Wednesday, March 23, 2011

            This week has been crazy so far! But I’ll start with my first weekend experience out of Grahamstown.

            I was so excited to see more of SA. I love it here. It is a gorgeous place and the people are amazing. If it weren’t for missing my family I would feel like it’s a new kind of home. I feel like every moment in SA is an adventure.

            But this weekend all the COST students went to Kenton on Sea, which is a town. We rented a beach house and went to the beach. It was my first time swimming in an ocean (this was the Indian Ocean) and it was so fabulous! It was a perfect day and the water wasn’t cold at all. I totally forgot that oceans have salt water though, and after a couple minutes I was like “oh my god, am I like sweating in my mouth or something” and then I figured it out. So stupid.

            We had brought food to barbeque that night and I made salsa with a super potent red onion and the dullest knife I have ever seen. But everything was super good and it was a beautiful night out.

            The next day we woke up early and we had plans to go to Kwantu game reserve and do a safari. I was so excited! But as we walked out to our van that we had rented to get around, we found that someone had smashed a rock through the back and the whole back window was shattered! The other students were just shocked and really upset about it. It is too bad and it almost affected our safari plans, but these things happen all the time, even in the States. The only thing stolen was a pair of tennis shoes. That was extremely lucky since one of the girls left their purse in the van up front. Thankfully, it was not taken. It is crazy to think that some people are so poor here that they would break into a van to steal an old pair of tennis shoes, but that is the case. But when you’re traveling you really should take extra precautions, duh!

            The cops had to come to get a report for the beach house lady, who was just in shock at this happening to us. What I find interesting is that they all seem more worried about how this makes South Africa look than sometimes even how it might affect them personally.

            Apparently it takes police a long time to do anything, and you do not see them very much around here, so we had to wait awhile and were late to our safari. We also got very lost. It was hilarious and such a tedious drive, with the back window gone and driving on a lot of dirt roads, we were completely covered with dirt when we arrived. It was such a gross feeling.

            Kwantu was amazing though. We saw giraffes, zebras, springbok (SA national animal), and other animals. We did not see any of the Big Five in the safari, but after we got to go through the reserve’s rehabilitation center. They had white lions, a cheetah, tigers, and lots of other lions. My absolute favorite part was when we went past an enclosure that said ‘Cubs Crib’. There were two little 5-month-old tiger cubs and our safari guide said we could go in and play with them! It was soooooo cool! I actually have little scratches on my arm from a tiger kitten! I got baby tiger kisses and one sucked my thumb! So cute!

            This week I also experienced a day without electricity. I think the longest I have ever been without power in the States is like an hour or two, tops. And that’s like if there is a storm or something. And even then we have generators. But here I guess it is not uncommon for the power to be out in the city, and for several days. Apparently the government does this to random cities to save power and money. It was crazy to see everyone just keep on with their lives. I don’t know if Americans could. I did not realize how many things I took for granted either. I had to teach a lesson that day and had to think how I would teach my music lesson on Eine Kleine without any photocopies or music. It was kind of a cool experience for me.

The classroom I teach in!

At the beach holding a snail thing!

Some naughty person broke into our cool rental van...

Giraffes on the Safari

Baby tigers!

            The girls also had their ‘Gala’ yesterday. It is like an all school swimming meet. A lot of girls here are afraid to swim and I loved that the school had beginner races as well. It was a beautiful day out and I got to be a timekeeper and be right in the thick of it all. It was a fun and sunny afternoon!

The first week

Sunday, March 13, 2011

            This is my first blog post! Before I begin I have to thank my sister Nina for creating it for me, what a sweetie! Also, here’s a shout out to my sister Nessa and Mrs. Harrington’s fourth grade class. I hope I can spark your interest in South Africa, it truly is a beautiful place! I know very little about it though, so it makes me feel infinitely better thinking that I am learning along with someone else J

            About a year ago, I found a COST poster (the program I am doing this whole adventure through – it stands for Consortium of Overseas Student Teachers) and on a whim made up my mind that this was something I wanted to do. To get my teaching degree I have to do three, 9-week placements and it just seemed like a really amazing opportunity. Besides, who doesn’t want to learn about and teach music in a foreign place?!

