Crazy Hat Day

For my last lesson, I chose to teach about adjectives. I decided to base the lesson around hats. After the lesson the students could design their own hats and then we would make them out of newspaper. I made my own newspaper hat and then brought it in to the class. Mrs. Reynolds loved the newspaper hat so much she shared the idea with the entire prep department, grades 1-3. So this past Friday 6 total classes made newspaper hats to take home over the weekend to decorate. On Monday they brought them back and we had a crazy hat parade! 

The kids loved it and came up with some creative ideas on how to decorate their hate. I was really please with the outcome. I was also proud of myself for coming up with an idea and it spread to the entire prep department. The wrote about the crazy hat parade in the weekly newsletter giving me credit for the idea:-) The newsletter goes out to all the parents. They said this will become a yearly thing for the students to do. 

The school term ended this Wednesday at half past ten. All my students wrote me letters and combined them to make a book. The other third grade class gave me a Kingswood cook book and signed their names inside. I got a few other little gifts from some of the students and lots of hugs. It didn't hit me how close I had gotten to these students until it was time to say good-bye. I will probably never see them again...I enjoyed every minute at Kingswood. It will definitely be an experience I will never forget. 

Week 8

This weekend I spent it at Boesmans river (pronounced “Bushmans”) with my friend Debbie's mother. She is a wonderful lady. She picked me up after school and took me to her home on the river. Its very lovely. She offered to get me out of Grahamstown for the weekend since I haven't done much with the other students gone. One culture difference that happened on the way to her home was a family of baboons crossing the road we drove past. It was so neat to see.

We spent Friday night watching movies and listening to it rain. I think we watched at least four movies:-) On Saturday we went to a Bizarre at a methodist church in Kenton, which is just right across the bridge from Bushmans. A Bizarre is like a festival/fundraiser for the church they had. They sold hotdogs and hamburgers, all kinds of baked goodies.  They had a bounce house for kids and games to play. They also had a little dance/sing with kids from the church. It was really neat.  After the Bizarre we went to Port Alfred to watch War Horse at the movies. It was a really good movie. 

 On Sunday I woke up to a drum playing and people singing in Xhosa. On the river bank there was a church group singing and doing a baptism. It was really neat to see the ritual they followed. Even though I couldn't understand the words they were singing I really enjoyed listening to the music. The weather was a lot nicer so we went down to walk on the beach and get some sun. It was perfect weather. We were very close to Shelly's Beach, the one I went to with Holly and her teacher a while back.

Some more differences in language: 

What Americans Say:                    What South African's Say:

head band                                      alice band

khaki pants                                    “car key” trousers

fancy/stylish                                   posh

cool                                                kiff

gross/yucky                                   miff

truck                                              buckey

group                                             lot

rent a car                                        hire a car

place to rent                                   to let

crazy                                              hectic

Kingswood Turns 118

Another big thing that happened this past week, minus SciFest, was Kingswoods birthday. It was on March 14^th. The school turned 118 years old. All the primary students get toured around the school and told the history behind the builds, fields, and people. Unfortunately I didn't get to go on the tour because I was working with the first graders. I believe the seniors are tested over the history before they graduate. The chapel service was different than usual. The primary students walked into the chapel with red, black and gold balloons (Kingswood colors) singing happy birthday. They laid their balloons at the altar and then listened to a former Kingswoodian talk about his days as a students and the changes and progress that has happened over the years. He talked a lot about taking pride in the school, dressing presentable and having good manners because they represent Kingswood.

Friday night there was a big dinner at the school in the dining hall. All the boarders, seventh graders and primary teachers came to eat the traditional Kingswood meal....Steak, french fries and a fried egg! Odd combination, but it was good. They had the tables all set up so fancy with flowers and candles. They served the teachers wine, which was a big culture shock to me, would never happen in the states. Once everyone was served one of the students got up said the blessing in English. Two other students got up after, one repeated the blessing in Xhosa and the other in Afrikaans. Then we all sang happy birthday again. After dinner I went to the Wyvern with some of the teachers to hangout. A wyvern is a type of dragon, the school mascot. The Wyvern is like a club house/country club that serves the purpose for gatherings, dinners, meetings or just hangout place at the bar. Lots of parents go to the Wyvern on the weekend to watch the cricket matches outside, a tennis match from the balcony or just to socialize. Its a really nice set up.

