Rectors Reception

 

On the 24th of January 2013 quite a few heads turned during the early evening as an interesting looking group of students made their way from Wilhelmstrasse 22 to Neue Aula in Tübingen. Dressed in outfits varying from a Xhosa bride to a typical “boeremeisie” these students desired to bring some traditional South-African culture to the little town of Tübingen.
At Neue Aula they were welcomed by the Prorector of Eberhard Karls University Tuebingen, Prof. Dr. Heinz Assmann. Some sponsors of the Tübingen South Africa program were also present. These included Martina Diesing from the Ministry for Science and Art in Baden-Wuerttemberg and several representatives from SAFRI. Mr Dlomo, Ms Magubane and Ms. Masibi, from the South African consulate in Munich also joined the evening. Several of the wonderful host families also set time aside to celebrate this special event with us. Getting to know them and sharing their homes has definitely made our experience in Tübingen much richer. Some of our professors also joined us for the evening.
After a few words of welcome had been said by the rector of the university, the Ministry of Science and Arts of Baden-Wuerttemberg and representatives from the South African General Consulate in Munich, the students entertained the audience with a small performance including songs and dances which reflected the diversity of cultures present within South Africa. One among the group, Siyethemba, who sings for the Stellenbosch University Choir, delighted the audience with a beautiful solo and the performance was closed with the national anthem.
During these moments, when I found myself among this diverse group of students, who have all grown to be great friends during the past month, I felt truly proud to be South African. After all the formalities were over, guests were given the chance to simply mingle and get to know each other. I must admit that I was surprised to realize just how many people were involved in making this experience in Germany possible for us and to experience their genuine openness toward South Africans and our culture. Without the combined effort of all these individuals, we never could have experienced all we did or have the memories we now treasure dearly. We therefore thank each of them sincerely for investing in us as individuals and we hope that we can continue the contribution by investing in others in return.

(Karien Joubert)