Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes

I’m in love with this country. With the scenery. With the people. With the food. This past week has been incredible and I’m starting to feel that I am gaining meaningful lessons –both in and out of class –as well as building positive relationships with my Lynedoch students, class partners and professors. Everything is coming together!

On Monday, Corie, Elyse and I ran our first class with our seventh graders and got to know our new students by making Valentine’s Day cookies (the best way to a kid’s heart is through their stomach, no?). Mr. Myburgh, our teacher, has given us full reign of the class, which is a bit intimidating in terms of disciplining the students. At the same time, though, this independence allows us to plan and facilitate our weekly class the way we choose and we have been brainstorming a very interesting and interactive curriculum for the semester!

(On a side note, if anyone at home has any good ideas for funding opportunities, please let me know! There are very few resources here in the school system, and while we don’t want to create a feeling of entitlement in the students, they could benefit greatly from some life skill/cultural lessons we have been planning, which need basic materials.)

This morning, my HIV/AIDS class went on a field trip to visit the local township of Khyamundi to meet with our community partners and start planning our prevention program for the semester. My group will be working with George, who is in charge of the Medical Knowledge Institute and runs health education workshops for community members. He took us on a tour of the facilities and I soon found myself in the midst of a small stampede of 3-, 4-, and 5-year olds, literally toppling over each other running to give us hugs. The kids in the daycare program were fascinated with our skin color and got endless enjoyment from our hair and jewelry. For some strange reason, a group of them were also fixated on my nose and made it their mission to try and pull it off (they almost succeeded too…) Attempting to shift their attention from my aching nostrils, I started an impromptu round of “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes” and a few of the older ones joined in, singing and laughing. Although I was only there a short while, it was easy to feed off their excitement and energy!

Got to run to Afrikaans class (pop quiz on the alphabet, I think…I’ve resorted to basically clearing my throat in an attempt to make the ‘G’ sound. Really not the most attractive noise…) and get to meet with the Wendel clan arriving from the airport afterwards!

JAWS: South Africa Style

One of my intentions on this trip was to make a bunch of international friends. So far I’ve been pretty successful getting to know some French, German, Dutch, local South African and other American students. But I thought I should branch out a little.

I have a new friend.

Her name’s Rosie.

She’s 12 feet tall.

She has lots of teeth.

She lives in the Atlantic Ocean.

Yep, that’s right folks…

Mom and Dad, don’t worry. I survived with all my fingers and toes (I’m only supposed to have 9 of each, right?). It was such an incredible experience!!  We were all loaded up into a small fishing boat, which proved to be a bit too small on the rough seas for a lot of us as half of the divers “lost” their breakfast on the way to the anchoring spot (thank goodness for motion sickness pills!).  The fish oils were spread, the seal outline decoy released, and we waited. But not for long! Within minutes we had our first Great White shark sighting as it came over to inspect the boat, followed by 9 more throughout the course of the day.

Check out some of the pics!

Gearing up to go into the cage…

I literally came FACE TO FACE with a shark! The water was so murky from the storm yesterday that it was difficult to see very far in front and we relied on the instructors in the boat for their instructions: “Coming on your left- DIVE” and held our breath and went under. Inches from the bars, Rosie thrashed around, chopping on the bait ball. I was inches away! 

Teach Me How to Dougie

Ok, so maybe not dougie, but I learned how to “sokkie” Wednesday night at one of the local dance clubs! Marlize and I met up with a friend who has had training in the “art of sokkie-ing” –and it definitely is an art form! Think combination of ballroom and swing set to a faster tempo and traditional Afrikaans music –all while whirling and twirling around everyone else on the dance floor –if you’re inexperienced it’s a disaster waiting to happen! Luckily the two of us fared well enough for beginners (I managed not to knock anyone out…) and it was awesome to watch a championship-winning couple show off their moves on the dance floor.

Here’s a link to get a taste of what sokkie-ing looks like, although you have to imagine the chaos of more people!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLW4K6ltHWk

Thursday I finally had my first class for HIV/AIDS: The South African Perspective and I was excited to find out that in addition to lectures, discussion and media presentations throughout the semester, we will be working with a number of community organizations, be given a budget, and will design and implement an AIDS preventive program with our community partners. This semester’s courses are definitely giving me a hands-on experience outside of the classroom and not only that but I will be immersed in South African communities for the next five months!!

Today we were back at Lyndoch for a full day of class –the 7-hour block flew by once again and I was in continual awe of the content, discussion and planning we prepared for the semester. (My love for the class was probably also aided by the fact that Grant’s mother made another delicious traditional African meal: bobotie, the national dish of South Africa, which is a delicious mixture of curried meat and fruit with a creamy golden topping…ok ok, it may sound weird, but it was amazing!) My group finally meets our 7^th graders on Monday!