On Saturday I went to the opening of the High Performance Center on the school campus. Its a huge gymnasium that will be used for cricket, rugby, squash, aerobics, gym class, etc. Over 700 people came to this event; students, parents, teachers, previous Kingswoodians, and council members. It was very official. They had a big entrance were the bishop of the Methodist church knocked three times said a prayer and then the official people entered and sat on stage. It was a long ceremony with all that every had to say and the blessing of the building by the bishop and reverend. They also served everyone champagne for a toast to the new building. After the ceremony their was a cricket match of the old Kingwoodians, who use to play when they were students. We watched a little of the game, but didn't stay long because the weather turned really cold. Its moving into the winter season. Amy tried to explain the rules of the cricket game to me. I think I got the just of it.

SciFest

This past week was extremely extremely busy. We had something big going on everyday. SciFest came to Grahamstown. SciFest is a huge science festival where people come from all over the world with science displays, workshops, and experiments for any and everyone to participate in. There are museums and all kinds of things to see and do. The target is mainly directed at students, but they have stuff for people of all ages on any science topic imaginable.  

To start the week we went to Victoria Girls Primary School, which is just down the road from Kingswood. This school along with Kingswood and a few other primary schools come together each year and put together little activities/stations for the students to participate in. The kids really loved it.

All of these activities were away from school so, I got dropped off with kids at different places while my teacher went to pick up more kids. They don't have big school buses just 15 passenger vans that the teachers drive. Not all the students would fit so I would do the different activities with the students while my teacher played taxi. One day I went to a museum and walked through exhibits on the solar system, dinosaurs, fossils, birds, butterflies, mammals, recycling, the greenhouse effect....What was cool about the dinosaur exhibit is it that they only displayed fossils and dinosaurs that were discovered locally in the Eastern Cape. One day I went with second grade to a workshop on the Water Cycle and anther day to a workshop on volcanos and origami. I found them interesting as well as the kids and learned a few things while we were having fun.

Camp at Assegaai Trails

This past week was wonderful! I got to teach a lot more lessons than usual. I taught three math lessons. One was a review over time. I was a little discouraged with the time lessons I had taught earlier so I was anxious to see how much they remembered and how well the students would follow. We did a review lesson and then I gave the students a worksheet to assess their knowledge of not only reading the analog time, but also their ability to draw the hands for analog time. To be honest, I wasn't expecting the results to be good at all. I was so unhappy with my performance teaching time that I didn't think the students learned much at all. After grading their work I found that almost all the students got every problem correct and others only missed one or two problems. No one failed the assignment or got a large amount wrong. I was so proud of the results. It made me think that maybe my lesson didn't go as badly as I thought.

On Monday I got to coach tennis on my own. Mrs. Reynolds had some things to do so I took her place with the grade three girls. The girls were excited that I was coaching them. It went well. I just did the same drills that they usually do.

I've gotten to teach reading and lead the reading groups for three days this week. I taught a comprehension lesson from the class reading book. It went well. I read a story to the students and then they had to answer some questions in complete sentences. They did really well. Some students had a hard time writing in complete sentences, but would get the main idea. When leading the reading groups I listen to students of different levels read. I really enjoy this activity. I love how the students are so helpful to their classmates if they don't know a word or skip a line. Its nice to see them helping one another out.

I also taught a life skills lesson from the school curriculum. We reviewed the story that they had read the week before and talked about the feelings that each of the characters had, how they expressed them and how they dealt with the situation. I divided the students into groups, they made finger puppets and had to reenact the story within their group. The students loved working in groups and for the most part did really well. I gave them a set time limit to plan and they stuck to it. Some of the students were shy with acting out in front of the class, but I feel it was a good time for them to become more comfortable speaking to a large group. One thing they are graded on is orals, so being with a small group and not alone speaking was a big help to some students. I really enjoyed watching the finger plays of each group. I loved seeing the different personalities coming out and the emphasis they put into each character. It was great.

