Field Day

When we arrived at Emafini Primary School on Friday morning, the campus was quiet. Instead of pulling up to the 1,300 students that usually huddle around the building before school hours, we counted roughly 75 children throughout the entire school. As teachers, we knew that we needed to adapt our instruction and change the plans for the day. By the time that we walked down to the classroom, we were surrounded by dedicated learners from every grade, anxious to see just how creative we were going to be.

It was a beautiful morning. The sky was clear and a bright blue. The weather in South Africa can be quite finicky, so it was a perfect day to enjoy the sunshine. I spotted Maria and Gareth (who are teaching in Grade 2) gathered with their small class on the playing field. Of course! We could at least begin day with some warm up activities on the field. Soon our entire group and the sweet learners were participating in what we could deem a "Field Day."

Even though the games were spontaneous, the events turned out very well! We split up the group by grade levels, and combined the groups to make them as even as we could. Each of us partnered up to lead a group. Lindsey, Mary and I were the coaches of Grade 3 and Grade 4. We demonstrated freeze tag, follow the leader, Simon says, duck-duck-goose, red light - green light, relays, races, and dance activities for our learners. The sweet children were extremely excited and they picked up on the games quickly! Although our instructions were confusing at some points, the children made the activities their own.

Teamwork and sportsmanship arose from our groups as they cheered their teammates on during the events. It was heart warming to see students from different grades and classes supporting one another. Throughout the morning, I noticed two of Lindsey and I's students arrive late and without their uniforms. They live close to the school and must have heard the commotion and decided to join us. I was so thankful that they came! After two hours, we were out of breath and out of ideas. There are only so many games that you came think of on the spot! We had such a fun morning, but the school day was not over yet.

Lindsey and I took all of Grade 3 (which was around 20 students) back to Vava's classroom and organized some activities for them. At one point we gave the group some free time and asked to draw a picture of whatever they wanted. As we handed out materials to each table, a few of the children simply sat and stared at the crayons and construction paper in front of them. They did not know what to do with the crayons! Either they had not used crayons before or they had never been time to simply be creative, without direct instruction. Both of these options broke our hearts.


We left Emafini and headed to Seaview Lion Park. We had heard from the owner of the Bed & Breakfast we could play with baby lions! This intrigued us, and Neil agreed to drive us to the park. We did not know quite what to expect as we entered into the park. Neil's van struggled to make it up the rocky hills that led us to the restaurant and information center. Was this going to be like Addo? Were we allowed to get out of the van? Suddenly, my friend Ashley let out a squeal. Ten yards away from our van was a giraffe! We had not seen a giraffe at Addo! Before we made it to the information center we saw another group of giraffes, kulu and zebras.

Nothing could compare to what we were about to experience. We were about to be face to face with lions, in their own habitat. The only rule was to NOT get on the platform where the lions were lounging. The volunteers that work at the park informed us that this was their feeding area. I could easily follow that rule! I chose to visit the 11 month old brother and sister, Coby and Skyla. We were told that the lions were especially sleepy because they were fed the previous day. I noticed that their fur was rough and very thick! Their claws are curved and layered so that they can easily hook and tear their prey. Their tongues have small bumps that act as suction cups when they are feeding. Thankfully, we were not their first choice of food. This pair prefers horse or cow meat.

We also had the opportunity to play with baby tigers at the park. These cuties were only 6 weeks old! They were much more playful than Coby and Skyla, which meant we had to be more cautious with them. These cubs enjoyed chewing on a soccer ball and being scratched right under their chin and on their belly. They were so adorable!

Unlike a petting zoo, Seaview acts as a sanctuary for these animals. Some of the animals that reside in Seaview are endangered and often hunted in South Africa. The park is manned by volunteers, interns, and employees from all over the world! We met new friends from Israel, England, and the United States!

Where did all the learners go?

This week has been a little different at Emafini. We had heard the students usually do not come back to school after writing exams, but we had no idea at how many would not be there! Our class has dropped from 40 to an average of 18! Some students come one day and are absent the next. This is hard for Lindsey and I, because we do not know who we are saying a permanent goodbye to each day. We are thankful for every moment with our learners! We have spent time this week teaching our class educational songs, cleaning the room for Ms. Vava, playing trivia & review games, learning parts of a story, and how to write a letter.