            Well, I have been here a week and I cannot believe it. I left the Minneapolis airport last Sunday at 2:30 pm. It was so hard to say goodbye to my family. So hard. I had to take three different planes and a shuttle to get to my school. I flew to Atlanta, Georgia, (where I met my roommate) and then to Johannesburg, SA and finally landed in Port Elizabeth, SA. That’s like 20 hours on a plane! The Joburg airport was scary. It is such a big city and some people are so poor, that even people who work at the airport hound you for money and tips and do not leave you alone. And airports can be hectic enough! When I landed in Port Elizabeth, my first thought stepping off the plane into the open air, was that it smelled exactly like a greenhouse. It smelled AMAZING!

            A guy named JC picked us up from the Port Elizabeth airport and shuttled us to Grahmstown and to my supervisor’s house. It was an hour and half drive late at night. The big things I noticed during this whole time was how I knew all the songs on the radio (all the current pop songs we listen to here), and how people drive on the wrong side of the road! I kept forgetting that we were the wrong side and it felt so weird whenever a car passed us going the other way. It was crazy!

           

            My first few days at the hostel were hard. Just because I felt very homesick. The room we were put in is very nice and the two house matrons have been so accommodating to us. The first night we were there, one of them took us with her family to the grocery store to get water and a few basics. It was our first tour of the town and it seemed overwhelming. The only thing I don’t like about staying in the hostel is that the Internet is extremely slow and limited. We aren’t able to skype. I was really relying on that. And the hostel only has 5 computers in it, if they are all working. So it is difficult to find a computer to even email and message, because the girls have work to do on them as well.

            But in retrospect and now that I am not having hourly peaks of panic at the thought of 10 weeks of homesickness, I am very content with the way things will work out. By living in the hostel and eating, sleeping, and living with the girls, I am having a much more authentic SA stay. It is definitely an eye opener to see that the Victoria Girls High School (the school I’m at) has just two small computer labs in it, and this is a very good school in the country. The school itself is very beautiful. It is a large brick building and the grounds and building are beautiful and historic. The school is over a hundred years old. It is an all girl school, but it still counts as a public school here. I asked a student about it and she was telling me that although they still have to pay 10,000 Rand a year to attend (if they are boarders they would have the hostel fee as well) they have papers from the government and the government pays most of the teachers their salaries. Where a private school here would cost up to 100,000 Rand (without hostel fees) and gets no money from the government.

            The girls are great. They are overall (for being high school girls) very well behaved and super polite. I was asking some of them what they think of their school and about it being all girls and they all said the same thing. They are all extremely proud of their school; it is one of the best in the country. Every year they score 100% on their Matric tests (the final tests the senior girls take). They have a ton of co-curriculars offered and the girls are all required to participate in at least 3 hours of co-curriculars a week. The girls also said they like that their school is not co-ed. They said it wouldn’t be the same. One girl said that everyone here has goals (like future careers and school) and that they all want the same thing, but if boys were mixed in it would probably be different.

            Although I agree entirely with what the girls said, I was not thinking they would feel that way. I thought they would all be boy crazy and wish they got to interact with them more. And after seeing their reaction at the ‘super cute’ new student teacher that walked through the door, they are definitely boy crazy, but apparently realize in school they have a good atmosphere going without them.

            This past weekend I got to explore the town with the other COST students. It is essentially a college town (and it qualifies as a town because it has a cathedral, very important). Rhodes University is right down the street from VGH. It reminds me a lot of my college and town, River Falls. Although there is a community and population without the college, you find that the university adds a lot of dynamic to the town.

            Main Street is really only a couple of blocks away from the hostel if you walk down some alleys. These alleys are fine in the daytime, but everyone keeps telling us not to go walking down unlit roads after dark. Which makes sense in lots of places, but I will definitely follow advice here. Main Street has Checkers (a Walgreens type store), clothes, stores, restaurants and some other random stores. It’s very nice. It really reminds me a lot of back home. There are a few disconnects; like if you leave a restaurant with a doggie bag, the leftovers won’t make it home. Or people asking you for spare change. It isn’t everywhere you go and look, but there are poor people here, they are a part of the community.

