CRADOCK NEWS - An exchange student from Switzerland has been attending Cradock High School from August 2021 and is here until the end of June.
"I live in a town called Boswil which is in the province of Aargauwith about 2 500 residents. So, if we want to do grocery shopping, we have to go to the next town, because in Boswil we don't have a big supermarket. The next town is only 5km away. We are 30km from Zurich, which is a big city," Erne told Graaff-Reinet Advertiser during an interview.
Erne said when he decided to do an exchange year, he was looking through the options and saw South Africa.
"The idea of a complete change from what I'm used to and the nature of South Africa has always fascinated me. Also, I wanted to go to a country where everyone understood English."
He has visited various areas in South Africa, and subsequently also attended quite a few schools.
"The school system in Switzerland is completely different to the one in South Africa. In Switzerland, our school year begins in August and there are only nine mandatory school years, but if you decide to go to high school, you will have 13 years.
"School in South Africa is stricter and has more rules, for example in Switzerland I can wear what I want, while in South Africa I have to wear a school uniform, be shaved all the time and my hair has to be styled a certain way.
"In Switzerland, I have about 13 subjects while in South Africa I only have seven. Sport and other activities are mostly not offered by the Swiss schools, so if you want to do something you have to join a club."
Erne said that coming from a very small town, Cradock was big in the beginning.
"A negative thing about Cradock for me is how dirty it is. I do enjoy Cradock, even though it is way bigger than Boswil, you can still walk to most places. The people in Cradock are very friendly."
He said the biggest thing he noticed is the big difference between the poor and the rich people.
"I didn't know that such a big difference could exist; therefore it made me realise how good we have it in Europe. South Africa also taught me a new language, Afrikaans. When I first came here, I did not understand it, but now I think my Afrikaans is okay. It was not too difficult to learn, because there are a lot of similarities between German and Afrikaans.
"I would definitely revisit South Africa. Not only because I love the nature and the wildlife but also because I would like to meet up with my new friends in South Africa again."
He said it was quite an experience to live with foster parents, so he had to adjust a lot in the beginning.
"I will take home a lot of memories. I will remember the first time I saw lions, that was a very special moment for me because you only see lions in Europe in zoos. When I go back to Switzerland I still have two years of high school left. So I'm going to do those and then go study. I just don't know what I want to study yet."
Erne wants to tell all learners that if they ever have the opportunity to do something like an exchange year, do it!
"Not every day will be perfect, but you will learn so much and grow so much as a person."
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