Field Day and More!

We arrived as school at 8:00 as usual, but were sad to hear the quiet breezeway! There were only about 75 students in the whole school! Our sadness was quickly gone away as we discussed what we would do for the day! We went out to the field where many of the students were just playing and enjoying the beautiful sunshine! We decided that this was exactly what we would do; we would just have a field day with games and relay races! The students were instantly one board with this idea and the games began! We played red light green light, duck duck goose, follow the leader, over under, and any other childhood game that popped into our heads and any given moment! As I played and laughed and observed the smiles on each beautiful face I felt like a kid again myself and what a wonderful feeling it was! We had children coming from every direction to join in the games. I think that I played, ran, and skipped just as much as each one of them did! It is sad to say, but I could definitely feel it as well the next day as I rolled out of bed. However, I would not take back a minute of any of those games because as I sit and write about it all I can do is smile! After many hours of field games we went inside for about any hour just to cool down and rest a little! We gave the students paper and crayons to draw and color which they absolutely adore participating in!

A little cutie that attached to my hand outside! I took her 3rd grade for the day!

I Love Them!                                                 Sweet Children!

The day was amazing and the best part was it still was not over! After school we were off to Seaview Lion Park. It was about 30 minutes from school and I was very excited! It was a nice drive on the back roads to the park, on a very sunny day! I was so excited, but really did not know what to expect. As Neil drove us by down the dirt roads the suspense was growing. Soon we approached some giraffes just standing on the side of the road! I know that this was going to be an exciting adventure! We then took a slightly wrong turn while we were looking for the restaurant where we could eat and buy tickets to pet the lions. We soon notice however, that the noise was coming from what seemed to be an angry peacock on top a tractor! This was a slightly scary sight! Our new quote for the day became “we just saw a peacock, on a tractor, in Africa!” However, we did make it to the restaurant where we ate and then bought tickets to pet and play with the lions! Emily and I choose first to go and see the 11 month old lions! They were huge! It was so cool too just be close to them and actually get to pet them. They sleep 22 hours a day so they were not very active at all! There was a male and female that was brother and sister! Their names were Coby and Skyla! We thought that this would be our only interactions with the animals that day, but then we came upon the baby tigers that you could also play with! After watching them for about 10 minutes we could not resist and decided we had to play with them! We were off to buy tickets and it was well worth it! They were so cute! We also saw at the park meerkats, leporads, a croadile, and one of the ugliest animals I have ever seen a bushpig! Once Neil picked us up we had to make on last stop to see the big lions which I am so glad we did! We saw a couple of female lions and two male lions. We also came so close to a few zebras who were right behind our car! This was such an amazing day!

 

As we woke up Saturday morning we could not imagine the events of the day that were in store for us! Mrs. Tandos and her friend were taking the girls out shopping, so we thought! We did go shopping that morning at a mall very much like a mall that we have in the States. Then we were off to her place for lunch! It was a lot of fun to visit with her and see her home. After this she took us too many different homes in the township to visit friends and family. Just when we thought that we were on the way back to our place to relax little did we know this was not the case at all! We then arrived at a traditional South African wedding. We were very hesitant to go into the wedding since we were not invited, but they insisted that come in and take a quick peak! It was under a huge tent and when we arrived the bride and groom where handing out presents. It was unlike anything I had ever been to before! It was so kind of them to take us to so many places and I think that we definitely received a sense of the South African culture.  



We Thought Saturday Was Just Going to Be a Day
Of Shopping?

 


This is Ms. Tondas Niece

I am excited to see what this week holds! There is never a dull moment here and there are always surprises in store for us, even we least expect them sometimes! I can’t believe that it is our last week in P.E. though! Time has really flown by! I know that once I am home I am going to truly miss this wonderful place in the world!

An Oh So Special Thanksgiving!

 Thursday was a hard day to be away from my family on Thanksgiving, but I have really come to realize that I have so many things to be thankful for on this very special Thanksgiving! It will probably not be often in my life that I spend holidays away from my family and this Thanksgiving I was able to embrace the beautiful country of South Africa and be thankful for various things outside of my comfort zone. On Thursday we took a break from Emafini to spend the day with Vernon who works at Nelson Mandela University. He was kind enough to arrange a few different places for us to tour around Port Elizabeth!  

