Hiking and Lynedoch

Hello!

I have just two things to update you on today – a beautiful hike that I went on last week and this past Monday’s trip to Lynedoch.

So there’s a big mountain behind the rugby stadium and athletic complex on our campus and many of us had been eyeing it since we arrived, so five of us finally set out to hike it last Wednesday. There was no clearly marked trail in sight, but we found what may have been the path where water runs down the slope and followed it up most of the mountain. Then there was some rock climbing and improvisation, but Dustin, Evan and I made it to the top (our other two friends, Terry and Jeff, didn’t feel well so they turned around early).

The view from the top of the mountain was absolutely incredible. Below us we could see every single part of Stellenbosch and everything else that exists around it. In the distance we could see False Bay, Table Mountain, and Lion’s Head. Because of the fog and the air pollution we weren’t able to see the actual city of Cape Town, but I think it was better to just see the water and mountains emerging from the low clouds. Behind us we could see endless layers of mountain sticking up into the bright blue sky. The three of us spent a long time just sitting on the top, eating lunch, and soaking in the amazing view.

the mountain from just above the rugby stadium

me and nearly all of Stellenboshthe rest of Stellies and Table Mountain in the backgroundmore mountains in the distance

In other news, Monday was another enjoyable day at Lynedoch. After a fun class on Friday in which we participated in some team building activities and watched the movie The Guardian, we were all excited to get back in the classroom with our kids. Our morning lesson was about volcanoes, earthquakes and plate tectonics. As part of our lesson we did a simple science experiment and exploded our own clay volcano using baking soda and vinegar. Not surprisingly, none of the students in my class had ever seen this experiment done before, and neither had their teacher. This served as another reminder of the contrast between my educational opportunities and theirs, because every student that I went to school with has seen this experiment done at one time or another. From there we moved on to earthquakes and plate tectonics. We taught them the very basics in a way that was hopefully easy to understand. Then we talked briefly about Pangea, the single continent that used to exist on earth. None of the learners had ever heard about this concept, but I think the pictures on our worksheet helped them see that the continents could fit neatly together. In the last few minutes of class we let the learners do an earthquake drill and hide under their desks, which they seemed to enjoy.

For the afternoon we had a fun lesson planned about sound and music. We began by teaching our learners about vibrations and sound waves, the structure of our ears, and the concept of frequency. Then we shifted from the process of hearing to the magic of music by playing clips of several songs from a variety of different genres. We played jazz, blues, hip hop, rap, R&B, bluegrass, country, and techno, while interrupting some songs to teach them a little bit about each genre. Even though they still prefer hip hop to jazz, I think it was good to introduce them to other types of music that they’ve never even heard of before. As our final activity for the day the whole class sang along as Jeff played guitar. He’s been practicing a couple songs that are popular in South Africa right now so the learners knew the words and could sing along with us. It’s absolutely crazy that we only have one day left with our learners before we leave. Grant wants us to do fun activities in order to celebrate our time together, so we have an exciting schedule planned for our last day with the kids on May 3rd.
I’d also like to send a thank you along to some important people. The first is my Aunt Kaye who, at 90 years old, may be my biggest fan and most avid reader. She’s been extremely supportive of my studies and my work here, and has also paid for some new educational resources at Lynedoch. Secondly, thank you to Sandy O’Sullivan who made it possible for me to purchase new maps, soccer balls, and art supplies for the kids. And another thank you to Diana Potter for all the construction paper that she's donated for Lynedoch! Lastly, thanks to everyone who follows my blog and to anyone that has taken an interest in my life here in South Africa!