Arrival
and first ADaF visit 2010
Report: "Our
Arrival in Stuttgart" by Nombulelo Hadebe
On a very cold Tuesday
morning (-3°c), a group of 23 young and eager people, experienced
many things at once, for some it was a virgin step on European
soil and for some it was the very first time they had experienced
such weather.
We arrived in Stuttgart at around 11:15 (Berlin time) and a very
friendly bus driver named Franz - who has been with the programme
for quite some time - drove us from Stuttgart to Tübingen. Minutes
after the arrival the group met at Fichtenweg 5, where we were
each given something to nibble on and also allocated our rooms
that we were going to sleep in for the next four weeks - YAY.
We then went to see the rooms and to familiarise ourselves with
the rooms as well as the facilities that we could use for the
weeks ahead. There were three good things about the rooms; we
were not going to share - which I think is a good thing -, they
have a huge walk in closet - which is every girls dream, (I don`t
know about the guys) and the rooms were also spacious - I mean
who wouldn't want a room like that.
As the day proceeded we learned that the fully paid trip to Tübingen,
free accomodation plus meals, wasn`t the only thing we had bargained
for. To our surprise we were given a little something extra MOOLAH.
That wasn`t part of the plan and I thought that was fantastic,
wünderbar. Suddenly, we all had 50€ as pocket money - that is
about R450 in South Africa. Thanks to the guys who made it all
possible. Thanks Barbara.
That evening of our arrival Barbara and her team made it clear
that it was a day filled with warm welcomes and surprises. We
were treated to dinner at a Greek restaurant called FAROS up in
Waldhäuserstraße. This all showed that even if the weather is
cold in Tübingen, the people are still warm and always eager to
make our stay a comfy one.
We all felt special and important, this was our first day away
from home but Barbara and her team made it a home away from home.
We had Tom, Philina, Ann, Tobias and many others who were excited
to meet us in the freezing weather upon our arrival. This report
wouldn`t be complete if I did not mention once more how wonderful
and dedicated Barbara, Tom & Philina have been. They had collected
warm winter clothes for the group months in advance as if they
had known that some of the luggage would not arrive on time.
From the 2010 South African group, we would like to thank all
of the people who made this trip possible. Thank you very much!
With much appreciation
by Nombulelo Hadebe
"My
first experience in Germany" by Khazamula Negroes Maswanganyi
When my nose headed
Stuttgart on the wintry icy day of the 5th January 2010 my veins
had already predicted my accelerated heart beat that drastically
changed. My eyes started to blink in search for a space in my
memory where my extended horizons could be stored. I unconsciously
shoveled them hysterically until they hit knocked my mind in conviction
that indeed I was in another historic state that forms part of
the real modern world which needed me to practically own every
second I would daily have on track.
I then realized that I was not on a dream when Mrs. Babra Owen
confidently empowered my joy during her welcome note. Babra's
happiness was quite surprising since we had that of Lidia du Plesis
whose unbeatable smile then seemed to equate that of a German
woman. Super!
This first day had
temporary stolen my joy by routinely asking me multiple questions
relating the standard of my relatedness as this city sounded bold?
Tom and Ann-Kathrin could agree with me that I never shown
out my excitement when they allocated me Georg-Fahrbach Haus (Room
612), one of the most hygienic flat. I sent all thanks to God
for their kindness.
At first I was rattled
by the atmosphere. My nervousness speedily vanished away like
'a cloud wisp on a summer afternoon' after it was overpowered
by the huge amount of joy bestowed upon my soul that I later discharged
from my heart to wipe away everything that seemed to form part
of all minor disturbances of my first experience in Germany. My
little shiny light of hope started to instill the happiness I
for long treasured. What a wonderful city Tübingen could
be? How so punctual and discipline could one describes so well?
I explored.
The temperature got
down with the snow falling almost everywhere beautifying the city
land of my hope to look more white and totally different from
the red soil of my democratic land. I wondered what colour of
the soil beneath the snow could have been blessed by that naturalistic
cover of the earth. Opportunistically, I embellished my love to
Europe by unembroiling what was going on in my mind, especially
about these two continents (Africa and Europe). What a good start
I had in order to expand my knowledge since I would be on my own
exploring the 'hill city of my dreams-Tübingen'.
My first week of our
program had so many challenging and interesting things that I
could not entirely believe they would in either way be replaced.
All those days in Tübingen seemed to be on a jet-speed before
I could stimulate my desire to capture every moment I had. Of
course German’s unique life and kindness shall always remain
my reference of the original life in knowledge acquisition. To
many people in Tübingen books seem to be their internal life
of which without them life looks incomplete. Everywhere people
are reading. You got into the bus almost the same.
Most interesting was
their public transport system. It was highly impressive in the
sense that all their buses were always on time and comfortable.
My life experience had never came into conclusion that there might
be a free crime state on earth where you could maybe freely leave
your valuable property such as a motor vehicle outside your apartment
for almost weeks. I experienced that in Tübingen.
I saw many cars and bicycles parked at the same spots covered
by the snow on the streets almost for two weeks. Outside students'
rooms were shoes on queues every corridor safely. I also tried
mine and they won.
After the second week I rounded my explorations in critique to
check on whether there might be something wrong I ever scored
regarding Babra's schedule. My mind saw almost everyone in the
team smiling like ever before, I thought, inspired by most things
some of us never came across in life. Things like Kässpätzler,
German Folk dance and songs, old German movies, Walz, salsa, cha
cha dance and the unforgettable Kiebingen Carnival Parade of the
17th, just few to mention. What so great Babra and her team had
achieved. Excellent!
The curtain of my experience
was cut by the speed of my days which were impossible to extend.
However I deeply thank my University of Venda, University of Stellenbosch,
all companies and sponsors rallied behind this program to make
it possible for Lidia du Plesis, Babra Owen and her team to excel
in 2010. My thanks would be incomplete should I not thank the
2010 Mzanzi group who made it possible for me to embrace my joy
almost every second I looked at them. Very beautiful heh!
God bless Tübingen
Khazamula Negroes Maswanganyi
(holeni83@yahoo.com)
