Back in Stellies

Hello everyone!
Now that I’m done filling you in on my spring break adventures I want to mention some fun things that happened in my first week back in Stellenbosch.

- On Thursday I did 9 miles as my last distance run before the half marathon (which is coming up in 4 days now).

- On Friday we get to go back to Lynedoch for the first time in 3 weeks and it was really a breath of fresh air. I didn’t realize how much I missed the school until we got there. It’s going to really tough when we head home in only 9 weeks. We had class all day but, as usual, Grant broke it up quite a bit. In the morning before our morning snack (homemade muffins!) we went downstairs to the big hall where the learners were having an assembly. They were being dismissed at 10:30 for their spring break, but before they left the 8th grade teacher, Mr. Myburgh, told them to say goodbye to all their friends. We didn’t know what he was saying because it was all in Afrikaans, but at this point all the kids turned to each other and gave everyone around them the biggest hugs. I think people often underestimate how caring children are, especially in this community that struggles with violence on such a regular basis, but it was nice to see all the kids so genuinely happy. On their way out of the hall most of my 6th graders came up and gave me a hug and it was definitely the highlight of my day. After out morning snack Grant took us back downstairs to the now empty hall and had us play tag for a while. He’s been encouraging us to find our ‘golden child’ so he wanted us to run around and let some energy out. We had delicious homemade hamburgers for lunch and had a lot of good discussions about service work, reciprocity, and the importance of proper reflection.

- On Friday night I had a basketball game in Cape Town. Again we only had 6 players, but this time we won 60-15. I’m pretty sure it was the first time in my life that I’ve been on the winning end of a blowout. It was really exciting to win a game, it was a feeling I’d kind of forgotten about. This coming Friday is out last tournament game so hopefully we’ll get to win one more.

- On Saturday I went to movies with some friends and saw How to Train Your Dragon. I had no expectations at all and didn’t know what the movie was about, but I really enjoyed it. I’d definitely watch it again soon. Afterwards we went to Earth Hour which was a world wide event that consisted of turning the lights off for one hour in order to raise awareness about environmental causes. Our event took place on a grassy lawn in the middle of campus that’s usually pretty well-lit at night, so they turned the lights off and people hung out listening to an African band play instruments for an hour. I guess this initiative has been gaining momentum in recent years and places such as the Eiffel Tower and the Great Pyramids in Egypt participate.

- On Sunday I hiked up Table Mountain! It was a really steep hike but well worth it because the views from the top were incredible. You can see almost all of Cape Town, from the waterfront and Green Point Stadium to the beaches on the west side to Robben Island 8 miles offshore to downtown CT. It was amazing, and luckily the seemingly ever-present cloud above the mountain moved while we were on our way up in order to make the views possible. I was pretty tired by the time we got up and walked around the top (remember its flat, so there’s a lot of exploring to do even after you reach the summit), so I decided to take the cable car down. It’s only R85 ($12) and it rotates 360 degrees to give you a complete view of the city before you get down to the ground. The animal in the 3rd picture below is called a dassie and they're all over the mountain.

- On Monday I went back to Lynedoch with 12 other students for an optional day of work (because the learners are away on vacation now). I spent most of the day working on our garden that we’ve developed for the kids. It’s coming along nicely and I was happy that we finally got the soil ready for plants (we put in cabbage, basil, and cosmos flowers for starters). Grant’s mom made us salami sandwiches for the morning and homemade macaroni and cheese for lunch, and for dessert Grant took us to the store and bought ice cream for everyone. That evening we all headed to the stadium for the final rugby game of the season. Kurt Darren, one of the biggest Afrikaans singers, performed before the game and Francois Penaar (Matt Damon’s character in Invictus) made an appearance to shake all the players’ hands (in the picture below he's the second guy in the row of four with suits on). It was a great game and we ended up beating UCT 17-14 to become national champions for the third year in a row! Everyone rushed the field afterwards and fireworks went off as the trophy was presented to the team. It was a really cool experience, but I kept thinking how much more excited I’d be if it was a team I felt more connected to (i.e. NHS softball in 2006 or St. Mike’s men’s basketball now). Regardless, it was great to experience such a crazy and awesome event with the Maties.