On Thursday and Friday of this week I went to Assegaai Trails camp with fourth grade. They needed an extra adult so I went along. The purpose of the camp was for the students to learn about the 1820s settlers. So all the teachers, students and I dressed up like settlers and went to the camp. I would like to say that it  wasn't my best wardrobe choice, but what I wore fit the part:-) The camp was beautiful with gorgeous scenery. It even had a small chapel where they do weddings and different events.  

 

When we arrived at camp we were greeted by a man dressed as a military captain. He treated just as the settlers were when they arrived. It was really neat and the students enjoyed it. They were given jobs and positions in the “town.” They learned about how the settlers lived and adapted to the new territory. They also learned about and got to see different weapons used by different African tribes. They also had a musket that was used in civil war. I got to shoot it. The students also learned different formations and ranks in the military. We went on a hike through the bush and learned about the different types of indigenous and alien plants. We heard old tales of the Xhosa tribe and listened to stories from the diary of different settlers. I was a great learning experience, not only for the students, but for me as well. I really enjoyed it.  

Beach Trip to Kenton

Weekend before last, Holly and I went to the beach in Kenton with her teacher Jenn. A lot of our students live in Kenton or have holiday home there. Its about an hour away from Grahamstown. We had a really nice time tanning and swimming in the ocean. One different thing about this beach trip was that we had to walk about ten minutes over the sand dunes and climb up rocks to get to a specific beach, Shelly's beach. Shelly's beach is nice because its between these huge rocks so it keeps the wind from blowing so much sand. We spent about three hours there and then went to have lunch with Jenn's mom. 

The day after Kenton Holly and I went back to Addo Elephant Park. I had already been there with the Soper's, but Holly really wanted to see the elephants. So we decided to do the horseback riding tour. The experienced rider tour lasted for three hours and the beginner tour lasted two hours. The experienced tour required a little cantering and running with the horse. We decided to do the experienced one because we didn't think it would be that hard to do. We've each ridden horse before, plenty of times before....

We ended up being the only two on the tour with the guide. I was informed at the beginning of the tour that my horse was temper-mental and had a strong mouth. So when I wanted to stop I had to pull extremely hard on the reigns. We went along with the tour and first saw two cape buffalo. They kept their eye on us because we were in their territory. It was really exciting doing a game drive/ride on horseback instead of in a car because your more exposed to the game. It felt more adventurous I guess, but a little scary at the same time. Made me a little nervous being around the buffalo on a temper-mental horse, if you know what I mean....


Anyway, we just explored around the area seeing lots of buck and elephants. Then we got a big open field where the guide told us we would run with the horses. He told us not to pass his horse because he is the guide and it encourages the other horses to race. Well of course, before I could do anything, my horse takes off in a sprint across this huge field full of wild animals passing the guide. I tried to stop but it just wasn't happening mainly because Holly's horse was right at our tail trying to race. The horses go back and forth racing one another as I'm holding on for dear life and Holly's laughing beside me. Thankfully we made it to the other side in one piece and still on the horse. I don't think I have ever been so scared. I was pulling back as hard as I could on the reigns the horse didn't even slow down. I seriously felt like I was gonna fly off. I then informed the guide that I wouldn't be running with my horse for the rest of the tour that I would walk. He seemed okay with that:-)

Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope

Today we got to experience an African taxi ride. I've heard that they are scary because most of the mini-buses aren't legal to drive. Some of them don't have breaks. Debbie told me about one bus that had two coke bottles tied on as the gas tank to one. The police try to inspect them as they pass, but sometimes they are over looked. Don't worry, the taxi's in Cape Town are a lot safer, being as its a big city and the cops regularly check them.

The min-buses are run by a large organization that charge R5 per person (this is less than a $1). They drive on the main streets only honking their horns, whistling and pulling over as they see people who need a ride. Sometimes when they pull over when people don't need a ride so they get back out on the main road. They drive really fast weaving in and out of traffic, pulling over, honking, whistling over and over. Stop and go. Stop and go. There is a driver and a door guy (he's called something, but I can't remember). The door guy hangs our the window doing most of the hollering at people, opens the door and takes the money. The particular taxi/mini-bus we got into was hot pink and had gospel African music turned up as loud as it could go (it was in a different language, but you could tell it was gospel). The driver was singing his heart out in between whistling at people, honking, and weaving int and out of traffic. As fast paced and a blur as the ride was, I found it so fun interesting to watch the driver and the doorman communicate with each other and the passengers that got on and off.