Mark! Telling us about his organization in the township!



We began by having coffee and tea at the University where we meet some of the staff and had a chance to talk with Vernon about the education system in South Africa. Then our tour began; we first visited an outreach organization that is located close to the university in the township. They were a Christian based organization who had so many different programs available to children living in the township. Mark, the person in charge of the organization, talked with us and gave our group a lot of background about the program and how they were reaching out to the children they were surrounded by. His compassion and love for the organization and the children were evident as he spoke. The difference that he and the other volunteers were making in the lives of these children brought tears to my eyes. He believed in the power of each child to do more with their lives and through this program they received hope, encouragement, and motivation that they might not have ever experienced in the absence of this organization. They were meeting the children’s basics needs by providing them with food, water, and clothing; while at the same time instilling values and an educational foundation that would hopefully allow them to dream big and further their lives. 



The Organizations Food Garden! They grow vegetables here to use in their soup kitchen.

Our second visit of the day was to Grey Junior School. This was an unbelievable school! The students there had a confidence and mannerisms that were impeccable and the classrooms where decorated with vibrate posters and various instructional tools. This was an all boy’s school that had many resources, spacious classrooms, and many extracurricular activities.

A picture of one of the buildings. This was a courtyard area.

Our third visit was to Kama Primary School. This was school that in many ways was very similar to Emafini, but very different as well. We toured the school and then received a surprise concert by a few of the upper grade students. They sang some very inspirational song that moved me to tears. They were confident in where they had come from, but confident of what path they desired for their life! Their voices where beautiful and I enjoyed every second of the four songs that they sang for us!

Students Singing!

Kama Primary was our last visit of the day and we were off to our “home” the bed and breakfast! As we walked through the door we were greeted by a very delicious smell! Anna (the mother of Billy Jean, who is the manager of the B&B) had really out done herself. I feel that by saying the feast is almost inappropriate because there was so so much food that it almost seems it was more than a feast! She and the staff had gone out of their way to cook us a traditional Thanksgiving meal and boy was it delicious!  As we ate this wonderful meal we laughed, talked, and shared things that we were thankful for! I will probably never share another Thanksgiving with this special group, but I can honestly say that it is a Thanksgiving that I will never forget! It is a Thanksgiving that my eyes where opened, my heart was touched, and I was thankful for exactly where I was at this time in my life!

Wonderful Thanksgiving Dinner!

All Smiles!

As I reflect back on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of this week I see those sweet grade 3 faces in my head and the excitement I receive each day that I walk in to see them eagerly awaiting Emily and I. We are greeted by hugs and give out numerous high fives and thumbs up during the day! As I sit here and write this I can’t help, but to smile! I cannot sit here and say that there are not challenges throughout the day, but I can say the positives out way the challenges in every circumstance that I face here.

On Monday morning just like in the States it is hard for me to get out of bed! I think that each day I sleep walk through my morning routine, eat a delicious breakfast that is always prepared, and more often than not I take a quick 15 minute nap on the way to school. However, that struggle of waking up in the morning quickly fades away as soon as I walk in to the doors of Emafini Primary School. Often my students run to greet Emily and me before we make it out of the office with huge smiles ono their face.

This week at Emafini has been a bit different from the previous weeks. Many of our learners have not come to school this week. While it is sad that all of our students have not been in the classroom, it has given us time to work with students in smaller groups and a little more individualized attention than they are use to. Our week started off wonderfully with about 30 students. We did circle time at the beginning of the day were we sang some songs and did a few activities just to get the students brain’s warmed up. Once we finished we did a read aloud with the students. We talked about various parts of the story and really tried to work with them on some comprehension strategies. Any activity that they loved was making a decorative name tag for them self. I know that you might be wondering why in the world we would have them create name tags this week! Well let me just tell you that this activity was so important because these learners name were very difficult to pronounce for me, making it nearly impossible to remember! It was so much fun! We learned so much about the students and I really can’t describe how excited they were to use the construction paper and crayons that I had brought with me! I think that they would have sat and colored right through break if we would have let them!

