOUTH AFRICA
It was Friday the May 21. When I went to
school the last day before the June exams,
I felt a bit sad because the time for me to
go back home comes closer every day and
now I already have my last normal day at
school.
When I arrived there this Friday morning
all my friends seemed a bit weird to me. As
the first four periods past we had break
and after break some of my closest friends
just disappeared. Then we had test period
and I wasn’t writing so I sat in class and
felt quite bored. But then my friend
Shanal came into the class and she said
that she wanted to take me with. As we
went out of the class she put a scarf
around my eyes. She walked with me
through the whole school building and at
the end we arrived at the field and she
took the scarf off. I couldn’t believe what I
saw...all my closest friends were standing
there and they started singing. It was
amazing and I was really surprised. They
backed cake and we had a small picnic. I
got a big box that
said A MEMORY BOX
FROM SA and in there
was lots of pictures
and other souvenirs.
This day was just
wonderful for me and
I will never forget it.
I am really sad to
leave all this beautiful
people because they
are all so special but I
know that I am going
to take lots of
memories with me
and South Africa was
for me a time that
changed my life and I
will never forget.
Cadine from Austria
[
JVC CONFERENCE
From 23 to 26 April 2010 YFU South
Africa’s Junior Volunteer Council (JVC)
gathered for a conference in Cape Town. The
much anticipated conference was a great
success, and it was inspiring to have an
enthusiastic group of young, like-minded
people gather to decide on a new course for
the JVC.
Bonding- The team bonded on Friday night in
the unique Stellenbosch student-atmosphere,
with everyone really enjoyed getting to know
the ‘less serious’ side of their team members.
Working - On Saturday morning the team was
up bright and early, and the JVC Conference
2010 was opened on time by JVC Co-ordinator,
Jaymion. The agenda involved receiving
feedback on how YFU was running and the
status on the amount of volunteer work being
done by the junior representatives of each
region. We then went on to discuss the history
of YfU International, as well as the role of YfU
South Africa and its importance for promoting
inter-cultural tolerance and understanding in
our society.
New faces- Yvonne Matheison, who runs the
Durbanville Kinderhuis in the Northern Suburbs
of Cape Town, receives many foreign exchange
volunteers from YFU, and is one several new
JVC members. Her experience with
volunteering and working with abused
children, granted us the opportunity to learn
more about what volunteerism entails. Her
words were very inspiring to the team, and she
gave invaluable and perceptive guidance to
the Council throughout Saturday’s discussions.
New portfolios - The JVC was very excited and
proud to announce the birth of 7 new
portfolios namely Marketing and Media,
Administration and Databases, School
Presentations, Host Families, Orientations,
Volunteer Training and last but certainly not
least, Social Responsibility will be addressed.
More news about these later!!
Saturday evening- Everyone was feeling quite
drained from a very productive day. We had a
great braai and spent the rest of the evening
playing pool with some other, rather
enthusiastic… backpackers.
Last day- The team took a little longer to
emerge from bed on Sunday morning, but we
tackled the JVC’s identity, the International
Basic Standards document, created our own
mission statement, drafted a Constitution; and
elected a board of volunteers to oversee the
functioning of the JVC for the next two years.
The JVC’s new board comprises of:
Chairperson- Jaymion,
Vice-Chairperson – Fez,
Secretary – Erin,
Treasurer- Keegan
Portfolio Representative – Ngoako.
Goodbye till next time - Sadly, the weekend
came to an end however, the JVC has just
begun, and promises to do wonders in the year
to come. Well done to who attended as we
made phenomenal strides in a short time. We
will strive to become an indispensable asset to
our great organisation!
More news next time – as well as
photographs!!