Days 7-10 - Avoca River, Addo Elephant Park, Wilderness Beach

On Friday morning, after our vans had left for their return trip to Stellenbosch, a big tour bus arrived in JBay to bring 24 of us to our next location. After a 2 hour drive we arrived at the Avoca River Cabins where we'd be spending the next 2 nights. We slept in tiny huts with just enough room for beds, right alongside the Avoca River. We spent the day swimming, canoeing, and sitting by the fire.

On Saturday morning we woke up early and headed to Addo Elephant Park for our 9am game drive in an open air vehicle. The drive was really cool and we got to see lots of different animals. We only saw 2 of South Africa's 'Big 5' - elephants and lions - but we were told that sighting the lions is rare so we were pleased about that. The park is absolutely huge and there are only 10 lions in the whole thing, but we were able to see 3 of them (all roughly 2 years old). The pictures of lions below were taken by a friend of mine who had a professional camera with her, so they're a lot nicer than my shots. The animal below that you may not recognize is a kudu, which is the second largest antelope in the world and can jump 9 feet in the air. And the last picture is Pumba the warthog. After the drive we had lunch before getting in our own tour bus and driving through again on the paved roads. We didn't see anything new, but we spent some more time at the watering hole where the elephants congregate.

Once we were back at the cabins we relaxed and enjoyed the river and the camp fire again. In the morning we drove for about 6 hours, with stops along the way, until we made it to the Wilderness Beach House Backpackers where we'd be staying the night. Me and a couple friends explored the nearby beach once we were settled, and we saw the biggest jellyfish we'd ever seen washed up on the shore. They were at least 18 inches across and had huge tentacles. We went back up to the house for a delicious lamb roast and spend the rest of the night sitting by the fire. In the morning we left for our last leg of the trip and after another 6 hours in the car we were back in Stellenbosch. It was an amazing 10 days on the road but it was good to be back home. It seemed like forever ago that we first got in the vans at 5am last weekend, yet the trip went by too fast.

Day 6 - Surfing, Sandboarding, and Goodbyes

It was 8:15 on the morning of Day 6 and I was awake and eating breakfast before my alarm went off. I was scheduled to spend the morning surfing with 9 of my friends and I was really excited about it. I had tried surfing twice before with a friend, but this would be my first time taking a lesson. We put on our wetsuits and walked out to the beach where our boards were waiting for us. Our instructor, Dale, went over the basics and then gave us 20 minutes to catch some waves just lying on our boards, no standing up yet. Then we went back to the sand and he taught us the final couple steps and we had about an hour to work on putting the whole thing together in the water. It was an exhausting two hours in total because each time you caught a wave that brought you to the shoreline you had to carry your board back out until you were waist deep again. I had a really great time and was able to ride several waves to the shore, granted they weren’t very big.

Afterwards we had 10 minutes to put dry clothes on, get in the vans, and head to the dunes for sandboarding. I was also really looking forward to this activity, but it wasn’t quite as cool as I expected. On my first run down the dune I tried to turn on my heel side, as I would on a snowboard, but I just ended up falling on my butt. The sand was really hard and it was nearly impossible to do anything besides ride in a straight line down the hill. The main slope that we used was pretty small, but walking back up each time became difficult as we were all wiped out from surfing. Regardless, it was a neat experience and I’m really glad I did it.

Once we got back to the beach house I ate lunch, took a shower (I still have sand in my scalp though), and napped until dinner. After eating I hung out in the living room/kitchen of our house, listened to Hestea’s “end of the Garden Route” speech, and got into bed pretty early.

