At first, I did not understand what the fuss was all about and why our teachers were so angry at us.  I realise now that I have to be conscious of what is happening around me and that pleading ignorance cannot be tolerated. I also know that I still have to learn so much.  First, I want to say again how sorry we are for causing so much of an embarrassment to Mrs Markram.   We did something wrong.  Full stop.  We left our German friends at the beach.  Full stop.  We were their hosts and we did not look after them.

The biggest punishment was the disappointment on both Mr Blum’s and Mrs Markram’s faces.  I will never forget that look.  When Mrs Markram said that the South Africans should pack and leave, a day earlier, I knew how angry she was and that she meant what she said.

I wanted to kick myself for being that stupid and not think before I act.  I knew Mrs Markram was right and the only way to learn was to feel the full impact of your actions. Looking back today, I actually say thank you to that dreadful day because, a miracle happened on that day.  The South Africans and Germans grew closer to each other. The bond between us was even stronger.  We thought we would not see each other again and realised how close we have become over the past two weeks.

If I could relive that day and change the choices we have made, I would not do so because through this mistake, we have learnt a valuable lesson.  Failure should not be seen as a mistake and I think, teachers are afraid in general that their students will make mistakes.  I also think, teachers are too concerned about the “correctness” of the exchange; how it appears from the outside; keeping up the pretences; so many classes on what to say and what not to say; how to behave and how not to behave.  They forget that we are young people who will find ways to communicate with each other, we have our own language and our own symbols and we will find ways to reach out to each other.  Our teachers have not seen or hear us chatting to each in the early morning hours, listening to music together, dancing together and also not agreeing with each other.

It was a fantastic camp and DAY 14 was the best part of it.  We will now be stronger and wiser when we go to Germany in 2018 – and yes, we will still make mistakes and cause embarrassment as it will be a completely new environment to us.  When we think back one day, when we are old, we will laugh about our stupidity and moan about youth of today.

I want to thank all our teachers for making this dream come true for us.  Although it sometimes seems as if we don’t show our gratitude, we are truly grateful for everything that you have done for us.