A Different World – Maya Liefer

South Africa is very different than the United States. But from a business standpoint, the goals are the same. To make a profit while caring for the customers and clients. I will say that as expected the businessmen and women in South Africa were a lot nicer than those in the United States. It was also interesting to note the fact that when working with a client in South Africa it does not feel as much like a transaction, but more conversational and relatable. Here in the United States, I believe that most people think of business as simply a transaction and that is why there are so many customer care issues. In South Africa, they have to deal with several other factors that we here in the United States simply just don’t have to. For instance, there is a huge poaching problem that occurs at Kruger National Park. People sneak into the park and kill certain animals for sport, for their horns, or just because. South Africa has to employ hundreds and hundreds of people just to watch over its animals. This is something that I had not ever really thought of until this Study Abroad. I mean surely I had seen the commercials or the press conferences, but never had I thought of how they were actually combating the problem. So this was something that I got to see firsthand in South Africa and it was extremely interesting to learn about. I loved getting to see all of the ins and outs of the Safari industry, quite frankly there is none like it in the rest of the world. I had never thought about how this industry would work until this Study abroad. It is nothing like running a zoo or even running a zoo at all it is simply about keeping safe the animals that already inhabited that area. I loved getting to explore and learn so much about South Africa and the Safari Industry and I would recommend this trip to anyone interested in exploring the world!