Signing off for the week but I’ll leave you with a cliffhanger and promise an exciting post after Sunday….da na na na na na na na

The Best Way to Eat an Elephant

I just had The. Best. Day. Ever. I’m not even bothered by the 99-degree heat wave that has swept through South Africa (and into the non-air conditioned, fan-lacking dorms) because I am trying to make sense of a swirling sea of thoughts and emotions. These next thoughts are not going to come out quite as eloquently as I could hope for, but I need to try and find some way to put the experiences today into words.

Also, please note that I am currently running on 2 hours of sleep as I spent half the night cheering on the Big Blue wrecking crew in the mini TV lounge with fellow Giant fans, a few gloomy Pats fans and a handful of Frenchmen who tagged along and who had a pretty difficult time trying to understand the concept of a safety. Sorry –that was the last bit of shameless smack-talk for all you Boston fans!

Today I started orientation at Lyndoch Primary School where I will be doing my practicum/internship for the semester, working in the classrooms with 20-something other international students. Arriving at the small, isolated campus about a 15-minute drive outside of Stellenbosch, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. Would I be thrown into a teaching position similar to the Solomon Islands, armed with some textbooks and only a limited vocabulary of Afrikaans? What would the kids be like? What was I supposed to teach them?

Our instructor, Grant Demas, was there to meet us with morning tea, coffee and muffins, already putting everyone at ease. Grant is brilliant. There is no other word to describe him. He has a true gift to make everyone comfortable and I was pleasantly surprised at how fast the class developed a strong sense of community –I even found myself chatting with students from Germany and Austria on the bus ride home as though I had known them for months. I want to record everything he says –he doesn’t necessarily teach, but rather adds to the discussion with tidbits of quotes, riddles and stories and is fascinating to listen to. Taking us on a tour of the school, Grant introduced us to the students and teachers, grades 1-8, and it was a truly beautiful community of people. The kids stared at us wide-eyed and smiling as we filed into all the different classrooms and we were treated to a special welcoming song by each class.

After orientation, I decided that I wpould be working with the 7^th graders this semester along with Corie and Elyse, two other American students! We will be responsible for planning weekly lesson plans in arts/culture and life skills for the 7^th grade students. I am super excited to work with this age group because they are at the point where they have developed their own unique personalities and can participate and engage in more complex and  interesting projects over the semester. (I’m also very curious to observe the similarities and differences in working with the Lyndoch students and my kids at YouthRAP at PC for the past year…) The three of us will start our introduction lesson next Monday and I can’t wait to get started!

All of the LSCE students enjoyed a fabulous home-cooked meal by Grant’s mother and who will give us a taste of traditional African-style meals throughout the course of the semester (not a bad way to slip in a lesson in culture into the course!) We also got time to play outside with the students during recess and I was surprised to find how readily we were accepted into the various playgroups dispersed around the playground. This was actually a bit shocking compared to the shyness and reserved nature of the Aligegeo students in the Solomons, who took much longer to warm up to newcomers. I can only venture a guess that this may be due in part to the differences in culture and probably the fact that Lyndoch as been a part of the LSCE program for a few years now and therefore the students are used to new faces each semester. Because of this I was surprised to feel small fingers playing with the braid in my hair as soon as I sat down in the grass and found myself surrounded by a flock of 2^nd and 3^rd graders finding amusement in using me as a human pincushion for bobby pins…

I was also very surprised by something I heard one of the older students say: “I feel privileged to live in South Africa because people are rich in their own culture.” Many times the words associated with Africa include “poor,” “underdeveloped,” and “violent,” and I have listened to family and friends voice these concerns when I told them where I was studying abroad. This quote from the student, however, reminded me of how relative these observations are and I find it amazing that there are kids as young as 10 and 11 who are able to recognize that wealth and poverty do not apply to material things. In fact, Grant stressed a similar thought throughout the course of the day, saying, “You are working with people, not things.”

Overwhelmed with many expectations, hopes, and a few anxieties, Grant left us with a quote as we packed up for the day. “Remember,” he said, “the best way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time.” I am going to have to try to follow this advice over the next couple of months as I try and digest the awesome experiences here at Lyndoch, learn how to sort through the thoughts and feelings that right now are on the back burner of my mind.

I’ll let those simmer for now as I head off to the first rugby game of the season –hopefully they’re as successful as the Giants last night (ok, I lied, that was the last piece of gloating :P) Go Maties! 