In addition to all the amazing activities I participated in this week, I really enjoyed getting to know our drivers better. Aside from Hestea there are 5 Stellenbosch undergrads/grad students who drive everywhere and take care of us on the road, and this was our last night with them. We see them around campus and hang out with them periodically, but the Garden Route trip is the bulk of our time with them, and now it was coming to an end. Hestea made a nice comment about each of them in her little speech and we all thanked them for the time, effort, and love that they put into the week. In the morning I would be heading a little further up the east coast with 23 other students, but the drivers and the rest of the crew was either going home or doing their own weekend trips, so this marked the end of our official Garden Route holiday.

Day 5 - Bungee Jumping, Island Vibe, and St. Paddy's Day

After packing up and having breakfast in the barn we said our goodbyes to Antler’s Lodge and hit the road again en route to Bloukran’s Bridge. Bloukran’s is the highest commercial bungee jump in the world and 29 of us we making the leap today. I wasn’t really nervous until we arrived, got our harnesses on, and had our weight written on our hand. Hestea told us that in past years they jumped in order of weight, which would have put me first. I really didn’t want to jump first. Luckily once we got out to the platform they called my friend Julie’s name first and I was able to relax. After watching her jump and seeing the smile on her face when she got back to the platform I was no longer nervous, just really excited. The guys that worked there were super friendly and they had music playing the whole time to pump us up. When it was finally my turn to go I got my ankles strapped in, then I was carried to the edge of the platform where the two guys holding me immediately starting counting down from 5. There was no time to think twice or be nervous, so I dove off and absolutely loved every second of it. The feeling of free falling in indescribable, but so amazing. I would encourage anyone who gets the chance to jump to do it, you won’t regret it!

When our group was done jumping we got lunch in the restaurant that overlooked the bridge and watched some of our other friends bungee. After everyone had gone we got back in our vans and drove to Jeffrey’s Bay. Once again, Hestea amazed us with her ability to find the coolest places to stay. Island Vibe Backpackers was situated right above the beach overlooking the Indian Ocean. There was a lounge, a small restaurant, a bar, dorm style bedrooms, and a beach house. After getting a quick tour of grounds we were told that the beach house belonged to us for the next two nights (see picture below). Me, Adrienne, and Vanessa picked a room with a sliding glass door that opened up to the beach (our view is pictured below). It was an incredible spot. Once everyone was situated a bunch of us hopped in the vans and drove a half mile down the road to the Billabong Factory Store. It was a huge place with tons of clothes for real cheap. I wasn’t planning on getting anything but I couldn’t resist, I walked away with 3 shirts for under $20. After walking home we had a soccer game on the beach until dinnertime. Dinner was Thai chicken curry and it was so delicious I could have had at least four plates if there has been enough to go around. We spent the rest of the night celebrating St. Patrick’s Day and talking about how awesome our bungee jumping experience was.

Day 4 - Kayaking, Tsitsikamma, and Pizza

I was awake around the same time as the sun on Day 4 in order to get some breakfast in the barn before heading out to the bay. Twelve of us went on a 7am sea kayaking trip around Plettenberg Bay for 2 hours. The water was beautiful and it was so peaceful to be out there when everything around us was quiet. It was a cloudy morning so it wasn’t too hot yet, but it certainly tiring on my arms. We got to see a baby seal, a mother seal, and 3 hammerhead sharks swimming near us. I didn’t see the sharks, but I guess they’re pretty small and have very tiny mouths. Out two guides said that during high season you can see Southern Right Whales, Great White Sharks, and lots of dolphins right in the bay.

After kayaking 8 of us left the bay, stopped at Antler’s to pick up 4 more people, and headed to the Tsitsikamma Forest to do a canopy tour. We had two great tour guides who helped us zipline from platform to platform high up in the trees of the forest. There were 10 ziplines in all and they varied in height, length, and speed. I thought it was really cool how the platforms are made to never cause any damage to the trees. Check out the picture below to see how they completely rely on tension because it is forbidden to put even one nail into the trees.

After having lunch in Tsitsikamma we went back to the lodge and I took a nap. When I woke up we all left to have dinner at a pizza place on the beach. The pizzas were great, I had 10 slices, and the view from the restaurant was beautiful. I was pretty tired by the time we got home so I just laid in bed and hung out with some friends until I fell asleep.