Lihle cleaning the windows

Writing letters was the most challenging and the most rewarding for our learners. Many of them have not written a letter before. Lindsey and I decided to focus on letter writing today, before we lost even more of our learners to their summer break. We were thrilled to tell them that our students from Wilmington, North Carolina, had written letters for us to give to them! Each child took time to decipher the letter from a new friend. Some of the students struggled reading English, so we read the letters aloud to them. Their faces lit up when they read about a child across the world who enjoyed playing soccer too. A child who likes to draw as much as they do. A child with multiple brothers and sisters. A child who is also in the third grade. It was such a joy to watch our learners craft a special message of their own in response. After completing their letters, we surprised the class again. We had pictures to accompany the letters! Our sweet Emafini students saw the faces of the children of Sunset Park. We then took a picture of each child to take home to America. Our students were shocked when we told them that they could keep the letters. Their small fingers carefully folded the notebook paper and stuck them into pant pockets and book-bags.

Bulumko's picture for his American pen-pal

 I have never seen some of the children smile as big as they did today. What an opportunity we have to connect children from what seems like two different worlds.

A party, a safari, and a 5k: South Africa style

Promptly at 5:30 on Friday evening Mr. January and a few of his family members arrived at Algoa Bed & Breakfast to pick up a group of very excited teachers. We were about to have the time of our lives: a true South African experience with new friends. We had been invited to a party at the home of our principal! How thoughtful! We were told to expect good food and lots of dancing. Dancing? I am not gifted with dancing. By the end of the night, we all had no choice but to dance.

The ladies at Mr. January's house

Mr. January lives in a beautiful house on top of a hill that overlooks Port Elizabeth. Before we had a minute to take in the beautiful scenery, we were ushered inside to meet Mr. January’s family. We were able to meet his sister, nieces and friends. The aroma of home-cooked food scented the entire house. It was a feast! There was a delicious salad complete with avocado and apple, grilled chicken, mixed beans, and potato salad! Even though there was quite a crowd, there was plenty of food for everyone – plus leftovers! We were taught two South African dances that reminded me of the electric slide and of a fist-pumping dance that I learned when I was in Sweden. Although I was familiar with the moves, I still stepped on everyone’s feet!

Overall, the night was quite a success. Mr. January ended a night with a special toast to Dr. Roseboro and our group. We felt so honored to be included in the celebration and giving of thanks. In turn, we thanked him for the countless opportunities he has given us here in South Africa.


On Saturday morning we headed off on another adventure. One adventure that I had been anticipating for a very long time. We were going to Addo Elephant Park, a wildlife reserve about an hour outside of Port Elizabeth. Our tour guide was Mike, a friendly South African man with a plethora of knowledge about South Africa and the animals that live in the Eastern Cape.

I was immediately reminded of Jurassic Park when we entered into Addo. The reserve is the size of the country of Belgium! As you can imagine, it took us all day to navigate through the park. I didn’t mind! That meant seeing more elephants, my most favorite animal. Around 500 elephants live in the park! Within five minutes of being in the park, my friend Mary spotted them. Two elephants right next to our van! They were enjoying their favorite snack, a bitter tasting plant found in all over Addo!


Throughout the day, our group was fortunate enough to see 4 out of the “Big Five” animals that live in the park. The “Big Five” includes lions, rhinos, elephants, buffalo, and leopards. (We didn’t spot the leopard.) Wow! We were lucky! Lions had not been seen for months! When we pulled up to a watering hole we saw over 200 elephants drinking, swimming, and playing. They were all so beautiful! Mike shared some fun elephant facts with our group, so I’d like to share them with you.

The average life span of the elephant is 75 years.
There are two sets of twin elephants currently living in Addo.
Elephants can be right or left tusked. You can tell this by the size of their tusks. The smaller, more worn one is the tusk that they use more.
There are over 60,000 muscles in an elephant’s trunk.
Young elephants are weaned from their mother at three years old.
Elephants mourn the loss of another elephant. The process may take months. During this time, elephants may eat less and travel less.
Elephants have an exceptional memory.

Family is important to elephants. They visit family members and run to one another in excitement!

Elephants typically make four different sounds. A squeal, a grunt, a hum, and a trumpeting sound!

We had such a fun day at Addo, it was very hard to leave! Before we left, we looked at our checklist to see how many animals that we had seen. We saw elephants, lions, zebras, a meerkat, buffalo, kulu (a type of deer), antelope, cranes, warthogs, and various colorful birds. All of these animals are native to this region of South Africa. Thankfully, they are protected in Addo but they are still treated as if they live wild and free. Our visit to the park was even better than I had imagined it would be. It was such beautiful day, and we saw some animals I had only seen in movies such as the Lion King!