Happy Feet

Saturday:

Explored the Stellenbosch Botanical Garden and met up with Marlize, a local student here at Stellenbosch who I happened to meet in the Johannesburg airport on my way to Cape Town! She was such a sweetheart and took my roommate, Kirsten and I of a short tour of the surrounding Stellenbosch neighborhood, including a quick stop for a wine tasting J She is a third-year student as well and has promised to keep us posted on her weekend plans and has invited us to tag along whenever she goes exploring the Stellenbosch mountains and on Cape Town excursions.

Sunday:

Last field trip before classes start!! We visited Boulders Colony to see the penguins –yes, in Africa! –and then traveled on to Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope. The view from the hiking trail was incredible and none of us missed the chance to yell “I’m king of the world” from the cliff’s edge. Looking out into the vast expanse of ocean, it was kinda eerie to think that the closest land mass was Antarctica…

Trying to sneak a kiss...careful- they bite

Baboon holding up traffic on the way to Cape Point

Voila! (Thanks Mom ;) )

Shouldn't be too far to walk...

Livin' on the edge

"the monkey that stole Emily's muffin out of her hand"

Where the Streets Have No Name

I kicked off the week with a spectacular hike in one of the nearby mountains with Dara, Dave and Zach, all AIFS students here at Stellenbosch with me. As we made our way up the rocky dirt roads to the trail, we laughed at the roll-down windows and faulty tape player, which we tried to use to blast U2s “Where the Streets Have No Name.” (It’s a fitting song, really, since the streets really aren’t labeled except for on the sidewalk curbs. This, in addition to the fact that they’re still unfamiliar Afrikaan names, only adds to the confusion for directionally-challenged people like myself…) The scenery on the trails was absolutely gorgeous and I found myself reaching for my camera every couple minutes to try and capture the beauty of my untouched surroundings. However, these pictures couldn’t begin to describe the excitement we had upon finding our very own waterfall “watering hole” that we took advantage of for a refreshing swim. I felt like we were walking through a scene in Lost and joked around that we were searching for ‘the hatch’ and avoiding the black smoke.

This week has been a time for exploring not only the rolling hills around campus but also the interesting sights and sounds in Stellenbosch. I’ve managed to forgo the map as much as possible and play the “Follow the Local” game to begin to orient myself with the strange-sounding street names (try pronouncing “Soeteweide” and “Skone Uitsig” with a straight face when asking for help with directions. Not easy. I’ll be taking an “Afrikaans for Beginners” this semester, so hopefully I’ll be able to master some of these words by the end.) The University of Stellenbosch actually makes up the town and there isn’t much of a divide between on- and off-campus, although most of the shops, markets and nightlife are a short walk downtown. Crossing the streets is also an acquired skill here -we’ve been playing a bit of “Frogger” (and I thought Rhode Island drivers were dangerous…).

This week we had “Braii –Take II” on Tuesday night, this time with a bit more success. The grill was still monopolized by the guys (what is it with boys and fire?!) but we all enjoyed sausage, chicken, pineapple and my contribution of grilled eggplant (mmm). We also discovered “Braii Biscuits,” which are like pre-made garlic bread rolls that melt the butter inside when heated. Genius. And delicious. I think we might have been on a grilling kick, because the next day at the beach, our sunscreen marinades (or lack thereof, for some) didn’t quite hold up to the South African sun. Roasted Americans, anyone? 

Campus is finally starting to fill up as the upperclassmen are returning and MAD2 week is in full swing. Each of the residence halls (set up Greek style) has been practicing a performance all week for the first-years to put on. Thursday night’s “Vensters” showcased these dances on various street stages across campus and after being woken up to Rihanna and Shakira blasting outside my window at 7am for the past week and a half as they practiced (making for some very annoyed and very cranky Concordia residents), I was interested to check out the dances. So wild! And the costumes! Zombies, gypsies, and traditional tribal gear. It takes some getting used to the huge number of students on campus –just about 25,000 in comparison to PC’s 4,000 –so it feels almost like a town in itself. At the same time, everyone has been super friendly and always asks, “Where in America are you from?” even if I’ve just said hello. Is it really that obvious? haha

With all these beach days and braiis, it feels like I have been on vacation since I’ve been here. At the same time, I’m starting to feel a bit lost without a set schedule or classes yet. This relaxed and easy-going pace is the South African way of life, says my abroad officer, “Mama H,” and hinted that Americans would do well to copy it once in a while. So here I am, doing one of my favorite things in the world –sitting out in the sun (don’t worry Mom, I’ve got plenty of sunscreen!) on the green at the student center. As I’m writing I get to listen to a conversation in Xhosa –complete with intricate and exotic clicks. I’m still trying to figure out how they click while they’re talking! Time to go listen…