Day 3 - Monkeys, Cheetahs, and Antler's Lodge

We were all sad to leave the beautiful Buffalo Bay on the morning of Day 3. But after breakfast we were packed and on our way to Monkeyland. We saw several different species of monkeys and lemurs that live in the park. The land is fenced in, but the monkeys are free to come and go as they please. Aside from a few platforms with fruit on them, the workers don’t supply the animals with food because they’re capable of finding their own. The monkeys usually choose to stay in the fenced in area because it keeps them safe from baboons. The park ranger told us that if a baboon were to get inside the fence, they would have to shoot it immediately because he would kill every single monkey and lemur in there. They’re scary foragers.

After getting up close to many monkeys and taking lots of pictures we drove a few minutes down the road to a cat rehabilitation center. A park ranger showed us a leopard and a couple cheetahs from behind a fence, then let us go inside some areas of the park to get up close to a few other kinds of big cats, and at the end of our tour we got to go inside and pet two 14 month old cheetahs. They had been very playful for the first group in the morning, but when we visited they were just laying in the shade. It was still really cool to feel their soft fur and take pictures with them though. Because they’ve been in captivity since birth they do not fear humans, but our ranger told us that if we were to approach a cheetah in the wild it would probably run away from us.

After lunch at the cat place we got back in the vans and headed to Antler’s Lodge in Plettenberg Bay. We all thought nothing could compare to Buffalo Bay, but this place was pretty awesome too. It wasn’t near the water, but the accommodations were very nice, we had a pool, a big field to play on, a barn to eat in, and a fire pit outside to cook on. I stayed in a room with Casey and Adrienne, and it was great to have a full bathroom for just the three of us. After exploring the grounds I played soccer with a bunch of people on our field until dinner time. We had a braai, ate together in the barn, and Hestea went over all the logistics for the next day because it was the first time we were all splitting up to do separate activities. I spent the rest of the night hanging out in my room with friends and getting some sleep because we had a 5:45 wake up call in the morning.

Day 2 - Rastas, Elephants, and Springboks

We woke up on Day 2 and had breakfast together before heading out to a nearby Rastafarian town called Judah Square. It’s the only legal, politically recognized Rasta community in South Africa and they offer tours in order to raise awareness about their lifestyle. Hestea has been bringing the AIFS group here for years so everyone knows her and was excited to see us and show us around. They taught us about their religion, introduced us to their two local pharmacists who make herbal remedies for illnesses, and spoke about the role that the elementary school plays in the community. I knew very little about Rasta life before so it was really interesting to learn how their religion has strong Christian roots and how they don’t allow alcohol, cigarettes, or weapons in their town. After playing some soccer with the kids and taking a big group picture with our new Rasta friends we reluctantly got back in the buses. I didn't take any pictures myself because I wasn't sure of the context of our visit beforehand and I didn't want to be too intrusive, so unfortunately I don't have any images of Judah Square to post here.

Our next stop was Knysna Elephant Park where we had lunch and then played with the world’s largest land mammal! We got to feed, pet, and take pictures with the 12 elephants that live in the park. I liked the little ones best, but it’s absolutely amazing to stand next to the big ones because they’re just so huge (check out the picture of my friend Beth with a big guy below). Because the owner knows Hestea well we were given the opportunity to take a peek at the new baby elephant born only 6 days before! Unfortunately, he was born premature (30kg underweight) and isn’t tall enough to breastfeed from his mother. In the wild he probably would have been abandoned, but the employees of the park are trying hard to keep him alive. His stomach keeps rejecting the different formulas that they’ve tried, but they’re still experimenting. Their next step is to feed him a drink with plasma in it that they’ve taken from the mother, so hopefully that will help him grow. After thanking the owner and wishing her the best of luck we left the park. Some people went directly back to the lodge, others returned to Judah Square to hang out with the Rastas, and the rest of us went to the Knysna waterfront. There were a bunch of little shops selling clothes, jewelry, and typical African souvenirs. I sat by the water with my friend Adrienne for a bit before heading back to Buffalo Bay.

