Exchange Report: Tiaan Slabbert
Charlotte Latin School, Charlotte, USA

“The thirty, the twenty and the ten… TOUCHDOWN!” everybody leaped up in excitement, it was my second day so I joined, only having a very vague idea of what had just happened. Although the padding seemed soft and throwing the ball forward seemed too easy, I was intrigued. The volume and passion of the made me feel as if I could easily be in Loftus watching the Boks beating the All Blacks!

My first weekend had gone brilliantly! I been introduced to a classic American delicacy on the Saturday night: Spaghetti and Meatballs and watched the local NFL team, the Carolina Panthers sneak past the Chicago Bears in the dying seconds at the Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte! I didn’t believe that it could get any better. It wasn’t a full day later that I realized how wrong I was.

I was filled with excitement and pure fear as I exited the car that my 16 year old friend had driven me to school in, partly because I thought it crazy that he was allowed to do this! Seeing Mini Coopers and BMWs in the student parking lot also shocked me but I warmed up to it rather quickly, they provided us with much freedom. We parted ways as we arrived because he had other commitments so it wasn’t long before I was left alone at Charlotte Latin School, a coed day school that required you to merely tuck in the shirt of your choice, in Charlotte, North Carolina. Luckily it wasn’t long before I had been sorted out with a timetable by the head of exchange at the school and shown around by some friends. This eased the nerves.
Differences from home were evident in every direction that I looked, especially in the sense that there were girls my age around every turn. Latin, as it is referred to there, ranges from Kindergarten to Matric and is made up of 1200 students. Your grade is rather irrelevant though as you can be in a class with almost any other high school grade as long as, by the end, you have finished the required syllabus. I spent my time there as a junior, their equivalent of a form 4 and found myself in classes with classmates in forms 3, 4 and 5. The work ethic there matched, if not topped, ours in the classroom, a lot of emphasis was put on getting into university or college which is what they call it.

Sport at Latin was taken very seriously, which I could relate as it is the case here as well. They offer sports like, American football, baseball, lacrosse, soccer and a few more which are mostly foreign to me. I was lucky enough to test my worth on the football field there which was a great experience. I played for the junior varsity team which is the under 16 team and there was also an open age group team. They differed to us here as those were their only two teams, having five teams per age group seemed ludicrous to them. With this system everyone that played football was given a uniform, went to all the practices and dressed out for all the games even if it meant that they sat on the bench all game. One would think that they’d be soft under all that padding but I was led to believe otherwise in my first contact practice. I did, however, make sure that I got a good few of my own big hits in to keep the South African flag flying high! They had a tradition there that on your game day you wore your football jersey to school which makes you feel quite important and helps serve as a conversation starter with an attractive girl you’ve been eyeing out. The girls also make signs and posters and put them on the players’ lockers on game day.

They had some other fun traditions there. Halloween is taken very seriously and the week leading up to it were filled with differently themed days. This was great fun and everyone made the effort. The biggest football game of the year was played on the Friday and a big Halloween party was organized thereafter. The outfits were brilliant and original here and we all had a great laugh!

Charlotte Latin is a day school with no boarding establishment so I had to be hosted. The Mayopoulos’s very kindly took me in and treated me amazingly. Gus, the son, had come on exchange here before I left so I’d gotten to know him which was ideal. As there was a girl from Germany using their spare room, I stayed in the pool house. This was awesome! It was massive with its own kitchen, bathroom and double bed. On weekends I would go to different friends’ houses depending on arrangement and just to get a feel of different living conditions. I spent many weekends at the Davies’ house who were incredible to me, always very hospitable and kind. Rich Davies, the father, is an ex-Hilton boy and is very passionate about the school and South Africa. It was nice to chat to him and get a break from the American accents and lack of rugby and cricket knowledge.
 
Whilst in America I was lucky enough to take my travels further than just Charlotte. I went with a German exchange group down to Charleston, South Carolina and Atlanta, Georgia which are both very interesting cities. The German group lacked any real knowledge of the English language making them near impossible to communicate with but they made a good effort and there was a lot to see. The Davies’ family invited me with them to Augusta National golf course where there was a Hilton Old boys’ reunion, I saw a few people that I’d met at Hilton in the past here which was quite comforting. We travelled in a massive bus with beds, televisions, a bathroom and a kitchen in it, luxurious is putting it mildly. From there we went to Clemson, a top University to watch a College football match. This was awesome, just to see the amount of support and brilliant football. Over the American holiday, thanksgiving, I went to New York with the Mayopoulos family which was an unforgettable experience! I saw everything there was to see there, Time Square, the floor of the New York Stock exchange, the Macy’s Day Parade which is a parade every thanksgiving in which many famous people, such as Miley Cyrus, participate, and much more.
 
I was exposed to all the sport imaginable in my time there, both on TV and at the stadium. I was privileged enough to go and watch numerous NFL football games, two NBA basketball games and an NHL ice hockey game. I made a good friend that had ties to a few NASCAR teams as well which was incredible. Jessica Simpson did a pre race show and I was lucky enough to go into the centre of the track where all the buses used to travel are in. This was huge, very similar to the Davies’ bus. The support for all of these is overwhelming, as it is here for cricket and rugby. The stadiums were a great deal more advanced and classy. There were massive food courts inside the stadium with lounges and TVs if it was a bit hot outside.

In my three months in America I learnt so much about a nation most view as arrogant and ignorant. I ended up making amazing friends that I had numerous unforgettable experiences with. I learnt about myself and how to make the best of awkward situations. I need to thank Mr Guthrie and my parents for affording me the opportunity, never have I had a more worthwhile experience.