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Montag, 18. Juni 2007

As an exchange Student in Capetown, South Africa (07.07.2005 - 04.08.2005)


From 07.07.2005 to 04.08.2005 I took part in the Youth Exchange Programm with South Africa which is offered by the organisation "FSA". FSA stands for Friendship to South Africa. The exchange programm doesn´t belong to a churchly or political group.It is a private initative which organises this programm since 8 years.Out of personal engagement and love to both countries the organizers work hard to maintain the programm for more and more pupils who want to travel to South Africa in order to spend their holidays their for 4 weeks or 3 months. This programm also contains the possibility for South African pupils´ to spend a certain time in a german family and enable them to get to know the "German way of life". It is not obliged to accomodate a South African. Anyway the organisation is always happy about people who are willing to host young people from South Africa.

Structure of FSA:
- FSA Youth Exchange was founded in 1966.
- The head office is in Pretoria/South Africa. The german offices are in Bielefeld and Würzburg.

Advantages for young people:
- Young people get the opportunity to spend a certain time in an unknown country. They can experience the life in a south-african family, go to school there and learn more about the culture and customs of this country
- Besides, it is a good possibility to proove themself and to discover their own abilities and boundaries. They will be more independent and more self-confident.
- Living in a south-african families offers as well the host the possbility to learn more about the germany culture. The german pupils living in south-african families are like representative of Germany.It is also precious to keep contact with people from foreign countries!

My personal opinion about the FSA programm and my time in South Africa:
I am glad that I took part at the youth exchange to South Africa. I spent 4 weeks with my hostfamily. They are very kind people and did a lot for me. I also got theo pportunity to meet a lot of other people in each ages. South Africans´are really niceand open-minded people. I was always chating and talking with them. I never got bored. They are really entertaining and funny people,escpecially my hostfamily. I had a lot of fun with them and I am sure that I will never forget the great moments I spent with them. As I arrived in SA I did not need a lot of time to get used to the life in my hostfamiy. I could easily make myself at home and honestly it worked already after a while. Besides, I could experience the life in an other culture. The south african culture is different to our. For me, the stay in South Africa was a good experience and sometimes really adventurous. Besides, I was able to improove my english. I kept speaking english as good as I can. I just heard people speaking english and spoke it myself, too. Beside,a lot of people in South Africa speak Afrikaans, the traditional language of South Africa. I couldn´t understand
anything, but it was nice to listen to them. At first you think it is strange but after a certain time I could understand a little bit what they meant.My mother got the idea to send me to South Africa. At first I was not sure but then I agreed. I feld a little bit arguable because I did not
know what to expect. Anyway I looked forward to go to South Africa and I tried to make the best out of it. And I am sure, I did. I want to advise the great programm the organisation „FSA“ offers. It is a really good thing. In my eyes it is also very important to keep contact with
People from foreing countries. I got a lot of addresses and I will stay in contact with them as long as possible.
In December 2005 my family and me hosted a South African guy. He stayed here for 4 weeks, like I did in South Africa. The FSA is happy
about volunteers who host people from South Africa.
If you have got any questions and are interested you can ask me every time!



Here are some Photos I took during

my stay in South Africa:


We were driving along the seaside in Capetown and stopped

at several places - the view on the ocean is incredibly nice



Here again - short stop by the seaside for a snapshot


This is my favorite photo of my time in Capetown it was taken at the Cape of Good Hope
(for more information about the Cape of Good Hope: http://cape-town-search-engine-swicki.eurekster.com/cape+of+good+hope/)


Here I am posing on a wall on Tablemountain ( = one of Capetown´s greatest attractions) with the City of Capetown and the Ocean in the background




Again me posing on a wall on Tablemountain

We stopped at a small port and ate fish&chips this was taking while we were havin a rest


Nice Photo with Mountain and ocean in the background


My hostbrother Robert and me went on excursion to Robin Island


I went on a Townshiptour in Capetown - this photo provides insight into the "everyday life" in a Township


cute photo of two Kids living in the Township


Two Kids and me posing for a snapshot in front of the only Townshiphotel in South Africa




two other german exchange students (Dominik on the left and Tina on the right) and me at the airport in Johannesburg


The Big Five: Lion, Leopard, Elephant, Buffalo and Rhinoceros
I have seen them all on the thrilling Safari-Tour :)




Photo Mix South Africa



Here are some Photos I have taken during my stay in SA 2006
Enjoy the Slideshow ;-)



Samstag, 16. Juni 2007

10 Facts about the Average German....it´s simply hilarious ;-)

Germans are really good at statistics. Every year the “Statistisches Jahrbuch” is published, a study crammed with thousands of facts about Germany and the average German. Some facts are astonishing and others confirm existing clichés.