Adrienne, Casey, and I sat on the beach until the sun set into the ocean and we went inside for our delicious fish dinner. As we finished eating some of the Rasta guys walked into the lodge with their instruments and speakers. It turns out Hestea, aka MamaH, had planned a little concert for us! It was so much fun to sit by the fireplace at listen to the band play. There was a convenient and cheap bar at the backpackers and everyone was doing Springbok shooters all night (half Amarula and half Crème de menthe). Some of the girls had a nice little dance party with MamaH and at one point she was doing the “ostrich dance” with me on her back. Afterwards I did some stargazing and swimming with some friends before taking a much needed shower and getting to bed. Another awesome day on the road.

Day 1 - Caves, Ostriches, and Buffalo Bay

I’M HOME! After an amazing 10 days on the road I’m back in Stellies… happy to be home but already missing the sound of waves crashing on the beach. There were so many fun things that happened in the last week and I don’t want to leave stuff out so I’m going to take it one day at a time. So here’s Day 1 on the Garden Route.

We left Stellenbosch at 5am on Saturday morning and began our five hour drive to Oudtshoorn. Our first stop was the Cango Caves, which were full of chambers, stalactites, and stalagmites. The rock formations are hundreds of thousands of years old and were incredible to look at. We went on an adventure climb through the caves (check out the picture below of my roommate Casey) before leaving for the ostrich farm. Oudtshoorn is known as the ostrich capital of South Africa – over 1,000 of them are slaughtered every day in this one town alone. We learned quite a bit about these crazy animals from our tour guide – their leather is the second strongest in the world behind kangaroos, their eyeball weighs twice as much as their brain, and their kick is powerful enough to break a human in half. We got to see a baby ostrich breaking through his shell before watching a few of our friends ride them around the farm (that's me feeding them and Pablo riding one in the pictures below).

After another 2 hours in the car we arrived at Buffalo Bay Backpackers. None of us were expecting to stay at a place as awesome as this. We all jumped out of the car and marveled at the views because the lodge was literally located on the beach. Check out the website and the pictures below for a little taste of this beautiful lodge. We spent the afternoon relaxing, enjoying the sun, and exploring the beach. Eventually we had a delicious dinner that was cooked and served by the owner. After dinner everyone was just hanging out when Hestea, our resident director, quietly asked all the girls to gather outside. We followed her down to the shoreline where she proceeded to give us a short speech on self-worth and self-respect that culminated with her saying, “as women we need to stay interesting… so I’m going skinny dipping!” She immediately threw her clothes into the sand and ran for the water. It didn’t take long for the rest of us to follow suit and within the next couple minutes there were 35 of us running into the ocean. The water was so refreshing and it felt like we were in a movie. It was a perfect way to end our first day on the road. We were all so tired and most of us were asleep before midnight.

SPRING BREAK IS HERE!

Hello everyone!

I just wanted to write a quick update before I leave for our big spring break adventure!

This past Monday at Lynedoch we taught our learners all about the ocean. We went over where they are in the world, the different layers, the ways in which they’re affected by global warming, and some different animals that live there. In the afternoon we should them a bunch of clips from the Ocean Deep segment of Planet Earth. They got to see underwater volcanoes, crazy looking bioluminescent creatures, dolphins, turtles, blue whales, and few other interesting things. I think they enjoyed the clips because they’d never been exposed to some of this information before. They even chose to stay inside and watch more animal videos instead of going outside for recess. Though this may have also been because of the heat. Rumor has it that the thermometer hit 113 on Monday. It was brutally hot and everyone at Lynedoch had sweat dripping from them. Our yoga instructor, Bryce, agreed with us that it was too hot for a workout so we took an early train home. It was nice to get home earlier than normal, but I’m beginning to feel like our time at Lynedoch is slipping away. Because of our break and then the public school break we’re not with our kids for the next 4 weeks, and then we only have 3 weeks of lessons left after that. It’s scary to think about how fast the time is flying by.