Tuesday we had a smaller group of about 25. However, it was such a great day just like Monday! It was wonderful to have the opportunity to do engaging lessons with these students! I know that they were learning and really enjoying every second of our time together! My favorite part is reading to them because they are so absorbed in any story that you pick up and will read to them! We had them draw pictures of their favorite setting from the story that we read that day and write a sentence! This assignment took a little longer than anticipated but that is okay. They all turned out wonderfully! We have such great artist in our classroom. It just brings me such joy to pull out the simplest things from my bookbag in the mornings, like crayons and construction, and see the excitement on their faces! This is something that will never get old and I will never forget.

A Future SA Teacher!

Story Time with Ms. Emily!

 Wednesday our numbers continued to creep down and we probably had about 20 students. This was the day that we were going to attempt to write letters back to Ms. Emily’s class in the States because they had written letter to the S.A. students. This was a challenging activity! We did a group lesson on how to write letters, topics you could write about, and the format of a letter! They seemed to be understanding and we moved on to the actual writing. Some did it with, but most students had a difficult time with this task. I think that the difficulty could have been due to the language barrier for some students. However, we helped the students work in small groups and we made sure that each and every student had the opportunity to write a letter. For a few students this meant that they had to dictate their letter to me and I wrote it for them! However, I was so proud of them and the way they always did their best and never gave up!

Beautiful Setting Pictures!

Their smiles, excitement, joy, laughter, eagerness, love, hugs, and sweet ways will continue to bring me joy and encouragement for a long time! They have each touched my heart in their own special way!

Weekend Adventures

Friday night the kick off to our weekend was a blast at Mr. January’s as I have already stated and this was just the beginning of a wonderful, fun filled weekend!

Saturday morning we woke around 8:00, a little early for a Saturday morning, but we were not even thinking about how tired we were because we were so excited about the adventure ahead. Today was the day that we were going to Addo Elephant Park! We went excitedly to breakfast where we meet our tour guide for the day. His name was Mike; he was an older gentleman, who was very kind to our group and very knowledgeable about the park. We were off after breakfast to what I like to call our safari. It was not exactly like I had imagined it, but I could not have asked for a better day! It was about a 30 minute drive to the 400,000 acres of land to we would view many animal in their natural habitat that day. As we entered into the park it felt like we were Jurassic Park! The gate opened and we were off. About 15 minutes into the drive Mary spotted two elephants in the trees and you could feel the enthusiasm in the bus. It was going to be an awesome day! As we continued our drive, about thirty minutes into the trip we came upon two lions sunbathing in the grass! This was an awesome sight and our tour guide said that we were lucky because he had not seen them in about two weeks! We saw many great animals that day including; a rhino, antelope, warthogs, a tortoise, dung beetles, zebras, buffalo, and many different birds! “The big five” is what they refer to the five animals that they always look and are the most popular in the park, which includes elephants, rhinos, buffalo, lions, and leopards. What a privilege it was to go and see 4 out of the 5!

After the race! Check out the medals!

On Sunday morning I participated in an event that I could have never imagined I would be writing about in my South Africa blog. I normally get out of bed early on Sunday to go to church, but this Sunday was very different. A few weeks prior some of the girls had seen a poster for a 5K that would be taking place on the beach! They were immediately excited and decided that this was something they must participate in! As they talked they decided that it should be a group thing! In my mind I was very hesitant; I wanted to participate in all activities, but I am not a runner and there was no way I was going to run a 5K on the beach! However, as we continued to discuss this activity some of them decided they would walk it and I decided that this was an achievable goal for me! At 7:30 Sunday morning we were off to the race! It was a beautiful Sunday morning, I was a little apprehensive, but excited at the same time to complete my first 5k in South Africa! We definitely stood out in the crowd with our matching T-shirts and hats on given to us by President Zuma’s wife. It was a little difficult walking in the sand, but with the encouragement of my partner Emily we made it across the finish line! We had many laughs along the way and I enjoyed the experience.

The rest of the day was spent relaxing and preparing for what we would do on Monday with our sweet children!

A Full Friday

I am sorry that is has been so long since my last post! Technology is not my friend sometimes and last time I tried to post the whole thing was deleted! However, that is okay I will not let it overcome me!

