Andre and Justin had a chat with our Academic Curriculum Coordinator, Mr. Joe, about growing up in South Africa and the student life he had before coming to Taiwan and DIS.
Please describe where you grew up.
I grew up in South Africa. Up until grade 2, around 10 years old, I lived on a farm. My mom was the school bus driver so we had to get up very early in the morning. Get on the school bus, pick up all the kids from the different farms and go to school near a power station. We then moved to the closest town, not very big, it was about maybe 150,000 people. I graduated from high school there, and I went to a big city for university.
Johannesburg or?
So was [the town] close to the big city or was it…
It was about an hour and a half drive, so it’s close enough for a quick visit home, but far enough for being away from the people you know.
Please describe the high school you attended.
My high school was one of the four high schools in town. Three of them were Afrikaans and the other one was English. We were, I would say, a thousand and two hundred pupils. That’s from grade 7 to 12. We had 5 sections per grade level… But it was fun, it was an enjoyable time. You can’t compare it to what you guys are going through, but it was an enjoyable time.
A lot of the teachers have trouble with this one. Have you ever mistreated your teachers as a student? Did you break any school rules?
Yes, many times. As a class, you can’t really say it’s a tradition, but when you reach grade 9, so your third year of high school in South Africa. In my school, on Fridays after lunch you always had Music class… the campus was rather big, so it was possible for us, as a class, to sit around the corner and not go to the room. So, we can basically skip the whole period, as a class. So, it wasn’t just me and two other buddies, but the whole class. So, yes. Breaking rules! I was never really in trouble as such…
What was the worst thing you ever did in high school?
The worst thing I did was basically skip school. Not just skip a class, we went to school in the morning… Well… maybe not that. The worst thing was we broke into the gym… on weekends.
How did you do that?
We basically copied the key. We asked the gym teacher… we forgot something in the lockers. When he gave us the key, we looked at the number and went to buy a key. And then…we broke in to play basketball. Basketball is not a big thing in South Africa, so we didn’t have basketball courts outside. So, a couple of friends and I, started playing basketball. We put up nets in the gym for that purpose. But it was not a school sport so that’s why we went in to play during the weekends.
How were you caught?
Actually, the principal came around one afternoon, it was a Saturday. And he heard the noise inside the gym. He knocked on the doors, we tried to hide, but he eventually came in and found us there. Because we were not doing anything bad, we just had detention for quite a long time, but it wasn’t like the police were called or anything.
Did you have a teacher you hated? If so, what was he or she like?
Yes, I had a teacher that I disliked. In my senior year, we had a Chemistry teacher that was new. Being a senior and feeling that you have been in this school for 5 years, and this person was new… our personalities didn’t get along that well. It wasn’t a fun class at all. Can’t say I was rude with him. I just didn’t interact with him…
What was your favorite subject?
My favorite subject was Geography. My Geography teacher made it fun. We always had fun activities to do…
Field trips?
Never had a field trip. We learned about geography. He took us outside. A lot of activities outside the classroom, not off campus, but outside the classroom. We could apply what we learn, so it was my favorite subject.
Did you pursue that interest in university?
Not at all, no.
So what was your major in university?
Education. I did education and psychology. Dual degree in my first four years.
Did you play sports in high school?
I did. I played rugby, I did track and field. I wasn’t very fast, but I was considered to be a little more powerful than my classmates, so I did javelin, discus throw, and shot put. Rugby was my favorite. That was the sport that took me places.
Where did you go?
Rugby matches, sometimes you’ll tour the Cape Province, which is about 1000 kilometers from our school. We would go on tours to other provinces as well.
So, you would just leave school and go on this trip?
Usually it was during the holidays. In South Africa, the holidays were very… it’s actually by province when I was there. Now it’s probably synchronized. But when I was there, each province had their own dedicated time for the holidays. Give or take a week. So, we would have our holiday week earlier and go on a tour, so we can meet the other schools while they’re still in school…
Have you ever traveled out of the country for anything? When you were in high school?
Never. When I was very small, when I was seven or eight years old, we traveled to South West Africa, now it’s Namibia. But it was considered part of South Africa then… My uncle was in the military, so we traveled there by military plane. I went to visit two or three times. The actual time I went abroad was when I came to Taiwan!
Was that a cultural shock?
Yeah, of course! I didn’t know anything about Taiwan before coming here. We got on the plane and arrived at Tao-Yuan airport expecting… because in South Africa, if you drive out of any city, 30 minutes, then it’s just fields and mountains. When I arrived here, when driving, there are buildings the whole time. My friend and I assumed that we were in one big city this whole time…
I’m not sure if this would be a sensitive question. How did the apartheid affect you as a child or your family?
As a child… Let me say it like this, growing up on a farm, my friends were of course the farm workers’ children. So, my friends were the… black kids on the farm. As farmers, you never really have that segregation. Yes, you lived in different houses, but we were encouraged to make friends with them. We knew all of them and they knew all of us. We learned their language. Only at university I really felt the effects of the apartheid. That’s also after Nelson Mandela came into power, where at university you get a lot of propaganda. Then you realize, yes, my history book was very biased and when you think back…Only until later in life did I realize how terrible it truly was.
So back to the previous question, what is a funny story you’re willing to share? Or anything memorable?
My class, one of my homeroom teachers, always sold frozen yogurt out of the room. There was a big fridge in the room and we sold frozen yogurt. Up to now, I never knew where the profits went. Did it go to the school or in the teacher’s pocket? We didn’t have a class fund for what I knew. But that was our duty, and we were known as the “frozen yogurt class”. People place orders before lunch because some flavors are more popular than others. People would meet you on campus and they would say I want three of this flavor or three of that flavor.
Did any other classes sold things?
No! Just our class. We were the frozen yogurt class… That was the most memorable thing…