We had the taxi drop us off at the city center, Green Market Square. A fun little area of town where there are a ton of booths set up with people selling any and everything: pharmacy/toiletries, sunglasses, clothes, bags, jewelry, make-up, arts and crafts, cell phone cases. You name it they had it. They would give you a discount if you bought more than one. It was really overwhelming with all the people and the large amount of stuff in such a small place. It reminded me a lot of Jamaica and how pushy the people were to make you buy something. It was hard to just look at all the stuff because if you touched it, they were all over you asking you to make them an offer and then guilt you in to buying it. Made us feel so pressured.

Around the market are a ton of cafes with outdoor seating. It was a pretty set up to people watch and enjoy the small band play in the square. There was also a group of guys, kind of like gymnast, who put on a small show doing stunts, flips, spitting fire and riding a unicycle. It was really neat, but of course they came around asking for money after it was over; as did the small band playing. I don't want to seem heartless because I don't mind giving to the needy, but its a little aggravating after awhile to be asked for money over and over again. Not just from the performers, but also from random people on the side of the road. They'll come up to your car, if you walk past them, come up to you at the bus stop. They are all over the place. I understand that most of them are struggling and have a rough life, but you can only give so much and half the time you don't know what they are going to use the money for. This doesn't just happen in Cape Town, it happens in tiny Grahamstown, as well as in America. I hate it for the people in need, but I can only give so much and its hard to enjoy your day when your asked at every corner for money. I know were asked at least 7 times...Sorry about my rant, got on my soapbox for minute.

Anyway, overall we did have a nice lunch and I ate the thinest pizza I have ever had in my life. Way thinner than Papa Johns thin crust:-) Our waiter was really nice. He loved my accent. He tried to copy it and then said he was from Colorado.

Later in the afternoon we took a tour of the peninsula. A small bus came to pick us up from the backpackers to give us a tour. There were five others in the car; a couple from India, a girl from Pennsylvania, and a mother and daughter from Seattle. It was nice to talk to some Americans, who had a kind of familiar accent.

Our guide told us a ton of information about SA and the sites as we passed them. We saw Sandy's Bay, Simon Town, Camps Bay, and a few other places I cannot pronounce. One stop we made in Simon Town had a National Park with African penguins. They were so adorable. I love the way they waddle. It was cool to see them in a warm environment with the ocean the wooded area around. They call them jackass penguins because they make the noise of a donkey. One penguin got out of the fenced in area and was on the walkway. It would squawk away to the penguins on the other side and then put its face up against the fence wanting to get in. It was so sweet.

Another big stop we made on the tour was a National Park at the Cape of Good Hope and the Cape Point. To me it was really cool to be there and actually see where Diaz and Vasco De Gamma came and discovered this part of Africa. I've heard about the place through out school, but to actually be there was really neat. I was surprised at how close the two are together. We hung out at the park for awhile admiring the view and taking more pictures of the mountains and the sea. So so pretty, my pictures really don't do it justice.

After the tour Holly and I had dinner on the waterfront at this fancy Italian place. It seemed like a lot of locals went their often because our waiter was calling a lot of them by name. Cape Town definitely is the big city with lots of money, eating at this restaurant confirmed it. I enjoyed Cape Town and loved the beautiful views an beach's but the big city and the traffic is not for me.

Save a Horse, Ride an Ostrich

Today was our last day with Tracey. She gave Holly and I each a book that we can use in our future classrooms. She wrote us each a note inside. She such a sweet person....After having breakfast at Fosters we headed out to Safari Ostrich Farm. We took a guided tour of the farm. I learned a lot about ostrich's. A few facts:

• Their brain is smaller than the size of their eye
• One ostrich egg is equivalent to 24 hen eggs.
• The shell of the eggs is very thick. (So thick I got to stand on the eggs)
• Male ostrich does a dance for the female when he wants to mate.
• Ostrich's can run up to 40 mph

The best part of the tour was that I not only got to sit on an ostrich, but I also got to ride one! It was so so fun! I laughed the entire time. I have it on video. I'll have to show everyone when I get home. 