In other news, I had an Afrikaans test this week and I think I did pretty well on it. I also finally bought the South African World Cup soccer jersey that I’ve been eyeing since week one. I think I forgot to mention in my last post that a bunch of us went to see the Princess and the Frog at our local movie theater. I thought it was really good, and it was nice to only pay $3 for a movie ticket. This past Wednesday was the first time it really rained in the 7 weeks that I’ve been here. It was such a welcomed break from the heat and it made running actually enjoyable for the first time in a while.

Ok I need to start packing. It’s almost midnight at we’re leaving at 4:45am. It’s a 7 hour drive to our first stop where we will be trekking through caves and riding ostriches! We’re spending the first 6 days traveling up the Garden Route and then the next 4 hanging around Addo Elephant Park and the surrounding area. I’ll be sure to update you on my adventures when I return!

Tot siens!

Secret Garden and Basketball

Hello!

I just want to quickly share with you my Friday activities! I was preparing for a long day of lecture at Lynedoch but, as usual, Grant surprised us. We began the day by going around the circle and sharing with the group something we were grateful for at that moment. Then we went around again and each completed the sentence "the greatest gift I've received from this experience to date is..." Hearing the thoughts of my incredible classmates was an energizing and moving way to begin the morning. Afterwards we walked about a mile down the railroad tracks to a secret garden! It's actually a nursery and I suppose it's not that secret, but it was really neat. Grant told us we had an hour to explore and relax.

It was such a simple place, but there was so much to see. There were tons of plants and flowers with a walkway winding through all of them. There was a wooden playground tucked into the corner. There were tables, chairs, benches, and a comfy bed in the middle of the property. There were wind chimes and cool mobiles made out of recycled materials hanging everywhere. There was a small, unobtrusive cafe. There was a beautiful black lab and a small cat, who both loved our attention. There were cages with talking parrots and many other kinds of birds. There was a small pond with the cute bridge built over it. And all of this was in the shade, thanks to the huge trees that formed a canopy. Before we knew it an hour and fifteen minutes had passed so we headed back to Lynedoch.

After returning we had our lunch and Grant announced that we'd be doing our last activity at the train station so that we could take an earlier train home. While waiting for the 1:55 train we took turns standing in front of our classmates and listening to them compliment us. Grant wanted us to point out each person's positive attributes, and it often became emotional because we've grown so close in these six short weeks together. We weren't finished by the time the train came, so Grant boarded it with us so we could continue. Ten minutes later we arrived at Stellenbosch Station and still had two people to go, so Grant got off the train with us. When we finally finished we made him stand up while we shared how we felt about him. He wasn't expected this and was extremely humbled by everything we said. He let a few tears fall before thanking us and sending us on our way. So the day turned out to be the greatest 5 hour lecture I've been to.

But the excitement doesn't stop there. This evening I played in a basketball game against the University of Cape Town! Earlier this week I decided to join the Stellenbosch team because I miss playing basketball and I have ludicrous amounts of free time. It's technically a club team, but there are no varsity basketball teams in South Africa, so this is the real deal. Except it's not. The team's only slightly more organized than St. Mike's intramurals, and that's not saying much. The game was close for the first quarter, then in the second quarter 2 of our girls fouled out. We only had 6 players to begin with, so we played the entire second half with 4 on the court. The other team had at least 12 players and they played a full court press for nearly the entire game. We ended up losing by 44 points. Regardless, I had a good time, I'm finally meeting some South African students, and I'm really excited about playing basketball three days a week.