The girls woke up early Sunday morning to participate in the Ocean Racing Series here in Port Elizabeth! The Ocean Racing Series offers a 5k run, a 5k walk, a 1k walk for children and an ocean swimming competition! Two of the girls in our group chose to run and four of us chose to walk. I have not ran three miles in a long time, so I decided to walk instead. BIG MISTAKE. It is so hard to power-walk on the sand! (It probably would have been easier to run.)

The local newspaper, the Weekend Post, also targeted us because we our outfits made us stand out in the crowd. We were wearing BRIGHT yellow hats and over sized t-shirts that were given to us by President Zuma’s wife! She started an organization that raises awareness about the dangers of diabetes. We decided to honor her in the race by wearing the shirts and hats. As the four walkers approached the starting line, the announcer labeled us the “American Whooses” because we were walking. Embarrassing! At the end of the race, it was all worth it. We had completed a 5k in South Africa! We even made a few new friends along the way. Each of us were given medals and posed for a picture. That was enough to feel like a champion!

"We sing when we are happy, we sing when we are sad."

When I think back to over this weekend, my mind is suddenly overwhelmed with memories that fill my eyes with tears. These tears are formed from a combination of the most heightened emotions: brokenness, helplessness, joy, excitement, frustration, love, and thankfulness. There were many more, but these are the first that come to my mind.

We found out late Thursday night that our group was cordially invited to a meeting with the Director of Education for the entire city of Port Elizabeth! What an opportunity! We felt honored and nervous when we arrived at the District of Education building early Friday morning. Mr. Ntsiko greeted us warmly and soon all of our nervousness had subsided. We spent the next hour discussing what we had experienced thus far in South Africa. We shared what we have learned from the teachers at Emafini, the differences between our education system and South Africa's, and what we hoped to gain from our visit here. He even took us into his personal office afterwards!
 
On the way back to Emafini, Mr. January surprised us with a visit to another primary school here in Port Elizabeth. I fought back tears as we pulled up to Sunridge Primary School. Although Emafini and Sunridge are only a few miles apart from each other, it seemed like I was in a different world. The campus was well-kept and spacious. Trimmed shrubbery and exotic flowers colored the perimeters of the school. Everything was polished and spotless. Students moved in single-file lines down the hallway. As I peeped my head into a Grade 2 classroom, I noticed the same model of a LD television that I had seen in the lobby of the school. We were lead to the music room, computer lab (there are 2), and past classrooms filled with books and art supplies. It took me a moment to remind myself of where I was. I felt nauseous and uncomfortable. My thoughts raced to my precious students at Emafini. Just as bright, just as special, and just as deserving of a school like Sunridge. Unfortunately, they would never set foot in this school, nor would they have easy access to half of the materials and opportunity that this school. Sunridge has a 100% graduation rate, in-school remediation specialists, and an advanced music program led by a renowned musician. The tuition of Sunridge is 700 rand a month, and it costs 85 rand for a child to attend Emafini for an entire school year. Only 40% of families of Emafini students are able to pay tuition. I wanted to get back to the dusty chalkboards of Emafini, where I had to stretch myself as a teacher to explain concepts with limited paper, few books, and no Internet. As our bus driver, Neil, pulled away from Sunridge I noticed a similarity between the two schools. Actually, I heard it. I heard the sound of children singing. Something I heard everyday at Emafini. These schools are so different, yet both are full of young students who are eager to learn. What a sound. Beautiful singing coming from the mouths of the beautiful learners of South Africa.

Lindsey and I could hardly contain our excitement as we hustled to room 34 at Emafini Primary. We decided to record a video of our entrance, hoping the students were finished with their Life Skills exam. (I attempted to upload this video, but the internet connection has been unreliable this evening.  I will try again tomorrow!) We were in the classroom for twenty minutes before our plans changed again. We were heading on some home visits. Home visits to where over 60% of our students live. We had passed townships every morning on the way to Emafini, but we had never truly seen them. We had not walked in them, shook hands with the people who lived there, we had not entered their homes. Soon we were off in cars with our partnership teachers heading towards the slums surrounding Emafini. We were going to experience first hand what our sweet children know as home. Children who walk to school each morning, with joyful smiles on their faces and sacrificial gifts in their hands for their teachers.

I will let the following pictures speak for themselves, because honestly, I do not have the words.

 

 

Our hearts were heavy as we pulled back into Emafini. Heavy with the reality of the struggle and injustice in South Africa, and the injustice that is so prevalent in our own country as well. So many questions filled my mind. What can I do? How much longer would these people have to wait for adequate housing? If these children can be thankful and joyful in the circumstances that they are in, why do I complain about a minor inconvenience? We were soon surrounded by the children whose homes we had just seen amongst the wreckage.