So much has happened since my last post and time is flying by here in P.E.! I continue to learn and grow every day! I want to start by talking about last Friday. It was the last day of exams for the learners and quite a crazy day for us as well. Our normal routine of going to school was very different, but replaced with awesome opportunities. We began with a visit to the Department of Education. This was a wonderful experience where we had the opportunity to talk with Dr. Ntsiko, who is the district director of education, about the educational instruction taking place in Port Elizabeth, what the department’s role is in education, what we have seen at Emafini, and much more.

Once we left there we went to another school called Sunridge Primary School. This was a very different school from the school that we have spent many hours here in South Africa. This school had over 900 learners enrolled. The tuition monthly for students to attend Sunridge was 750R which is about $100 a month. It was very hard and difficult to see all of the resources that this school had. It was probably nicer than some of the schools in the U.S. They had two computer labs, a huge auditorium, and their classes had about 20 students in each one.  A flood of emotions washed over each person in our group as we toured this school and thought about all the students that we have come to love at Emafini, who would be ecstatic to see a school like this and use the resources that are provided in this facility.  

After this visit I returned to room 34 full of bright smiling grade 3 learners. We stayed there briefly until it was time to move on to the next thing on our agenda for the day. We were off to visit some of the “homes” where our students lived in the township. We visited two different homes. As we began our journey down the dirt road where there were many bumps and pot holes, I do not think that could ever prepare my heart for what we would see in this place. I am just at a loss for words as to how to begin to describe these visits. I am going to post a few pictures from these homes.



Class Photo!



Beautiful People!



We also went to the Red Location Museum. This is a museum deticated the apartheid in South Africa! I really enjoyed learning more about the history of South Africa. The museum was a place of knowledge and reflection on the history that has taken place.

After a few minutes of rest and a little time to process the events of the day we were off to Mr. January’s (the principal of Emafini) for dinner with him and all of the teachers. They came to pick us up from the Bed and Breakfast! We were so excited and had no idea what to expect from the night. Little did we know that we were in for an evening filled with food, music, dancing, and a lot of laughter. Here in South Africa people love to sing and dance. When we arrived they already had music playing. They had snacks for us to munch on while we waited for dinner. For dinner they had beans, potato salad, salad, and meat. The teachers entertained us with all of their wonderful dancing and we entertained them by trying to dance! Although we were in a small room with a lot of people these wonderful people still found a way to dance! It was so much fun! It was heartwarming how welcomed we were in this foreign country. These people shared their culture, food, and homes with us! I was so thankful for this night and it is a memory that I will never be able to forget about when I think about this beautiful country and the beautiful people here.

The Girls at Mr. January's! I love them!

Emily and I with Mrs. Vava our teacher!

Laughter

It was a wild day at school, but so much fun at the same time! Today was their math exam. This was a standardized; however there are many things that are different from their standardized test from the standardized test that we give in the states. There were some interruptions during the test and the teacher read majority of the questions to them. Emily and I will mark (grade) these tomorrow, which is another thing that is very different from our test.

We have a day filled with joy and a lot of laughter! I am so thankful for the opportunity to love on these learners everyday!

Here is a list that Emily and I came up with today.

South African Lingo

·         Teachers refer to their students as learners

·         Students sweep and clean the room before leaving in the afternoon

·         Band-aids are called plasters

·         Points on a test are referred to as marks

·         Teachers do not grade they mark test

·         Review is referred to as revision, so teachers “revise students”

·         Students write test, not take them

·         There is no raising quite hands here, students snap their fingers and respond “yes miss” to answer questions

·          They ask may they go to the toilet

·         Kindergarten through grade 3 is referred to as the foundation phase

·         Kindergarten is called grade R

·         They say “mornings” instead of good morning

There are many more that I am sure I have forgotten, but I will continue to add to this list as my journey continues!

Mary, Me, Emily, and Ashley! This picture makes me laugh! It was a great day but there were many different emotions throughout the day and this is us reenacting it!

Flexiblitiy

Excited about the game!



The Soccer Stadium



A new week begins with these wonderful learners at Emafini Primary School. We begin our week after a wonderful weekend that had a lot of fun filled events. The soccer game on Saturday was so much fun. Mr. January the principal of Emafini joined us at the game which was so much fun! It was a great game; the final score was one to one! Bufana Bufana was the home team and they received a lot of support from their 22,000 fans that were in the stadium on Saturday! It was a blast and we sat on the edge of our seats for the whole game!

