The author came from the University of Cape Town to study at UCSB

UC students may also study at Cape Town.

Voting was soon underway and to my surprise I was elected as one of the four-person board of San Rafael Residence. As the programming Vice President I had the responsibility of organizing social events within and between residences and promoting friendship and involvement in the residence community. This responsibility served to enhance my experience even more, allowing me to meet and interact with even more people while having fun organizing events such as pumpkin carving competitions on Halloween and coffee and cookie breaks during study week. All these activities were aimed to promote interaction between students. Although this role demanded a lot of work, I am so glad I took up the challenge and got involved as the learning experiences and exposure were invaluable.

I was also able to give something back to the EAP program by assisting them in their advisory sessions for UCSB students who were interested in studying in South Africa. I also advised students who were set to depart for South Africa this February as part of the EAP program. I offered them an insight as to what to expect, the exciting things they would encounter and practical advice regarding traveling, weather and packing.

I found that most of the friends I made were either from the International Orientation or from my residence, San Rafael. Socializing and recreation happened mainly in the late afternoons, or later in the evenings after dinner and homework. There was always something going on. We went to watch basketball games at the Thunderdome, played beach soccer, went to work out at the gym, met for coffee in Isla Vista, watched a DVD or just relaxed and chatted in our apartments. Holidays, like Halloween and Thanksgiving were really festive and everyone in the residence would go all out in decorating and dressing up for the occasion.

During the quarter I went away with friends for weekend trips to a forest camp called San Marcos, San Francisco and Los Angeles. I spent the Thanksgiving holidays with my friend, Caroline and her family in Long Beach. I was very fortunate to spend Christmas with my sister in San Francisco and the New Year in the snow at Lake Tahoe.

Academics
As for the academic side of my exchange I must say that the homework load was much greater than I had experienced at UCT, the content was much broader and quite challenging. I found the grading to be very fair. There was abundant scope for expressing ones’ own opinions in essays and students were encouraged to do their own independent or alternative reading and research and were credited for this in essays.

I found the lecturers and Teaching Assistants very accessible and helpful. I felt like the academic staff was always on the same level as the student and ready to help and serve the customer, the student. There is much respect in the professor/student relationship. Students at UCSB are on a friendly and equal level with their professors. After most lectures the professor would spend time answering individual questions and chatting to students, finding out how readings or the workload was going, suggesting alternative readings and extra credit projects. During class there is much interaction between the students, and the lecturer acts more as a facilitator of discussions. We also did many in-class group exercises.

The lecturer and teaching assistant are always ready to give you as much individual attention and assistance as you require. I took full advantage of this and found that these individual and small revision sessions with my teaching assistants were excellent preparation for examinations.  There are so many opportunities to excel and to get the most out of a course. I found the actual lectures and discussion groups most professional, taking full advantage of the advanced media facilities to enhance learning.

Their system of tests, mid-terms and then finals serve to encourage constant study throughout the semester. By the time finals come around you are very familiar with the material.

In fact I found every student and staff member on campus so helpful and welcoming. They were always ready with a smile and some friendly advice. I never once felt helpless or lost.

I feel that these past few months at UCSB will forever influence my future plans, experiences and perspectives. I grew so much, in so many ways. I now have a much wider perspective of the world and all it has to offer. Meeting people from all over the globe served to emphasize just how much more I would love to explore and learn about other people and cultures.

I was captivated by your sunny Californian hospitality, the friendships I made for life, the new academic material I encountered and the sheer enjoyment this opportunity offered me.

I wish I could express the full extent of my gratitude to the people behind the EAP program who made this experience possible.

My sincere appreciation will forever be present in my new zest and enthusiasm to travel and study further.

The spirit of UCSB and all I experienced there will glow in me forever.

Thank you.

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