Here are some points you might find interesting:

The average German spends 1 hour and 53 minutes per day watching TV or video and 37 minutes reading

41,5% of all female and 57,9% of all male Germans are overweight. That’s an increase of about 3% compared with the year before.

The average male German is 178cm tall, the average female 165cm.

Germans are rather old when they marry (male 36,2 years, female 33 years). The most popular names for children are Marie, Sofie, Alexander and Maximilian.

14,7 million Germans live as singles. An average German household counts only 2,1 persons.


So far so good. Soothing conclusion for me: I’m no average German! (”The conventional lends the world its existence. The unusual gives the world its value. Oscar Wilde” - Just kidding…)

But the study also offers some facts far from average:

In 2004, 150.667 Germans emigrated. Most of them moved to the U.S., Switzerland and Portugal.


Who works most in Germany? You’d bet on managers? No! Self-employed farmers, fishermen and foresters are in the lead with, on average, 53,9 working hours per week.

In 2004, 88 girls under 14 years had a baby.

290.864 people were taken to a hospital because of excessive consumption of alcohol.

In Niedersachsen (a federal state in northern Germany) there are as many pigs as human inhabitants (8 million).


What can we learn from these points? Well, if you’re still a pupil or student, be careful concerning your career choice and if you have an sensitive nose, you should avoid Niedersachsen…

Source: http://www.germanimpressions.com/10-facts-about-the-average-german/

Main Statistics and Facts about Germany....

Language: German

Population Dec 1999: 82,163 million

Geography

Location: Central Europe

Area: 137,826 sq. miles (356,970 sq.km), about the size of Montana
Western Germany: 96,095 sq. miles, the size of Wyoming
Eastern Germany: 41,731 sq. miles, the size of Virginia


Map of Germany




Federal states
Baden-Wuerttemberg (population in millions:10.37, capital: Stuttgart)
Bavaria (12.04, Munich), Berlin (3.45)
Brandenburg (2.55, Potsdam)
Bremen (0.68), Hamburg (1.71)
Hessen (6.03, Wiesbaden)
Lower Saxony (7.82, Hanover)
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (1.82,Schwerin)
North Rhine-Westphalia (17.95, Duesseldorf)
Rhineland-Palatinate (4, Mainz)
Saarland (1.08, Saarbruecken)
Saxony (4.55, Dresden)
Saxony-Anhalt (2.72, Magdeburg)
Schleswig-Holstein (2.74, Kiel)
Thuringia (2.49, Erfurt)

Religions, 1998: 33% Protestant, 33% Roman Catholic, 34% none or other.

Population, Dec.'99:82,163 million

of which: economically active : 42,713
unemployed persons: 3,931
employees: 34,564
self employed: 4,218

Economic

GDP at current prices, in billion Euros, change over prev. year real in %


2003:2,163.40 (-0.1)


2004: 2,215.65 (+1.6)

2005: 1rst Q:+1.0%, 2nd Q:0.0%


Land use
54.1% farming,
29.4% forest,
11.8% built-up areas,
roads and railways, 2.2% water,
2.5% other.

Governement

Type: democratic, federal, multi-party republic with representatives chosen directly by the people.
Head of state:
Federal President Elected for a five-year-term, may be re-elected only once for a second consecutive term. State president Prof. Dr. Horst Köhler (CDU).
Head of government:
Federal Chancellor Elected for a four-year term, no limitation on re-election.
Federal Chancellor Dr. Angela Merkel


For more Information click on
http://www.germany.info/relaunch/info/facts/facts.html

Main Statistics about South Africa....















Official name:
Republic of South Africa
Capital: Pretoria
Total land area: 1 219 912 square kilometres (471 011 square miles)
Total coastline: 2 798 kilometres (1 739 miles)Population (2006): 47.4-million
Currency: The rand. R1 = 100 cents
Total GDP* (actual, 2005): R1 539-billion (US$227.7-billion) Total GDP (purchasing power parity, 2005): US$540.8-billionReal
GDP growth (2005): 5.1%
Inflation (CPIX, 2005): 3.9%
Official languages: Afrikaans, English, isiNdebele, isiXhosa, isiZulu, Sepedi, Sesotho, Setswana, siSwati, Tshivenda and Xitsonga
Provinces: Eastern Cape, Free State, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Northern Cape, North West, Western Cape



Map of South Africa



South Africa´s population by race

South Africa´s population by language


South Africa´s population by religion
For more Informations click on the following Link:


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