Last 2 Weeks

I apologize for the lack of updates these past 2 weeks. It has been a crazy time. We have had finals and are trying to say our good-byes and finish up everything on our South African bucket lists. It’s busy. But here are a few snip-its from our past 2 weeks. Enjoy!

Pendla Teaching

Liz and I walked into our classroom on Monday and were told that another classroom did not have a teacher. That was our cue to take over the classroom without a teacher for the day. It was not what I was expecting that morning- but that is always the story at Pendla. Liz and I tried to tame our kids by speaking to them in Xhosa, teaching their subjects, playing games, and doing art projects. Basically whatever we could do to control them for the 3 hours that we were there. We started off by teaching them past tense verbs in English. We then taught Learner’s Rights as part of the Life Orientation course. They were sick of writing notes and actually listening so we taught the class how to make origami “cootie catchers” or “fortune tellers.” They absolutely loved them and ran around at recess playing with them. Then classes switched and we taught the next class how to play “Around the World,” a math competition game that the kids also loved. I think that was the moment that we had the best control of them and it was educational! I wish we had thought of it before our last week there. Lesson learned. Maybe it will be something that I can pass onto to next year’s Pendla group.

At recess a day later, it was raining. Bad weather limits the kids activities at break. They try to hang out under the overhangs right outside of their classrooms. We couldn’t read in our new reading area, and they couldn’t run around out in the open field. I sat down with about 10 learners and taught them how to play a couple of hand games that included BoBo Ski Whaten Taten and one where they sit in a circle, overlap hands, and slap them going around in a circle. I think they enjoyed both games and I hope they are games they can pull out again on their next rainy day!

Samrec Penguins

Bennies and Johnnies with their patches

On Wednesday, we took a trip in Literature out to Samrec, a penguin rehabilitation center. We arrived at the center and got to watch the penguins being fed. They were so funny. The volunteers actually had to keep the penguins back behind a fence and only let a few through at a time to the feeding area. The penguins were trying to climb over one another and most ended up falling off a 2 foot drop into the water. It was rather humorous. We then took a tour and learned all about protecting wildlife. It was quite interesting.

After watching and learning all about penguins, we did a patch presentation. Throughout the semester, we had a task to make a patch for our Lit class representing what we have learned in South Africa. Each person made one unique to their experience. We then presented them to the class. Our Lit professor is now making a quilt out of each patch. It was a neat project to do.

Langerry Appreciation

On Friday we took our flat cleaner out to lunch. Her name is Joyce and she has been too wonderful to us throughout the entire semester. For those who don’t know, we are basically living in long term hotel rooms complete with a kitchen and daily cleaning. Our flat cleaner comes in every day and makes our beds, does our dishes, cleans our bathroom, and cleans our floors. Yeah, we have basically been spoiled the entire time. Anyway, we took Joyce out for lunch to show her our appreciation. We took her to Spur, which is ironically an American-imitation restaurant complete with Native American logo. We had a good time talking with her and getting to know a little bit about her and her family.

That same day, we had a massive Braai for all of the Langerry staff to say thank you for everything that they have done this semester (I think our flat was extra appreciative because we have set our kitchen on fire countless times as well as broke a window. We were actually called Unlucky Flat 13. But that’s another story…). We made a ton of meat, salads, dessert, fruit, and bread. It was very tasty. I helped season the porkchops as well as clean dishes that had raw meat on them and needed to be washed to serve the cooked meat. After everyone was fed, the staff sang us African songs and gave us all hugs. It was the cherry on the top of a great day!

House Family Day

Mama Kelc and Baby Emmy all bundled up!

