My favorite part of the South Africa program was the friendships that everyone made during the trip. All of the separate activities that we did together allowed us to grow closer to one another, and now we have friends that will last for many years to come.

South Africa was such a different place to visit everything we did was extremely interesting. I loved going to the multiple cities and seeing how different everything felt from the U.S. The whole trip was an awesome experience, especially learning about the South African and African business culture as a whole.

My favorite part of this program was to see first hand the various similarities and differences in South African business operations through a wide variety of direct educational activities and indirect cultural experiences. More specific than that was the Volkswagen plant tour and presentation from the Internal Auditors.

I got so much more out of this study abroad experience than I could have ever expected. Apart from learning about a completely new culture and how business is carried out differently in South Africa, I also grew much closer to my peers that I will be in class with during the next academic year.

The visits to the townships were one of my favorite parts of this study abroad experience. Unfortunately, it wasn’t a pleasing thing to see, but it opened my eyes so much to what is really going on. A picture cannot capture what we saw that day. Two things that I will truly never forget are those little kids that were in a 10x10ft room singing songs and learning and the joy on their faces when we handed them donations of school supplies. These townships are still such a big part of what South Africa is as a country and what they stand for. I loved how it seemed as if everyone supported them. Like when we went to the market on the weekend in Port Elizabeth and there were so many sellers selling paintings and collages and wood artwork of the townships or representing the townships. It made me feel like it was respected by other people of the country and that was a big takeaway for me as I don’t think the US always has this view on the poor. I feel that this will influence my future interactions with diverse groups of people in a positive way.

My favorite part of the program was the ability to truly experience the culture of South Africa beyond visiting only multinational companies. Our director did a great job of balancing the trip with cultural excursions like the District Six Museum and the Walmar Township and business trips to Volkswagen and Media24.

Gaining a perspective on African life and culture. In the USA, we have little knowledge of what goes on in Africa or what Africans live like. They are an amazing, proud, intelligent people that I gained so much from. I wish everyone had an opportunity to experience some of what I was able to feel there.

I enjoyed meeting the people who were with us on this trip, and learning about the country and the culture and comparing it to our own.

All of the cultural experiences. From the African drumming and braai, the rugby game, seeing townships, the safari, sundowners with NMMU students and faculty, Robben Island, and more. These were all new experiences for all of us, and it allowed us to be introduced to South African life and culture. Even though there are similarities, the differences between here and there opened my eyes to many new things.

I found it most rewarding when we were able to go to a local township to visit a woman and her sister's pottery store. The entire experience was surreal in that everything was in so much poverty, and the fact we were able to help out these women was a great feeling. The country has a long way to go, and if more people from across the world visit and realize what state the country is in, it will get more exposure and hopefully improve for the better.

Meeting locals and sharing experiences with them was so rewarding. They were able to share their perspectives and we learned that we're all very similar and could be good friends.

The Walmer Township tour was the most rewarding experience. Not only was the tour itself a valuable cultural activity, but providing supplies to school children was a valuable community service activity as well.

The most rewarding part had to be the interaction with the students and faculty at Nelson Mandela University in Port Elizabeth while we were there. I was able to learn so much through their experiences as students there and found I could relate to them in so many ways. I also valued our visit to a local township, which showed the massive wealth inequality within South Africa.

The most rewarding aspect of my study abroad experience definitely has to do with the affect it will have on my future. I believe that I acquired skills that will be incredibly valuable to me in my future employment. I personally am working at PricewaterhouseCoopers when I graduate from the MAcc program. Luckily, this was a company that we got to visit which was extremely valuable to me. The entire presentation was very interesting and intriguing because I was able to relate to it. I was able to see how PwC runs business in South Africa. It was honestly not that different than here in Kansas City, which was comforting to see. This will help me when working with people across the globe knowing that things really are not that different. These employees are working with the same processes and programs that we are, here in the US.

I found many aspects of this program to be rewarding. It was great being able to see how both local and international companies operate in South Africa compared to the United States. I also found that going to the township was rewarding. It was amazing to me how everyone had a positive attitude in the township when they have very few possessions and live within a couple of miles of the very wealthy. It was also great to interact with the children of the township and see how happy they were when we gave them school supplies.

I found my interactions with the Nelson Mandela University students to be the most rewarding part of the program. Having the opportunity to interact and converse with others from a different cultural background is quite rewarding. It is not often at KU that I get the opportunity to speak with international students, so getting the change to do so abroad greatly enhanced my South African experience.

The cultural exploration. Whether it be about traditional African culture or the horrors of apartheid, being able to talk to these people was amazing.

If you go into an unfamiliar country without preconceptions, it will be easier to adjust to staying there.

When you travel to a new place, try something new, or anything else like that, just to go into it with no expectations. Everything was more rewarding when we were open to new things and willing to try to adapt to the different culture and practices in South Africa. It's more fun when the whole group let's loose, and we built much better relationships with one another and with the many people we met on the trip.

Don't put off studying abroad or ignore it because you think the cost is too high. The experiences and scholarships far outweigh the costs and doubts you have about doing it.

I believe that everything I learned during this program would be helpful to other KU Master of Accounting students. Not only do I have such a tight knit group of friends going forward that I will be able to work with in my classes and network with the rest of my career, but the things I have learned about other countries and about myself are irreplaceable and I truly hope others have the opportunity to do the same. I would recommend this program to anyone that asks me about it, and I will continue to spread the word and the good that it does in hopes that it stays around for a very long time. If you asked me to pick something to improve in this program for future participants, I would say that it’s impossible. And then, if you asked me again and said I really had to think of something, it would probably have to do with the extremely long or delayed flights, which are out of everyone’s control. In fact, this may have been the most shocking thing about the trip for me, there was truly nothing wrong with it. Yes, things didn’t always go as planned: we had to miss out on some stuff due to flight delays and some of the company visits weren’t always the MOST entertaining thing in the world, but I wouldn’t change a bit of it!