I am a singer. NOT a good one, but if you know me well you can attest to the fact that if you catch me at the right time, I burst out in spontaneous song. It may be an entire song, or just a brief line from one. I may sing it once, I may repeat it over and over. I sing alone, and with dear friends. I sing when I'm excited, sad, thankful, nostalgic, energetic, showering, driving, and when I am bored. Although I had no stamina left to sing on the car ride home on Friday, I remembered something I had heard at one point during our overwhelming morning on Friday. I remembered Mr. January describing the singing habits South Africans:

"We sing when we are happy, we sing when we are sad. We always sing."

This is true. I have heard more singing and seen more dancing during these two weeks in South Africa than I have seen in a long time. Singing is part of human nature. It can be found in every country, and people of all ages respond to it. If you're like me, you may not be good at it - but I bet you do it anyway. It is one way to express emotion. So much can be expressed through song and music. To end on a lighter note, I encourage you to wait for my next blog post. I am anxious to describe our evening filled with more singing, music, and dancing with our dear South African friends!

Stay tuned...

You learn something new every day

 After a being a teacher at Emafini Primary School for a week, you could say that I have begun to pick up on some Xhosa. (Note the emphasis on the word some.) I have forty three patient teachers in my class who frequently remind me of their names and translate for me. As I have mentioned in earlier posts, I have encountered difficulties when requesting band-aids, directions, and food. While waiting for our students to finish their exam, Lindsey and I conjured up this list:

"Must I write this exam?"

Think about place value. The ones-place is called units.
Reviewing content is known as revising.
Grading is called marking, and points are called marks.
Students are affectionately known as learners.
Kindergarten = Grade R
A workbook is called a notebook.
In Xhosa, "hello" is Molo
Diet Coke = Coke Light
Do not say "Good Morning," say "Mornings!"
A cookout can either be a barbeque or a bray.
If the label says "not hot," it is extremely spicy.
Everything comes with a hearty side of tomatoes. (Fresh, stewed, sliced, diced, or in salsa.)
When answering a question, learners raise their hands, snap their fingers, and call out "Yes miss!"
Look right, then left, then right again before crossing the road. Yes, cars drive on the other side.
If you ask for a band-aid you may be given a rubber band. Next time, just ask for a plaster.
Students sweep the floor after lunch and break, and clean the entire room at the end of the day. Talk about helping hands!

Marking their students' tests - all 180 of them

A teacher's student assistant is the Class Leader.
Grades R-3 are known as the "foundations phase."
Learners write a test, they do not "take" one.
If a child wants to leave the room, you will hear "Teacher, may I go out?"
The class prays and sings in unison on a daily basis.
You may hear a round of applause upon entering a classroom.
Do NOT go on the field during recess. Every man for himself!
"Don't be cheeky" is a popular comeback.
If you wear your hair down, you are asking for it to be played with. Fine by me!
Emafini teachers love to dance.
Friendly is everyone's middle name.


Last but certainly not least: You will be loved no matter who you are or where you come from. You will simply be loved.

A day FULL of laughter is a day NOT wasted

I did not stop laughing today. So many joyful and humorous moments!

As we do every morning on the way to school, my friends and I sang along to every song on the radio. We laughed as we forgot most of the words. Neil, our van driver, plays the best songs! The genres range from oldies, 90's music (my personal favorite), pop, rap and hip-hop. Oh, and Celine Dion. I thought she deserved her own category.

Sweet Olethu

I laughed with joy as I was greeted by Olethu, (pronounced Oh-lay-too) a student from grade R who manages to find me every morning and always remembers my name.

Lesotho giggled with his friends after he finished his math exam. Even though he was late to school, he finished. Lindsey and I were so proud of him! He smiled when we congratulated him and told him that he was smart. He is struggling in school, but he will not give up.

Lesotho

Lindsey and I chuckled with Ms. Vava as we understood one another's jokes during class. We usually laughed at ourselves after a delay of understanding.

During break, Lindsey and I decided to eat quickly so we could find our class and enjoy the beautiful day with them. We soon learned why teachers stay away from the field and blacktop. No rules apply. We soon became the target for over one hundred screaming students. Our hair was pulled and played with, our sweaters and pants stretched, our feet stepped on, and our arms pulled in every possible direction. It was all out of love, and it was all worth it. The students from our class became protective over us and lead us back to our classroom where we shut the door and taught them a secret knock. After we were all safe and sound, we erupted in laughter.

