A Sheltered and Unprofessional Experience
Ratings
Review
The nation is beautiful and it provides many great experiences. (Safari, abseiling and exploring Cape Town.) However, I was not in love with the program. I signed up thinking I would gain a lot of independence and my leaders were competent. Both were false. We were traveling with a family the whole time. Although they were nice, it made the trip seem pretty fake. It also made it harder to bond as a group with more people in the mix. We were only allowed to be in groups of three when exploring. This was beyond frustrating and made it harder to get immersed in the culture. Our instructors were very unreasonable with this rule. We couldn't even go across the block or walk to the ATM without being in groups of three. I understand that South Africa is not known for being safe and why they wouldn't want us walking around in Cape Town all alone but I thought they could have been much more reasonable with that rule. I felt very safe in South Africa and I am a white person. I was also disappointed with the food on this trip. Although I had a lot of great South African food (especially on the homestay), they could have taken us to more rustic places to eat instead of South African fast food restaurants. We also barely ever talked about the "big picture" for the trip. I wish we would have talked about Nelson Mandela, Multiculturalism and its effects on South Africa, Sustainability, etc. more but we only talked about it probably about 1-3 times. Everything else, the safari, homestay, Drakensberg, Grahamstown, etc. was awesome. Bottom line is: go to South Africa and do everything you can there but try going with another program if you can.
At this time, I have completed your South Africa trip (Multiculturalism). I had an awesome time, many experiences and friends to remember forever. However, I am going to be completely honest and say that I had a problem with one of your policies: The policy of the three person rule.
I understand why it is implemented. Safety is important regardless of location. I know there are legal worries a company has. Also, that some countries are not as safe as one's home country. However, someone could get in a dangerous situation in any place even in one's own home. I felt pretty safe the whole time in South Africa and I am a white person so I felt all the strict safety rules to be pretty ridiculous. Also (speaking from experience) when I have been by myself in a country, I have found myself more immersed in the culture then when I have been with a group. I find myself being sheltered when with a group while traveling.
There were many times throughout the trip when I was very frustrated because I wanted to do some exploration alone in a quiet, calm town (or even just walk around the block) but couldn't because of the non-adjusting and stubborn rules. I am a well-traveled person (and I'm 18), so I found myself even more frustrated that the rule still applied to me.
I am not expecting a major change within the next month but I think your company should consider at least revising the rule to make it less debilitating for future Experimenters. I think it is important to gain at least a little independence on any trip you go on for life and for possible future solo trips. To be completely honest, I don't think I gained any independence on my trip with your company this summer.
I appreciate everything you do to make our summers memorable.
Enjoy the summer,
Roarke