Ok the last thing I want to tell you all about is the Wish List that I've compiled on amazon.com. My friend Kate gave me the idea because she's looking for donations for a school in Ghana that she's working at next month. I'm not expecting anyone to make purchases, so don't feel like you have to, but I wanted to give people another way of becoming involved in my experience. Some people have been asking about ways to help and I figured this would be easy. Most things on the list are under $10, and then it's $4 for shipping. There's maps, art supplies, and puzzles on the list right now because I thought those were cheap but important things for the school. So if you want to make a purchase, you simply go to amazon.com, click the icon that says 'Gifts and Wish Lists,' type 'Sarah Regan' into the 'search for a wishlist' box, and click on my list. It works similar to a wedding gift registry, the bill gets mailed to you and the product gets mailed to me. And, as I mentioned before, sending raincoats over here is another great way to make a difference in the lives of these children. Thanks so much to everyone that wants to get involved and to ALL OF YOU that have been reading my blog!

Tot siens!

P.S. Here's my mailing address again for raincoats...

Sarah Regan
International Office
Wilcocks Building
Victoria Street
Stellenbosch, South Africa
7600

Rugby, Cape Town, and Prime Circle

Hello again!

Since my last few entries have really only been about Lynedoch I wanted to update you on my some of my other activities. Today was the third varsity rugby game, and again we demolished the other team, this time 72-17 I think. The game before was a real nail-bitter comparatively as we only edged out the Shimlas 31-16. There are some nasty injuries in today’s game but the biggest was a head on collision between two of the opposing players. They were on our side of the field so we had a good view, but it was painful to watch. The players collapsed immediately (while we ran the ball down for another 5 points) and by the time they left the field only two minutes later one of the players was soaked in blood. He had a huge gash above his right eye and was looking like he belonged in a horror film. Rugby is such a dangerous sport to play without any form of padding or protection. But because injuries happen so often there is rarely a time when the referees stop the game; instead the medics and trainers run out onto the field and tend to the player while play continues. It’s madness.

This past Saturday I went into Cape Town with three friends to explore a little bit. We walked around the outside of Green Point Stadium where eight of the World Cup games will be played in June and July. Then we continued on to the Waterfront which was full of shops and restaurants and cool places to hang out. We walked along the harbor for a while, got some lunch and delicious milkshakes, and spotted six huge seals sunbathing on a dock. This area of Cape Town has beautiful views everywhere you look... it seems as though that could be said about anywhere in the Western Cape though. We had the water on one side of us, with a view of Robben Island which is not far from the mainland. And if we looked the other way you could see Table Mountain perfectly, and sometimes Lion's Head was visible. While walking around we came across a guy standing next to his motorcycle pointing to a big map that was taped to the bike. We read the messages displayed and the route traced on the map and learned about this man's mission. He had been travelling since 2000 and is on a quest to become the first deaf and mute individual to ride a motorcycle around Europe, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Africa, and the Americas. He's made quite a dent in the last 9 years and only has Africa and South America left to do. In 2008 he was in the U.S. as he made his way through all 50 states. And the most amazing thing is that he's 69 years old!

Yesterday we all went on another AIFS excursion, this time to a concert. We got to see Prime Circle, a well-known South African band, play at the Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens in Cape Town. It’s part of a Sunday afternoon series that takes place at the first botanical garden ever created. I really enjoyed the music; their sound was kind of like a mix between Third Eye Blind and Creed. The unfortunate part was that we had to sit in the almost unbearable heat for two hours before the show started. Because it’s on a lawn you have to get there early to get a spot to sit and there’s virtually no shade in the concert area. But right as the band went on at 5:30 the sun went behind the trees and it was a perfect temperature for the show. Check out the picture with the beautiful mountains as a backdrop behind the stage!

So other than going to class and training for the half marathon that’s about all I’ve been up to this past week. I still have a ludicrous amount of free time and am looking for ways to keep myself busy. I’ve had very little homework so far but I do have a presentation to give on Wednesday, an Afrikaans test next Thursday, and service learning paper due after break so I plan on doing some work this week. It’s nice to have life slow down a little but I don’t remember ever having this much free time. My only commitment here is academics, and that isn’t much of a commitment, so I find myself missing all my usually activities at SMC. But hopefully I’ll be joining a basketball or soccer team soon which will be a nice change of pace.

I’ll leave you with the view from my bedroom window! Thanks for reading!

