The apartment was financed by my company, but I looked for an apartment on my own. The decision was finally made in favor of an apartment in Summerstrand, Port Elizabeth. The apartment was one of two in a separate house on the property of a white-African landlady. The apartment consisted of a living area with kitchen, a bathroom with shower and bathtub and two bedrooms. The second bedroom was only needed because a colleague was already there at the beginning of my stay and we shared the apartment.

We also had our own small garden with garden furniture and barbecue. We were also able to use the family pool. I had access to the property via the garage, where I could also park my car safely. The entire property was protected by high walls and barbed wire, so I never felt unsafe.

The family’s domestic help cleaned my apartment at least once a week, made up the beds, changed the towels and topped up the drinking water. The family also had a gardener who came three times a week and also looked after my garden. For me, this was an absolute privilege that I enjoyed. For many wealthy African families, however, it is normal to have domestic workers.

At the beginning I had problems with my rental car. We booked a car with Sixt through the company. At the airport, however, the employee told me that they only rent cars to people over the age of 23. So I didn’t have a car for the first few days until we were able to rent a car through Hertz. I ended up with a silver Datsun Go – the cheapest offer, but perfectly adequate. After about seven weeks, however, I had to exchange my car because it had to be serviced. Then I also got a Datsun Go, now a red, older model, which left me two days after I picked it up because the tire was broken. The new exchange at Hertz went smoothly and was very customer-friendly. I now had a white Datsun Go until the end of my stay.

Refueling is very cheap in South Africa. Petrol costs the equivalent of just under €1 per liter. However, when you go to a petrol station, you never fill up yourself. There are employees who take care of this and at the same time clean the windows, fill up the wiper fluid and measure the oil level and air pressure if you want. You can also pay directly through the window, so there’s no need to get out of the car. Afterwards, you give the employee a tip for the extra work he has done on the car.

You also don’t wash and vacuum your car yourself. I once had my car vacuumed for 30 Rand, which is the equivalent of about €2. There were five men in the car at the same time, vacuuming, damp wiping, beating out the floor mats and really leaving the car as good as new. The whole thing took 10 minutes and each of the employees only earned €0.40. That was very shocking for me and I gave them an additional 50 Rand tip.

I worked at the BENTELER plant in Uitenhage, about 35 minutes from my home. The plant with its 540 employees is part of Mercosur, the economic community in Latin America, and therefore works closely with our plant in Brazil. Since the end of last year, management positions have been filled with Brazilian colleagues, so my boss was also Brazilian.

Initially, I worked in Sales and mainly adjusted price conditions in the system. After four weeks, I switched to Purchasing and became much more involved there. My Brazilian boss challenged me a lot and gave me demanding tasks to train me further and teach me certain skills. Patience in particular was something I had to learn in South Africa.

All my colleagues were very friendly, courteous and welcoming. I immediately felt at home and enjoyed going to work every day. At work, however, I also realized how difficult the situation is on the job market in South Africa. Many of my colleagues told me that they were dependent on this job and that if they lost it, they probably wouldn’t be able to find another one. This situation really shocked me, but it also made me realize how privileged I am to have grown up in Germany and to have found a job.

Right at the beginning of my stay abroad, I signed up for a gym, which I went to regularly. As the beach was only a 5-minute walk away, I spent a lot of time there. Even though it was too cold to swim most days, I dared to go into the waves a few times. Surfing and diving courses were also offered there.

Summerstrand, the town where I lived, is home to Nelson Mandela University. At the beginning of my stay, I posted a message in a Facebook group there to get to know people. From that day on, I was never really on my own and was able to make real friends.

I traveled a lot with the students. South Africa is a country with breathtaking nature. We drove the Garden Route, climbed through caves, went on safari in Addo Elephant National Park and Kragga Kamma Game Park, went hiking in the Valley of Desolation, admired seals in Plettenberg Bay, enjoyed sunsets with whale sightings in Sardinia Bay, visited magical places like Hogsback and Nieu-Bethesda and covered many thousands of kilometers in total. I used every minute of my free time to travel around the country.

One of my highlights was a braai with my colleagues from Purchasing and their families. Braai is a South African form of barbecue, but cannot be compared with Germany. You start in the afternoon and make a big fire. Music is played and people talk about all topics, but not about work. In between, meat is grilled over the fire and served as a snack. Food is eaten around the fire at any time and in between.

Everyone brought something to eat, there were various meats, South African bread, salad, papp (South African maize porridge) and many other snacks. There was singing, dancing, partying and drinking. The men drank beer, the women wine and gin. The children played in the garden, grilled marshmallows and had a lot of fun, even though they didn’t speak the same language. There were two South African children and two from Brazil. So Afrikaans, English and Portuguese were spoken. For the adults, the evening was a mixture of English, Afrikaans, Xhosa, German and Portuguese. However, it is precisely this mix of cultures that makes South Africa a very interesting country for me. It’s not for nothing that South Africa is the rainbow nation.

Due to the low wages of South Africans, the cost of living is correspondingly lower. With my German training salary, I therefore had a very luxurious life in South Africa. I particularly noticed that I almost always paid less than the equivalent of €10 when I ate in a restaurant. Even if I had a large main course, a dessert and possibly a wine, I never spent more than €15. A large cappuccino costs the equivalent of €1.60 and you can always order tap water for free.

Shopping in the supermarket is also cheap, especially local products such as avocados, citrus fruits and meat cost significantly less than in Germany.

Cost calculation

Tip: If you spend a semester abroad (6 months) in South Africa, you will be considered a South African by many institutions. In most cases, showing your student visa is sufficient to pay a lower price. In Addo Elephant Park, for example, you pay 307 Rand (approx. 19 €) as an international, but only 77 Rand (approx. 5 €) as a resident.