By Zandri van Greunen
Most new Maties arrive in Stellenbosch ready to experience what “Dis altyd lente in die oë van die Stellenbosch-studente” (It’s always spring in the eyes of the Stellenbosch students) is all about. This ideal can seem tone deaf when the realities of back-to-back lectures, res activities, and being away from home start to sink in. For most first years, it takes a while to settle in and for the initial university culture shock to wear off.
Teneil le Roux, a PGDip (Marketing) student from a farm outside Mbombela, said she was surprised by how cliquey campus life can be. She elaborated on this saying, “People tend to group themselves based on shared beliefs and lifestyles. It often feels very left or right, which can leave those in the middle feeling out of place.”
Cliques aren’t necessarily a bad thing. Janco Botes, a BAHons (Journalism) student from Pretoria, stated that Stellies is a town where anyone can find their crowd. “There is the frat boy crowd, the Aandklas and Boho’s crowd, the Platō Versus run club, and the Kruiskerk crowd,” he said. Botes expanded on how this can create a “bubble effect” and “make the town seem disconnected from the real world”.
Having come from more culturally conservative environments, Choolwe Mulaisho, a PGDip (Marketing) student from Johannesburg who attended high school in KwaZulu-Natal, offered a different perspective on Stellenbosch’s “bubble”. She said the environment allows students to express themselves freely and make their own choices about how they dress and live.
“You can’t stereotype people here,” Mulaisho said. “Stellies culture is really a mix of where everyone is from, it’s a melting pot of different people and personalities.”
Students from smaller towns are sometimes taken aback by the drinking culture that comes along with living in Stellenbosch.
“It was a shock at first,” Le Roux said, “coming from an Afrikaans-medium Christian school.”
Ayabonga Hlumkeza, a third-year BAcc student from Mossel Bay, was also stunned by the “big groove life” that exists in Stellenbosch – where he is from, nightlife is mostly reserved for weekends.
Le Roux dealt with culture shock by getting involved on campus. “Joining communities that shared my interests and values reminded me of who I am, and that I wasn’t alone.” She also explained that being exposed to people from different backgrounds challenged her, but helped her grow.
Slowly but surely the culture shock fades. Mulaisho said, “Your experience here is really what you make of it,” while Hlumkeza summed it up simply: “Once you find your people, Stellies starts to feel like home.”
