Three Weeks in South Africa

The past three weeks in Johannesburg have gone by relatively quickly, and it honestly feels like months ago that I said goodbye to my family at Changi Airport, Singapore. I made it though, after months of planning, visa application forms, a quick trip to Canberra and a turbulent plane ride, I arrived safe and sound at O. R. Tambo International Airport and was whisked off to the Monash South Africa campus. The drive to the university campus was my first taste of Johannesburg, a large and sprawling city with freeway limits of 120km p/h.

Arriving early on a Saturday morning meant a bit of waiting to find my accomodation. I ended up in one of apartment style residential areas with three other girls, one of which is another exchange student from Australia, a girl from Durban, South Africa, and another from Zambia. We share a kitchen, a living area and two bathrooms, a much nicer living area than the residential halls I was living in in Melbourne!

Settling into South Africa has been relatively easy, after getting copies of my Proof of Residence I was finally able to buy a sim card (as I had to 'RICA' my sim card to be able to buy it ... apparently all phone numbers need to be registered to prevent crime) and set up a bank account that has so far been more annoying than it's worth (bank limits making it difficult to pay my rent, as well as being unable to use it outside of South Africa ...).

The university is very easy to get around, consisting of only 6 buildings of which are simply labeled A-F. It's smaller than what I'm used to, but much more picturesque than the Clayton campus. So far, all the other students have been incredibly friendly, including the other exchange students that I arrived here with (three of us from Australia, and five from the Malaysia campus). The student population is very diverse, with students from throughout South Africa, as well throughout the rest of Africa from countries such as Kenya, Botswana, Zimbabwe etc. and other countries outside of Africa. Monash South Africa, which I hadn't realised until I arrived, is actually a private institution in South Africa.

It's currently winter in South Africa, as well as the dry season, meaning the days are full of cloudless blue skies and sunshine that doesn't reach more than 20 degrees. Only on one occasion so far has it rained, and when it did it hailed all night resulting in what appeared to be pockets of snow in the morning, but actually was just large amounts of hail (that was an exciting morning). After leaving freezing Melbourne, and then spending a week in hot and humid Malaysia and Singapore, this weather has actually been perfect, despite all the people telling me how cold it is right now!

So far living in Johannesburg has been relatively easy, anything I could possibly need or want is within a short distance (... except for tofu, I've yet to find it anywhere ...), Uber works here, literally any shop you want in Australia you'll find here (H&M, Cotton On, Typo, Topshop etc.), the people are friendly and genuine, and the biggest issue I've had so far is my fingerprint not working on the gate to get into my accommodation. Other than that, I've found the settling in process rather easy, there has been minimal culture shock (although I have spent time in Africa before) and I've met a lot of a new friends which has made the transition from Australia to South Africa that much easier.

Johannesburg is a massive city, and although I have yet to explore much of it yet (and have yet to figure out the public transport situation ie. privately owned minibus taxi), I am very excited to live in this city for the next year and discover this beautiful country's scenery, wildlife, people, history and best brunch spots.

Until next time,

Kylie