            If we walk about 10 minutes from our hostel we reach a type of outdoor mall area. There is a discount movie theater, pharmacy, KFC (which is so funny because its HUGE, like couches inside and everything), and Pick and Pay (a grocery store that has a better selection of food than Checkers). Since my roommate and I have to buy bottled water, there is also a place where you can just bring bottles and refill them and it costs less then. Although their water is safe to drink, we would get sick a few times adjusting to the water and since we are only here for 10 weeks it doesn’t seem worth it.

            We saw the movie ‘Black Swan’ on Saturday afternoon and it was funny seeing that movie in SA. I remember seeing it in the States and then after watching it in SA and stepping back out into, you know, Africa after the movie was funny.

            The absolute best part of my weekend though, was finally being able to Skype my boyfriend. The only place my roommate and I have been able to Skype is from my supervisor’s house.  So we were finally able to get there this weekend and I feel so much better after having talked with him. Ever since then I have felt like I can absolutely do this!

Monday, March 14, 2011

            I have had a great day! The weather was beautiful, warm for most of the afternoon but not that unbearable dead heat. And Boudina worked out my timetable (schedule) with me today so I mostly know what I’ll be doing! I’ll be observing and working with all three different music teachers in their different classes and giving clarinet, marimba, and voice lessons. Perfect! I love having direction! Also for my co-curriculars (which every teacher has to participate in, they are like extra-curriculars) I will be working with the choirs and the marimba band. It’s a lot of time, but I’m so excited for it!

            Also I am subbing for my mentor teacher, Ms. J, the next two weeks. So some things I will teach, but also I guess just kind of baby-sit the other classes. I have some tests to give and some things to work on them with though, so I’m okay definitely okay with it. Both my mentor and Boudina have been so helpful in making sure I don’t feel overwhelmed, which is very nice of them.

            I am also getting to know my way around the school. And hostel. And Grahmstown, so I am starting to feel much more comfortable here. Today I was able to navigate myself back to the staff room every single time! Small victory, but especially in a foreign place I am learning to appreciate the small victories, like finding the right adaptor, or liking the hostel food that night, or even being able to at least Facebook chat. Skype is still a no go, and I tried it at the school today and it didn’t work there either. So I’ll only be able to skype Wednesday nights at my supervisor’s house. But I’ll get by J

           Today after school I went to my first choir rehearsals. I love the girl’s voices. Some of the girls can sing so extremely low and strong. Sometimes they even sing the baritone and tenor parts, they can sing anything! I sang with them today and it was really fun. Except when they sing in Xhosa, then I can’t sing with. I’m still trying to say Xhosa. There’s a click sound where the X is, I can’t quite manage to do it all at once yet, but I’m going to get it one of these days.  It’s an extremely interesting language to listen to though. It was neat seeing the choir director in action too. But I find him hard to understand. He has a heavy accent and sometimes he talks to the girls in Zulu and Xhosa. He might not even know he is doing it; today a girl in 11 music was reading aloud and said one word in Xhosa by accident and every single girl and the teacher started laughing hysterically. I didn’t get the joke of course, but it’s funny when the girls catch themselves or others doing that.

           Today I went to Checkers, it’s like a Walgreen’s type place, and bought a sleeping bag. It cost 100 Rand, which is around like $15. Crazy, right? I mean, it isn’t the best sleeping bag ever made, but the blanket the hostel gave us is scratchy and when you shake it stuff falls out, and I’m not liking that! Also, I can use this when we go on weekend trips. Yay!

  
          I am so excited to start traveling and seeing more of South Africa. All the girls keep asking me what I’ve seen of it so far, even though they know I just got here. I think that happens because a lot of them, especially the boarders (girls that live in the hostel) are from other places, like Port Elizabeth, and they want to know what you think of their hometown. It makes sense though. If someone from South Africa came to Saint Michael, MN, I would want them to explore the rest of the country and even state more.

            So far the COST students are planning on going to the beach and a game reserve to do a safari this weekend. So excited!!! 

Inside our hostel room (dorm)

at the Botanical garden

My roommate and I at the Founders day concert ~ the girls were AMAZING!

A note and flowers from our super awesome coodinator, Boudina