About the French connection, politics and milktart

The best thing about Johannesburg is milk tart. And, oh yeah, the people are great.

This according to Brellman Maxime from Alsace in France, who spent the last year of his undergraduate degree at the University of Johannesburg, studying politics.

Maxime is open and friendly, genuinely sincere and defies supposedly ‘snooty’ French stereotypes. And he loves South Africa.

“I ended up here because we have a compulsory exchange programme at our university – the Science Po Paris.We have to spend one year abroad. We can choose almost any country in the world, and I chose South Africa,” Maxine explained.

He said he decided to come and ‘make friends’ with Africa. “Due to the new geopolitical environment in the world, and everything happening in the US and in Russia I thought it would be a good idea. Few Europeans have African connections. And well, South Africa is the most advanced emerging country in Africa.”

Maxime duly got on the plane, ready to face the unknown.

“My first day in South Africa was on 5 July last year. I was welcomed by UJ representatives on the airport, visited the campus, and then I was put into a residence in Bunting Road. There was no light bulb in my room,” he recalled with a laugh.

“My Nigerian neighbour popped his head in and said, “Welcome to Africa.” He took me to buy a light-bulb. So yes, the first thing I did in South Africa was to go and buy a globe in Hillbrow in the middle of the night.”

Later he realised that the lack of electricity wasn’t quite as severe as that. He said a lot of the things here are as good or better than in Europe. Services, he emphasised, are as good as in France. And the country’s infrastructure impressed him.

Maxime chose to extend his exchange programme to a degree. He said he’d travelled all over Southern Africa in his time here, with the exception of visiting Bloemfontein.

“Johannesburg is my favourite place in this country,” he said.

“It’s not the prettiest place, granted, but I have so many memories here with wonderful people.”

In fact, he enjoyed the city so much that he’s even considering taking a job here.

“It’s my back-up plan. If I don’t get the opportunity I’m looking for in France right now, I’d like to work here.”

What does he think our country could do differently?

“I wrote my thesis on poor people in this country. From what I can see, South Africa’s biggest problem is that the ruling party is too dominant. They don’t have the incentive to improve. South Africa has money and resources, it should be used, not wasted away. There’s also a sense of self-entitlement among the people here. Stand up and do something, don’t expect things to fall in your lap.”

And what does he like?

“Milk tart,” he said promptly. “Milk tart is awesome, braais are great. The people here are kind and open in spite of crime. The country itself is beautiful, I love its landscapes, its cities, its histories. And economically, some of the sectors like banking and telecommunications are superb.”

He’s particularly impressed by our Constitution. “The concept of it is wonderful,” he enthused.

“Unfortunately, it’s not always well-implemented.”

Maxime was back in Johannesburg at the start of June to retrieve his prize: his University of Johannesburg degree.

“I crossed half the globe to get this, it’s very precious to me,” he grinned.

He’s back in France for the moment, but Johannesburg surely hasn’t seen the last of this engaging French guy.