One of the three volunteer sites that our group spent their semester at was House of Resurrection. This is a center/home for children infected/affected by HIV/AIDS. There are about 5 to 6 House Mothers who all live with 6 to 7 kids in a house setting. It is truly a wonderful place and the kids are adorable. The volunteers from our group threw a Family Fun Day for them. They rented a Bounce House, asked people to face paint, found a musician/DJ, and brought all of us along to play with the kids. It was a blast! I was asked to hold a baby for a while, and next thing I knew, 3 of the House Mothers were strapping me into a harness to hold the baby “with no hands.” And that is where Baby Emmy stayed for the next few hours. That is also how I earned the nickname “Mama Kelc” from my fellow Bennies and Johnnies. The party was quite fun and I hope the kids slept well that night so that the House Mothers got some rest as well since they were in the Bounce House part of the time as well!

NMMU Choir Concert Round 2

Jim, Connie, Trang, Chris, and I took an adventure out to the townships to watch the NMMU Choir perform along with a couple of acapella groups. The posters advertised for the concert to start at 7.We arrived a couple of minutes after 7. The concert started after 8pm. That's Africa Time for you. The first group that performed were 4 men who were older who sang many gospel songs. They were characters. The second group to perform was made up of members  of the NMMMU choir as well as a couple of Alums. And we knew one of the stars because he taught us how to sing the South African national anthem in one of our first music classes. He was a fantastic singer! And then the world famous NMMU choir took the stage, well I guess the floor since we were in a gym-type room. And as usual, they were incredible! I’m going to miss their voices and lively performances! There weren’t many people in the audience and it gave a close and personal atmosphere. I even got to talk with a few of the NMMU Choir Members after the show which put a great way to end the night!

Sundays River Cruise

Dune Rolling!

Our final farewell with our group took place on a river cruise. We rented out a boat for a couple of hours and floated up and down the Sundays River. We had some delicious bunny chow made by the Mamas that we met at the Red Location. The views were amazing and although the weather was a little chilly, the sunshine made it wonderful! We stopped at a sand dune and climbed up to the top. We took many pictures and then took turns “sledding” and rolling down the hill. I felt like I was 6 years old again and it was great! After a few hours on the dune, we got back on board the boat and made our way back. It was a great study break before our hectic Finals Week.

Xhosa Day

We arrived at Pendla one day and were already beginning to dread saying our good-byes to the school. We found all of the students and teachers dressed in traditional Xhosa wear. It was fantastic! We asked the kids what was the occasion and they said it was National Xhosa Day. Little did we know was that it was all for us. The school had been planning a surprise for us for over a week. Liz and I got to watch our kids sing and dance all morning long. And then all of the students were let out earlier than their normal break time and they all danced in the courtyard for us. Right after, the teachers had prepared us a traditional African meal. We had (in their English names): mealie (like a corn-peanut), a spinach dish, ox tripe (stomach), pumpkin, and put bread. It was very, very kind of them. And to finish it off, the teachers sang and danced for us. It was too wonderful!

Pendla Family Night

We (the 12 Johnnies and Bennies who volunteered all semester at Pendla) threw one heck of a party on our last day at Pendla. We invited each of the 400 students as well as their parents to attend this night. We made sandwiches for dinner for everyone (800 sandwiches later….) as well as prepared bananas, candy bars, juice, and beans for every person. We also put together goodie bags for each student that contained pencils, pens, a glue stick, a bracelet, and a sucker. We also prepared teacher’s baskets which had more school and office supplies in it for each one. We worked with our classes to put together a performance to perform in front of their families. There were speeches from our advisor, 2 of our volunteers, and the principal of Pendla. The kids sang, dance, and acted the night away. There was face paint and hoola-hoops and lots of pictures and hugs. And many tears- okay maybe that was only me. It was extremely hard to say good-bye to those kids. I wish the best for each and every single one of them.

Liz and I with our favorite twins!

This was my last 2 weeks in South Africa in a nutshell. One more blog post will come once I get back in the States. Saving the best for last J

*Most of these pictures were taken from other members in my group. My camera broke after I decided it would be a good idea to take it to the sand dune and get sand stuck in it. Oops. Lesson learned the hard way.