 

After the ostrich farm, Tracey took us to lunch for our last day together. Then she dropped us off at the Baz-Bus. Baz-Bus is a bus service that goes to all the backpackers places dropping off and picking up backpackers along the way. It was a long ride, but we made it to Cape Town later that night. The driver dropped us off at Afrique du Sud, one street up from the ocean. A great location, but definitely not one of the nicest places we have stayed. It was bearable, but I wouldn't stay there again. Everything was really worn out and not very clean. People live in worse so Holly and I stuck it out. Staying there also remind me how I could never live in the city. There were some apartments across the road from us. We could see right into these peoples kitchens and living rooms. At one point during our first night there, probably around 5am. I woke up to a huge crash and people screaming and honking horns. A wreck happened right on the street below our room. 

 

Cape Town is extremely different than any of the places we have been. Its a huge city, divided into to six different parts. It was a little overwhemling arriving at night with all the lights and traffic. Its almost like downtown Atlanta with all the skyscrapers and traffic, but with skinny roads and cars parked on each side, but then had a view of Table Mountain and the ocean in the backgroud. Most places you could walk to because they have blocks and blocks of shops and restaurants, almost like downtown Athens, but a lot bigger. Our first night Holly and I walked a little ways from where we were staying to a restaurant called PRIMI. They, like most places in SA, have a little bit of everything, chicken livers, pizza, pasta, burgers, salads, steak and seafood.

Cango Caves

The next morning we woke up early and had breakfast. They had the usual breakfast foods and cooked me eggs with cheese. They found it odd, as well as Tracey, that I like cheese in my scrambled eggs. I told them they didn't know what they were missing. I think I've eaten scrambled eggs just about every morning I've been in SA. I cook them during the weekdays before school. We got to meet Tracey's husbands boss, who is from Kentucky. He does lots of paragliding while he's in SA. He has a three year contract managing some type of business. She told him I liked cheese in my eggs and he said he did too:-) She said were crazy Americans.

Before leaving Knysna we drove to the heads on land walked out to the edge of them. The same heads we saw on the ferry tour the day before. It was beautiful. We took some pictures and enjoyed the scenery.

 

We headed out of Knysna making a quick stop at Wilderness Bay. Another beautiful view that my words and pictures don't do justice. The was actually a train tour you could take overlooking the ocean around the mountains, but a few years ago the railroad tracks flooded so they don't do the tours anymore.

 

As we drove on we ended up in the Outeniekwa mountains. Its amazing how quick the scenery changed and the temperature. Its a lot warmer and dryer in this area. Not like a desert with sand, but like flat plains. This area is known for ostrich farms. We checked into another B&B called the Foster's Manor, a pretty Victoria style home. It was owned by Mr. Foster, an ostrich farmer. He got into some money troubles and faked his death so he wouldn't have to pay the bank his debt. There was a whole funeral service and everything. He lived in his basement until his death years later. His wife still lived in the house along with his mistress. 

After we checked into Fosters, Tracey took us to the Cango Caves. We took a tour through four different chambers looking at the different formations of the stalactites and stalagmites. One of the chambers had a stage where people would perform concerts. The stopped allowing this because people would break the ends of the formations off to take home with them. This is unfortunate because it damaged a lot of the cave. We were going to do the adventure tour, where you crawl through and climb different parts, but that tour wasn't running by the time we got there. I'm kind of glad it wasn't because after walking through the caves it was kind of creepy:-) Holly and I met the sweetest couple from England while we were on the tour. They had been married for 48 years. They walked around holding hands and cutting up with one another just like they were dating. It was so precious. They are retired and having been living in Italy for the past seven years. They had decided to move back to England, but they wanted to travel to SA first.

For dinner we went out to a place called Bronco's steakhouse. I was tempted to order an ostrich burger, but I wasn't brave enough. Apparently the ostrich meat is really good for you because its low in fat and in cholesterol. I tried some of Holly's and it was okay, not my favorite. While we waited for our food, Tracey gave us a lesson on rugby. Her favorite team, the Sharks, were playing. I've never watched rugby before. It seems a lot rougher than American football.