Pretoria families host European students in exchange programme
Student exchange braai a hit.
Eleven students from Pretoria Boys High School and Afrikaans Höer Seunskool will have the once in a lifetime opportunity to experience European culture, education and traditions through the Rotary Club of Pretoria Capital’s Short Term Exchange Programme for 2015.
They will leave the country in November.
The 11 boys are currently hosting their exchange partners from Europe who will spend six weeks in South Africa.
The hosting students and their families were treated to a lunch braai at the Rietvlei Dam on Sunday where the students got to meet and interact with each other and their families as well as members of the Rotary Club of Pretoria Capital.
“We are all about the upliftment of communities. Therefore, we are empowering these youngsters to experience our country, its traditions and cultures,” said Gert Bolt, President of the Rotary Club of Pretoria Capital.
He added that both the local boys and their European counterparts would be part of the Rotary International Short Term Exchange Programme that was held annually across the world.
French first-year University of Orlean student, Ismael Sghaier-Louvet said he could not help but ask a lot of questions about South Africa as he had no prior knowledge about the country before coming here.
His host, Andries Roos from Pretoria Boys High School, said teaching Ismael everything that was new to him is an exciting challenge.
French national Loic Bazouklian, who was being hosted by Jason Kearney, said the experience had turned out to be very different from what he had expected. “I am learning Afrikaans and have already been to Lesotho. I wish to come back again and experience more of this country,” he said.
Kearny, his host, said that Loic was different to what he had expected.
“We share the same morals and values and he is turning out to be a huge fan of pap.”
Glen Thatcher treated his Austrian counterpart Camillo Seiler-Tarbuk to trips to Table Mountain, Gold Reef City and Mafikeng. He was getting him to learn South African games and languages such as Afrikaans, Sepedi, Setswana, IsiZulu and Xhosa and was spoiling him with lots of biltong.
“We have so much in common because our cultures are almost similar,” Thatcher said.
Sandile Cele had to throw a birthday party for his French partner, Etienne Deplantes who celebrated his birthday shortly after arriving in South Africa. According to Linda Cele, Sandile’s mother, Etienne had been to Soweto, Kliptown, and Robben Island.
To participate in the exchange programme, learners must apply to be sponsored by a local Rotary Club where the latter would identify suitable candidates after a thorough selection process.
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