The American Experience 3

Furman University

Gwen Zorn went on exchange to Furman University (Greenville, South Carolina) in the second semester of 2008. 

I'd heard that little surpasses Southern charm and hospitality and on arrival in Greenville I discovered why. A lovely lady was waiting for me at the airport - with food and a beaming smile, 'Welcome'. I certainly felt so.

Furman University has a student population of only 2500 and is set on the base of the Blue Ridge Mountains, about fifteen minutes from North Carolina, with a campus about the same size as Rhodes. The central focus of the university is the lake, which people are often dared to swim in or even sometimes coerced to - frat boys! On campus there is a Starbucks, a sushi place, a burger hut and an awesome bagel café, as well as 'giant rats', but thankfully not in the same place! What I thought was a giant rat was actually an opossum, I later discovered. It came up to my knees and was eating grass, a strange sight to say the least, I was petrified.

Furman has a very strong and proud International Students Union and organises many activities such as an International Fashion Show, an International Meal Day and an International Dance Show. I participated in the latter and taught twelve people from the Netherlands, Bulgaria, Trinidad, Jamaica, Germany, China and Japan to sing 'Shosholoza' and gumboot dance. Actually I had very little experience myself and YouTube ended up doing most of the choreography but we had such a good time and everyone was really fascinated by the story behind gumboot dancing. Some Americans do still think we have slaves and have never watched TV but they are very eager to learn otherwise and as the only African at Furman I was quite a novelty. After discovering that many students did not even know who Robert Mugabe was I was given guest lecturer status and made a 90 minute presentation on Zimbabwe and its crisis. My lecture was very well attended and, I believe, appreciated.

Academically Furman is very strong, achieving some of the top marks in the United States. Furman offers a very wide range of subjects and as it is a liberal arts school, encourages each student to diversify their academic repertoire. Poetry Writing, Fiction Courses, Health and Fitness, Eastern philosophy and Golf are some of the examples of subjects offered that are not usually done at Rhodes. In America an undergrad degree takes four years and so, as an Honours student, I returned to Undergrad status while there. It is also compulsory for every student to do four subjects. I went from studying only Philosophy to studying American History, Poetry Writing and Political Thought as well. I found that Furman courses were generally easier than Rhodes courses however the amount of work was substantially more. Assignments are typically due weekly for each course and tests are frequent. Two sets of exams are written per semester, mid-terms and finals. Course work at Furman plays a much larger part in one's final mark than at Rhodes, so if like me, you tend to fall apart slightly during exam time this is not really to the detriment of your academic record, or at Furman, your transcript.

Most sporting students at Furman are on full scholarships and come from all over America, so if you want to make a team you have to pretty good, unlike Rhodes rugby, although you may actually make the rugby team as this is not America's forte, but they have weekly matches, which I regularly attended for a little taste of home. Football is furiously followed at Furman. People 'tailgate', which is basically barbequing on the back of your monster truck (of which there are thousands in the south, not real monster trucks but pretty big Chevy's). My favourite part was the marching band that performs at half time. Furman also has a full on cheerleading squad, co-ed.

Juniors and Seniors (3rd and 4th years) are normally housed in 'The Apartments'. There are 4 people in each apartment, you have your own room and share a bathroom with one other person. There is a lounge with a TV and cable and also a fully equipped kitchen.

I found Americans as a general group, while pleading exoneration from stereotyping, very welcoming and friendly, after a while however they give you your space and let you get on with it. My best American friends were in the fraternity Sigma Nu and you will probably find that people tend to hang out with others affiliated to the same frat or sorority, yes, it is exactly like the movies! There is no alcohol allowed on campus which I only discovered once I arrived and most students tend to go to one of the many Baptist churches in Greenville. The frats are strategically positioned off campus to avoid being guilty of on-campus alcohol possession. (At Furman you do not want to break the rules, their CPU officers are all trained policeman and they even carry Glocks.) Downtown Greenville has a few clubs and bars as well as horse and carriages, jazz clubs, restaurants and Southern fare stores. If you're under 21 they put huge black crosses on your hands with a mighty marker.

I managed to travel quite a lot in America and I really recommend it, like Grahamstown, Greenville can get really small. Athens, Georgia is a great trip. The people there are football fans extraordinaire, and Michael Stipe lives there, if you care. Asheville, North Carolina is like Bathurst only the size of Grahamstown. They have amazing bluegrass (jazzy, country, ska-like music, very unusual) festivals in Asheville, go to one. Tennessee (go to Nashville), Kentucky, Alabama and Louisiana (New Orleans) are also relatively close and Florida borders to the south. If you have the chance to go up north, Chicago, Boston, New York, you definitely should. After term ends is usually a good time to go, as you have a month after the end of term to stay in America before your visa expires.

On the whole, I found Furman very fascinating and I certainly learnt a lot, not only in the classroom but about life. Having the chance to be in America during Obama's election and the run-up to it was a unique experience and, being from Zimbabwe, it was a very inspiring thing to see democracy functioning as it should. I am grateful to everyone involved for making my time stress-free and easy. Y'all should definitely check Furman out, the yams, crawfish, pumpkin pie, bone suckin' sauce, mint juleps and 'specially the grits are just fantastic, just 'aks' Shoeless Joe Jackson.