Sunday we woke up early to go to church with LeAnn who is a friend of Doctor Roseboro. It was a really great experience! I enjoyed participating with them and hope to be able to go back again.

Today was Monday and it was the beginning to their exam week! To start off the day they had a morning meeting that included the entire school. I really like the sense of community that I received from this meeting that takes place weekly on Monday and Friday. The students sang songs, prayed, and listened to a scripture reading together. It was nice that it was something that all of the students could participate in together. After the meeting Emily and I were off to our third grade class. The students seemed to be ready for their exams. Some of the students seemed to be a little nervous, but for the most part I think that they felt comfortable and ready for the test.

As we do in the United States all posters around the room were taken down on Friday, student desk were separated, and there was no talking during the test. However, the regulations did not seem to be as structured as they are when we give standardized test in the U.S., but they were still taken seriously. Today the students took their reading exam in their native language of Xhosa. There were 14 questions, but most of these questions had multiple parts to it. The test also included an essay question. In their school they refer to grades 1 through 3 as the foundation phase and these students all do one exam per day! Tomorrow they will revise (which we call review) for their math exam that will be on Wednesday.

After the exam one of the teachers in the second grade class had to leave, so Emily took over her class while our students finished their exam. We read to them and then taught them some songs! We really enjoyed our time with them and I think they did as well! They listened very intently and were excited about singing and reading with us! We had them go around and tell us their names and we did receive a few laughs at our attempts to say them, but we just responded with “we are trying our best!” My flexibility skills have truly been tested through this experience and I am becoming more comfortable with this task. I have always thought of myself as being a flexible person, but in the schools here that has a whole new meaning! It is my fourth day in the school and I have been in grade R, grade3, and today we taught in grade 2! I am learning how to think of activities that are appropriate for any age group and take advantage of each moment that I am given with these children.

After lunch we were back with our third grade class! We started some revising with them for their math exam and we will continue with this tomorrow. I look forward to seeing how their math exam goes! It seems that their math curriculum is very similar to our third grade curriculum in the states!

It was another overcast afternoon here today, so hopefully tomorrow will be sunny and warm!

Learning Inside and Outside of the Classroom



Me and My Coke Light



What a great Friday! Today I have just really realized many things that are different here that were not so obvious the first day we arrived! For all of those who might know me well will appreciate this statement! I have not found any Diet Mountain Dew currently in this country! As a matter of fact I have not seen any Pepsi products at all! I have been surviving on a few Coke Lights occasionally when we go out to dinner! This is another thing that I have found very interesting today is that Diet Coke here is called Coke Light.  It is the little things that are so intriguing sometimes. 

However, we are doing better looking the correct way now before we cross the road. This is another thing that I could have never thought of, but here they drive on the opposite side of the road and we have to make sure that instead of looking left first you have to look right then left instead left right.

The idea behind this journey was that I was coming to teach these children! Although, they refer to me as miss and I am called the teacher I have been learning as much, if not more from these precious children! There are many things that are similar to our schools in the States, but there are many differences as well! We have still been getting us to the way that they run things. I have been moved to third grade today! Although grade R was wonderful and there is so much to be done there I had to move to third grade where the students understand English. I am now working with a fabulous teacher, Mrs. Vava, and also team teaching with Emily Farmer! Today went really smoothly and I think Emily and I are going to be a dream team! When Vava arrived this morning Emily and I were reading a story that one of the students had brought into school this morning. I felt that it was important to go over the print concepts of the story because while most of the learners (this is how they refer to their students) can read the stories in their classroom they have no understanding of the story or literacy directionality. This problem is due to the fact that English is there second language. We then let Vava take over and finish a math lesson that she had began the prior day. They are currently in the review stage of learning because this upcoming week they begin exams. After math Vava wanted us to continue with reading. They are very grateful that we are able to read to the students in English and help them with their English since it is our first language. We broke the students into three leveled groups, which was so beneficial to the students and teachers. As teachers we were able to learn more about each individual in the class and their ability level, while the students received that small group connection with a teacher that they so strongly desire, need, and deserve.

