First School Visit - Day 5

Today was the first day we visited the Mamelodi Schools. We spilt into groups between the primary and secondary school. My group and I worked at the Stanza Bopape Secondary School. The three Language Arts teachers were given a tour by the English as a Second Language instructor. We spent 3 periods (45min each) moving between his classes. At the school, the teaches move and the students stay put. The students were soooo well behaved, especially for 8th and 9th graders! When the teacher arrived, there was no other adult in the class, however all students were seated. As we entered, the students stood up and greeted their teacher.
After introductions, we would answer questions the students had about school in America and ask them to compare our answer with their school. The exchange was very nice and the students answered a lot of our inquiries about the day to day.
My favorite part of the day came toward the end. Our group was walking around the grounds looking to see what the classes were like. We peeked into one class where there was no teacher at all. The children were not running around yelling at the top of their lungs, they were seated at their desks talking with each other. The students turned out to be a class of juniors, year 11. They blew us away with their question. The questions that stuck out the most were: "Do we have AIDs in the US? Is there any sex education? And are pregnant teens allowed to come to school?" To me, this line of questioning with the older students says a lot about the social and health problems these children are facing in and out of school.
After class a young woman came up to our group and thanked us for coming in. She was quiet during the discussion and after fielding questions from all the boys, we encouraged a girl to speak up. She was the only one to raise her hand. She said it wasn't that the girls didn't have questions, but that they wanted to listen to us and process what we were telling them. She express that her parents told her that you always learn more from listening rather than talking. What brilliance and potential this young woman showed as she spoke with us after the class was dismissed. She said many of her peers were into doing "negative" things such as drinking and drugs and that for caring about her education and remaining hopeful she was often made fun of! I wanted to put that girl and her positive outlook in front of every student at the school and say: Here is your role model! Follow her and not the others who are getting involved in such negative activities!
This brilliant girl can go places, she will make it on to bigger and better places and hopefully fulfill her dreams of heading to college...I wonder if her dreams and my wishes for her will come true?

Truth in Museums - Day 3

Sunday we had an early departure to two contrasting museums in Pretoria. We began the day at the Apartheid museum. I wish we could have had a day to soak in all the information and history this museum has to offer! Those of you who know me well know that my love of history and thirst for knowledge played a primary role in my decision to go back to school for teaching. Additionally, since teaching 6th grade, I have made the subject of social injustice throughout history a focal point of the literature I choose to select in my LAL class. Starting with short stories of Gandhi, a young Mandela, and US Civil Rights...all of which lead to a novel study on the holocaust. Social injustice is my favorite unit of the year because it is the one I am most passionate about and the students too become enthralled in learning the history of influential historical figures. Today I was moved beyond words to be able to learn about apartheid from THE Apartheid Museum in South Africa! I hope to be able to draw a fraction of these emotions out next year when teaching this unit!!
After spending the morning learning more about the struggles of the majority of South Africans during the times of apartheid, our group headed to the Vootrekker monument to hear the story of the Afrikaans' decedents. Without getting too much into detail about the story our guide told us, I will say that there are many times individuals can explain it all without saying a word through their nonverbal communication, actions, and omissions. I understand the necessity of visiting both museums, especially the impact it had on me and my peers to visit them back to back. It gave us all a lot to process both mentally and emotionally.
Later in the evening, we met with the brilliant professor Edwin Smith. His incites into the political policies of South Africa were very interesting and exciting to listen to. He answered many of the questions the group had formulated throughout the day's activities. One of the memorable things he mentioned about apartheid was the quote "None of us are guilty of innocence."
An interesting thought to end with...

Infinite Family - Day 4

Today the group visited Infinite Family, a safe home for HIV positive women and children. We began the morning speaking with the Netfundis (grannies/after- school teachers) to give them some tips on classroom management and retaining student interest at a particular task. This conversation began in a large setting the we broke into small groups of a few SAI participants and one Netfundi. The woman, Chrissy, that my group spoke with was very animated and outgoing. She and her sisters came to live at Infinite Family after her mother passed when she was 16. She spoke about how the program and mentors had helped her trust again. It was a very emotional conversation and she was so honest with her feelings about what she had been through. I'm sure that the children she works with are blessed to have such a special women looking after them!
After a deliciously filling lunch of authentic South African foods, the children returned home from school. The were SOOOO excited to meet and play with the group as we were with them. The SAI dance teachers led us all in a lesson on body percussion movements to warm us up. They then led us in a group dance which the entire room participated. It was heart warming to see a smile on every single child's face, not to mention the faces of every Rutgers participant as well!
I believe there were many budding photographers in the room, as my camera was passed from child to child expertly taking photos of the group.
Tomorrow we have an early (7:30) start to the day. We are heading to Zakhele Primary School and Stanza Bopape Secondary school to complete out first lessons. I am nervously excited to meet the children and teach a lesson. I am also very interested to see what the schools look like and how they are run.
More to follow tomorrow!

Dinner with Dr. Nxomani- Day 2 cont

Wow! The Nxomani family sure knows how to entertain! There were many firsts in this evening. It was the first time I had dinner at a residence on zoo property. In addition, I ate my first prawn, mushroom soup pre-starter, curry potatoes, AND I drank my first green cream soda!
The conversation was light and informational. The perfect start to this amazing trip.

We have arrived! - Day 1 & 2

We finally made it! I'm not sure I still believe I'm in South Africa...perhaps it is the delirium of sleeplessness...Or the disbelief that I've actually been presented with this opportunity. The flight went well. I was able to watch a couple movies and documentary on Nelson Mandela. We checked into the hotel around noon and headed across the street for a light snack. I managed to lay down for about an hour before having to freshen up for our first evening in SA. Tonight we are headed to a reception at the residence of Dr. Nxomani - Exec Director National Zoological Gardens.
More to come...stay tuned!

SAI Itinerary

The day before the big trip has finally arrived! My bags are packed (almost), my lessons are ready, and the butterflies have begun. I have posted our itinerary so that all will have an idea of where I will be and what the group will be doing. Included are links to museums and hotels...in case you are REALLY intrigued :) Remember to check here often for updates! 

ITINERARY
July 13 - Depart from JFK on flight SA204
July 14 - Arrive at JHB airport around 8:30 AM. Check in at Protea Hatfield (Pretoria) at noon. Orientation with Dr. Nxomani at 15h00
July 15 - Apartheid Museum & Vootrekker Monument. Evening Indaba (meeting) with Edwin Smith at his family residence
July 16 - Infinite Family / Nkosi's Haven / Film University Pretoria
July 17 - Mamelodi School
July 18 - Nat'l Zoological Gardens ; Check in Hyatt Rosebank
July 19 - Mamelodi Schools
July 20 - Mamelodi Schools
July 21 - Teboho Trust / Hector Pieterson Museum
July 22 - Travel to Cape Town - SAA 337; Check in An African Villa
July 23 - Kalksteinfontein School
July 24 - Kalksteinfontein School
July 25 - Kalksteinfontein School
July 26 - Kalksteinfontein School / Dr. Fred Bonner Reception
July 27 -  District 6 museum / Robben Island / V & A Waterfront
               Opening Day of the 2012 Olympics :)
July 28 - FREE DAY - hmmm...Where will we go????
July 29 - Depart South Africa for USA
July 30 - Arrive @ JFK 06h40 & clear Customs