Riverdale teen gets life lessons in South Africa

Drew Foster, at right, poses with an American friend and South African children. She says her favorite part of the trip was learning traditional African dances. Photo courtesy of Drew Foster

On July 13, Horace Mann senior Drew Foster was nervous and a little shy as she spoke to 'The Press' about her upcoming service project in South Africa. She returned a new person, speaking excitedly about her life-changing experiences.

By Kate McNeil

While her New York friends sizzled in the July humidity, Drew Foster shivered in a sweatshirt in the southern hemisphere winter.

As one of 40 students on a Global Leadership Adventure, the Horace Mann senior spent three weeks in South Africa doing community service. She returned to her Riverdale home on Aug. 3.

Global Leadership Adventures coordinates international community service trips in South Africa, Brazil and Costa Rica for high schoolers. Drew signed up for the excursion, funded by Horace Mann, as a way to beef up her college applications, but she returned with much more than a line on a resume.

On July 13, a reluctant Drew spoke to The Press about her upcoming adventure. While she had vacationed in Italy and Mexico, South Africa would be the farthest trip from home for the brown-haired basketball player.

"I'm a little nervous just because I don't know anybody," she said.

In her post-adventure interview, Drew was a new person, speaking excitedly about her life-changing experiences, even after a grueling 20-hour flight.

Each morning, Drew and her peers sat in a Xhosa class, to learn the second most common South African language, after Zulu.

"Igama lam dingu Drew Foster" (My name is Drew Foster) is one phrase she repeated a lot.

After class, the students, who bunked in a college dormitory in Stellenbosch, South Africa, completed their community service. For Drew, this meant traveling to Hector Peterson High School to teach two students how to use a computer.

The tech-savvy teenager was surprised to learn that these South African young adults had never seen, let alone used, a computer before.

"I tried to explain what the Internet was, but they had no idea," Drew said.

Because of the language barrier, Drew said she "taught by example" for the most part. After three weeks of Drew's expertise, the student grasped the basics of Microsoft Word, PowerPoint and Excel.

Although Hector Peterson High School was one of the nicest high schools in the town, Drew said she realized how much she took for granted at Horace Mann.

"At Horace Mann you can go in [the cafeteria] and get food whenever you want," she said. "This school only had enough money to supply 200 lunches for 1,200 students."

After learning that, she said none of her peers complained about the cafeteria food.

Another perspective changing moment came after three days of rain. Drew said it caused flooding that drove 40,000 South Africans from their homes.

"When it rains in New York, it's an inconvenience," she said. "When it rains there, you could lose your entire home. It really changes how you think."

After three hours of daily volunteering, the students would explore African markets where Drew said many native Africans were fascinated with the group of foreigners.

"When they found out I was from New York they got excited and many of them said they wanted to visit there," she said.

The group also took weekend excursions to the Cape of Good Hope, Robben Island (where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned) and Table Mountain, absorbing South African culture along the way.

Drew's favorite par t of the trip was learning traditional African dances with her students. She also enjoyed visiting a cheetah sanctuary, and seeing baboons on a daily basis.

Although Drew admitted to missing "luxuries" like her cell phone, a heated room and watching her favorite TV show, Bravo's Top Chef, she added that having so little and seeing how others lived changed her view of life.

"I feel like this trip really changed how I thought about things," she said. "On other trips you're just there to relax."

She said she will use this experience to write essays for college applications.

"I know that doing something like this will set me apar t from other students," Drew said, but more importantly, she added, she learned to appreciate the little things in life, like food and shelter.

This is part of the August 9, 2007 online edition of The Riverdale Press.

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