Our day in a nutshell

My friends Ashley and Mary teach Grade 4. After school, they found their way down to our room. Tears rolled down our cheeks from laughing as we shared our "teachable moments" from the day.

Some of the girls in my group ventured to the movie theater on the boardwalk this evening. We are still adjusting to the small differences between the US and South Africa, kitchen and bathroom appliances are the most challenging. As Mary reached to get soap from the dispenser, hot air blew out to dry her hands. Mary and I could not look at each other for the next few minutes without bursting into uncontrollable laughter.

My abs are sore this evening, but my heart is full. I am so thankful for the group that I am with and the most adorable children that I have met. Although the students are taking exams this week and instructional time is limited, today was a day NOT wasted.

Emmy, pronounced "Ammy" here, I'll take it :)

"Everyone has rights, every child has rights"

We have almost been in Africa an entire week! Where has the time gone?

Nelson Mandela Stadium - it seats 48,000 people!

This weekend was quite eventful. On Saturday, we were blessed with free tickets to a professional soccer game at Nelson Mandela Stadium here in Port Elizabeth. Bafana Bafana was playing Cote d'Ivoire, and what a game it was! The stadium was full of energy, even two hours before the game! It was very obvious that we were foreigners, we walked around the entire stadium one and a half times before we figured out that we needed to walk outside to get to our seats. Oh well, we were able to see the fans pouring into the stadium and we learned a few chants along the way! I was very excited to watch soccer, it has been a very long time since I had seen a game in person and I have never been to a professional game. By the end of the game our voices were hoarse and I felt like I had pulled my arm out of socket from throwing my hands up in the air so many times. Needless to say, the Bafana Bafana team has now gained 9 more avid fans. The ending score was a tie, but the crowd was not at loss.

With Principal January after the game

Sunday was full of rest, we really needed it! A few of us went to church at Lighthouse Family Church. I cherish the privilege of worshipping in a church in another nation. The people were so welcoming and the worship was passionate and real. I am looking forward to go again next week!

This week at Emafini is going to eye-opening all over again, I know it already. The students will be writing exams, which are similar to EOG's in the states. Students in grade 3 are given a maximum of 1 and a half hours to work on the exam. Here is a schedule of the exams:

• Monday: Xhosa exam. Students will be tested on their knowledge of their native language, which they call their "native tongue." 

• Tuesday: Review day. Reviewing is called revising in South Africa. This was very confusing at first, because I thought that Ms. Vava was asking Lindsey and I to have the students correct a test that they had not taken yet! We decided to revise math, because there were many concepts that the students still did not understand. These concepts include, comparing and ordering numbers, organizing data, and characteristic of geometric shapes. It reminded me of many lessons that I taught in Ms. Redmond's third grade class at Sunset Park. I miss you guys!

• Wednesday: Math exam. Ms. Vava is very concerned about how the students will perform. Keep my students in mind today! I know that they can do well.

• Thursday: English exam. Lindsey and I stapled 196 exams for all of the students in grade 3 today! I got a paper cut on my finger while we were stapling, so Lindsey and I went on a search for a band-aid. (Today was the day that I forgot my first-aid kit at the bed & breakfast.) After confusing many people, and being offered a few rubber bands, we learned that a band-aid is called "plaster" in South Africa. Who knew?

• Friday: Life Skills exam. From what I gathered, the students will be tested on their knowledge of safety skills, recycling, and healthy living.

When Principal January was informing us of the schedule for week, he got very quiet and said that he wanted to remind us of something. "Everyone has rights, every child has rights." Principal January meant that every child has the right to learn.

Principal January believes in his students. 

He believes that they have the right to learn. 

He wants them to have caring teachers. 

He wants them to behave. 

He wants them to succeed. 

He wants to hear from them long after they have left Emafini Primary School. 

While he was speaking, my mind wandered to all of the people that we saw at the soccer game that Principal January knew. One was his sister, another was a police chief, and another was a just a friend who passed by. When I told him that he was a popular man, he humbly responded by shaking his head. "This happens when you are a teacher," he said. He then went on to tell us that the police chief and friend had been students at Emafini. Although they had been gone for many years, they still remembered Principal January and he still remembered their names. He still cared about what they were doing, and he was still so proud of them. 

I am so proud of my students at Sunset Park and how hard they have been working this year. I am also so proud of my students at Emafini, who have displayed such a desire to exercise their right to learn.