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Students settle in at Monash South Africa

1 April 2009

Monash Abroad students Ruth Featonby, Yola Frank-Gray, Elsa Carnaby, Vince Naidu and Lily Shaw-Reynolds visit the magnificent Drakensberg Region in South Africa.

A group of ten Monash students from Australia and Malaysia are undertaking their first semester on exchange at the University's South African campus as part of the Monash Abroad program.

Under the Monash Abroad program, students remain enrolled at their home Monash campus and receive credit towards their Monash degree while on exchange.

Second-year Australian student Yola Frank-Gray said the exchange students were warmly welcomed and found it easy to find their feet.

"The South African campus is much smaller than our campuses in Australia but it's great because it's easier to get to know people in the University community," Yola said.

Half the group went to the coastal city of Durban in search of a summer adventure before the start of first semester classes, where they tried local food "bunny chow", joined a drumming session and visited the beautiful Valley of 1000 Hills. The students have also visited Soweto.

"The experience gave us great insight into a country that we have not been exposed to before," Yola said.

More recently students travelled to the Drakensberg region, home of the highest mountain range in Southern Africa. They also visited a remote village in the Kingdom of Lesotho and abseiled off a cliff face in Kwa-Zulu Natal.

"A group of us intends visiting Cape Town over the mid-term break," Yola said.

"We hope to visit Botswana and as many other local sights as we can, to make the most of this incredible opportunity."

Yola encouraged other students to apply to study abroad.

"The Monash South Africa campus is perfectly situated to make weekend trips away and to experience diverse world views," Yola said.

"It is hard to believe a month has already passed -- time flies when you're having fun!"