At the end of the day we had the opportunity to talk with the teachers and Mr. January (the principal) about how our experience was going so far. We talked about similarities and differences in our schools. He expressed his feeling of how skeptical he was of our abilities to adapt and teach in circumstances that we extremely different from what we had grown up in and taught in. He then gave me butterflies when he told us that we had truly surprised him with how quickly we had adjusted and how well the learners were responding to us. I also received a warm feeling inside when I had the chance to listen to what the teachers of the classrooms had to say about their experiences with us thus far. They were very positive and excited about the ideas we had, our flexibility, and the extra hands we were bring into their classroom. There is a bond that has been formed between us and them; a level of respect; and a partnership that will not be broken.

There are many more lessons in store at Emafini; all of which will be beneficial to all who are involved, learners and teachers.

Tomorrow we venture to an exciting international soccer game in a stadium that holds 48,000 people. It is a sold out game.

Day Two at Emafini



A Few students in Grade R Classroom



Day two in grade R (kindergarten)! I love walking into this small classroom where there are 42 sets of eyes twinkling that I know are ecstatic to see me and wondering what I am going to teach them today! It is a wonderful and welcoming feeling that gives me chill bumps! Today I have sung the days of the week song for what feels like 20 or 30 times! However, it is exciting that most of them now know the days of the week in English. There first language is Xhosa, so I am not sure how much they understand when I am talking with them! They have been very receptive when I have been talking with them today!

I had the unique experience today of passing out coloring books. I never thought that passing out these children’s books could be so complicated! The challenge was in the task of pronouncing all 42 of their names! They are all very unique and pronouncing them with the correct Xhosa sounds was very challenging! I know that it is going to improve as time goes on. I am excited to improve and continue to learn them more.

They have to review the date everyday just like we do in the states, so maybe tomorrow we will learn the today is song! They love to sing, so I think that they will love that!  

 





Grade R Daily Schedule

                                                                                   

                                                                                   Puzzel Time!

Play-doh! 



We Have Arrived!

We are here! Today we arrived in the beautiful city of Port Elizabeth! It took us a long time to travel to our destination, but oh how it was worth it! The bed and breakfast where we are staying at is wonderful and everyone has been so hospitable to us. The town is beautiful and we are in walking distance of the beach, which is amazing!

There have been so many laughable moments, but we got here so smoothly without any problems. I am excited about all of the wonderful experiences that are in store for us here. We have seen only a few of the many fabulous things that this town has to offer! I am excited to see what is in store for us as we venture to school tomorrow!  

Here we are at Port Elizabeth! Right off the plane! I can't imagine the memories we will have once we return to this place in a month! So excited about what is in store!

I can’t believe that in less than 24 hours I will be boarding an air plane and traveling to South Africa! Woo Hoo! I am super excited.

On Friday I spent my last in my Murrayville Classroom with my Kindergarten students and wonderful partnership teacher! It was a day filled with a lot of love and exciting surprises for me. I could never have imagined all the exciting things that the class along with their parents and my teacher had in store for me! I received a poster about why my class loved me which stirred up many different emotions inside of me! It made me laugh and struggle to hold a few tears back! For example with kindergarten students one of the statements was “she is good at tying our shoes.” One of the many things you learn in kindergarten is the ability to teach and tie shoes at the same time! However, this was the first of many wonderful things that my class provided me with! I received a bag with a class picture on it and many wonderful things inside that teachers can use in their classroom! The joy and kindness that I was receiving from each of these parents, students, and teachers was overwhelming to me! Little did I know the surprises where far from over! At the end of the day during snack time one of the parents made a cake and cupcakes for me, the class, and other visitors. Words cannot describe this cake so I am posting a picture below!

I think that this is the coolest cake I have ever had! It had Wilmington and South Africa on it a lot with a cookie cut out of each child and the cookies are holding a flag with their name on it! And it was delicious!

I am going to miss these wonderful students, parents, and teacher while I am in South Africa! However, I am so thankful for technology and the ability to take them with me through the internet! They will be traveling with me on my journey through this blog and Skype! I am sad to leave this wonderful class, but excited about the journey ahead!