Soccer, First Aid, and Human Rights

Hi Everyone!

Can you believe it’s March?! I’ve been here for 6 weeks already and there are only 12 days until spring break! For our break I’m going on a 6 day trip up the Garden Route with the other 46 students in my AIFS program. It will be full of adventures including bungee jumping, a canopy zipline, surfing, sea kayaking, spelunking, and a stop at Monkeyland! When that trip ends, 22 of us are continuing up the coast for another 4 days to visit the Addo Elephant Park. We’ll get to go on two guided tours through the park in an open air vehicle that will allow us to observe the Big Five, and spend a couple nights sleeping right by the Indian Ocean. But that’s still two weeks away.

Today was another crazy day at Lynedoch but, again, I think it went well. We played soccer in the morning, boys versus girls because that’s what they always insist on. I was especially happy to see that our student with a prosthetic leg was enjoying the game, as she usually sits out of our physical activity. My friend Jeff’s girlfriend is visiting this week and she was a great addition to our class. She jumped right into the game and a few of the girls stuck by her side the whole time. She told a couple students that she studied in Ghana last semester, but they had never heard of Ghana. She kindly explained that it’s another African country up north, but it reminded me of how little these kids know about the world beyond Lynedoch.

Back in the classroom we had to teach a lesson on first-aid. In order to make it interactive we drew a pretend cut or scrape on each learner’s arm and taught them the proper way to treat injuries like this. We had them wash it with soap and water, rub on some Neosporin, and then put a band-aid on the fake cut, while making sure not to touch anyone else’s blood. Since 25% of the South African population has HIV/AIDS the learner’s were taught at a young age to be careful around blood. We also went over how to treat a burn and a big gash on your own. Lastly we had the kids compile a list of reasons why you should call for help (i.e. someone stopped breathing, broken bones, glass under your skin, etc). What really surprised me during our lesson was that very few people knew the emergency numbers. If you asked a class of 6th graders in the United States what the emergency number is, they would all respond immediately. Even the teacher wasn’t sure which number to use in an emergency. Eventually they were able to come up with the police number and the ambulance number, but it definitely wasn’t automatic.

For our afternoon lesson we listed several of the rights from the South African Bill of Rights on the board and briefly explained each one. It was extremely beneficial to have Mrs. Adams, the 6th grade teacher, in the classroom because some of the rights are complex and it’s helpful to have her translate into Afrikaans. But it’s really great that she only does this for some things that we say, as she’s quite good at gauging how well her learner’s understand our English. I think she strikes a nice balance between explaining for comprehension and allowing them to figure things out in English. After this lesson we had the learners form groups and design their own skits modeling one of the rights discussed. They loved acting last week so we thought this was and effective teaching tool. We told them their scripts could be in Afrikaans if they wanted, but we were pleased to have a couple groups perform in English. For the second week in a row I was so impressed with Siziwe and her confidence when standing in front of the class. Her English is phenomenal and her group’s skit was definitely the most structured and well-rehearsed. I was saddened to see that four out the five skits were somewhat violent, but I suppose that comes with the territory.

I’m really happy with the relationships that Jeff, Andie, and I are forming with the learners and with Mrs. Adams. I think the learners pick up on how respectful we are towards them and, in turn, they show us respect. As Grant told us in the beginning, these kids have an innate ability to recognize when people are genuine, and I think they understand that we fall into that category. Grant informed us today that Mrs. Adams likes our lessons very much and has been incorporating them into her classroom lessons. I was especially happy to hear this because the last time Stellenbosch University had students volunteer at Lynedoch the teachers were not pleased with the way things went. The South African undergrads came into the classrooms and did things the way they wanted without showing the teachers respect. I think it made the teachers weary of us at first because we appear to be the same on the outside, a group of white college students invading the classrooms of a primary school. But Grant has been receiving nothing but positive feedback from the teachers thus far and they're very appreciative of our work.

On the train ride home I let one of the 4th grade girls borrow my camera so here are some of the pictures she took…