Tuesday, March 16, 2010

With the new week, a change in climate from sunny and hot to overcast and cool, and a man in the house, the focus and dynamics turned about a bit. The goals still remained to be open to change, to serve the community, to share cultures and to experience South Africa through Malungeni; we discussed these tonight. We missed our two team members who departed on Saturday, so with just four of us, we did have to reorient ourselves. Now Kathy went alone to her school without Abigail, and Jackie no longer is part of the group who supports the Langalakhe School It was agreed that Anita and Judy would stay in Grades 2-3 from 8-12 and sign out. Beauty was with them and with a few choice words, Lola spoke to the children about being well behaved and respect for their teachers. I must say the class was better behaved saved for a few boys in the third grade who, when asked by Judy to show her how many crayons they had, looked right at her and “No!”. Nancy is enjoying her class with Tobeka and is being challenged and is supporting her with her own suggestions for learning. Nancy’s joy is infectious and inspiring.

While Olga and Tai replenished supplies in Mthata, we four were eager for just Reception to Grade 5 to arrive just from 3:30 to 4:30. After a great deal of prep thinking about holding our “stations” in the garage, not one child appeared! Are they like sheep? Did the message not get relayed? Oh well! Tomorrow the upper grades are invited and therefore we must find the appropriate material. There was talk of sewing, but we are wondering if Kowena will find time to do this with all the guests who have arrived with Spiro from Pensacola, FL. Tomorrow is another day and we will await its opportunities and go forth!

Message of the Day: “The spirit of Ubuntu – that profound African sense that we are human only through the humanity of other human beings – has added globally to our common search for a better world”. Nelson Mandela.

By Anita

Monday, March 15, 2010

Teachers, Teachers

Teachas, Teachas, what did you see?
A van with girls as happy as can be!
We’re off to play down by the sea . . .
But OH those roads were so BUMPY!!!
Some rest, some food, a little wine maybe,
And best of all HOT SHOWERS . . . Yippee!

Teachas, Teachas, please don’t go . . .
You’re par t of our team as you well know.
So stay awhile and don’t say “No” . . .
Cause if you’re gone we’ll feel so low.

Teachas, Teachas now we’re sad . . .
Cause off you went and that’s too bad.
So now there’s four and we’ll be glad
To be the BEST Tai’s ever had!

Teachas, Teachas, what did you do?
We walked on the beach at Ocean View.
We climbed on the rocks and picked up shells
And watched the ocean’s waves big swells.
The sand felt good on all our toes . . .
As we skipped through the water when the tide was low.

Teachas, Teachas what did you play?
We played some Scrabble later that day . . .
While sweet dogs at our feet did lay.
That night the rain just poured, I’d say.

Teachas, Teachas was that all?
Oh No! . . . went next to the Hole in the Wall.
The path was narrow, the trees were tall.
The cows on the beach had us enthralled!

Teachas, Teachas is there more?
Only roads with potholes making our back sore.
On the ride home the rain did pour –
And four happy women walked through this door!

Message of the Day: Be the change you want to see in the world. Gandhi.

By Judy

Friday, March 12, 2010

Another day full of adventures on Thursday! It was meant to be only 2 hours of school from 8 to 10 due to a teacher’s prayer meeting. As we approached the school a wee bit late at 8:15, who should we see but Tobeca and Mavis, the Lunch Lady, leaving the school! Which meant that the kids in R-1 were all alone!! Sure enough, when Tai and Abigail and I walked in to children rising and saying “Good morning Teacher”, these precious 5-6 year olds were all alone. After an initial (first) panic, I asked them to sing a song for us. Then I was on my own. Now what? We did the alphabet song and flashcard animals and such and I thought I was doing quite well – UNTIL one by one, THEY STARTED CRYING! Panicking, virgin teacher Nancy ran to Auntie Judy and beseeched her for help. A bit of outside playtime and “freeform” drawing got us through the crisis. (But another alone day tomorrow has me terrified). After school, we visited the preschool where Abigail and Kathy were happily interacting with the most adorable children and my heart sang when their lovely teacher Capsai led them singing Nkosi Sikelele Afrika! Next up – cleaning the Community Center – which reinforces why Nancy is Not a Good Cleaner. Ladies from the community helped us sweep and mop and then apply a coat of a most ingenious “polish” – vegetable oil added to water. The word was that that After School Children arrived EARLY – and we came back to controlled (mostly) chaos of coloring – for Kathy’s Preschool Décor project and “independent art projects” . Because we have a date at the sangoma, we “dismissed” them early, at 4 p.m. But then, the best laid plans. . . the sangoma was caught in traffic (culture clash!) and was running late. So we decided to have her join us for dinner first – she arrived and we carefully chose her seat for her – she politely sat and then said “But I can’t stay” – oh well – because she had patients. Sort of a sangoma ER. Another wonderfully tiring day full of blue skies, breezes, and the quiet tranquility of the countryside. We love it here with all our new umhlobos.

Message of the Day: Sometimes a smile is all the Xhosa you need.

By Nancy

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Another day at school, and the first day of teaching for Abigail and Kathy at the Upper Mdumbi School. We have been assigned to teach the older students (grade 8 and 9) and while they may not understand our speech, they are very respectful and attentive. It is a different story at the Langalakhe School, where volunteers often rely on the teachers to maintain discipline and order through their time-tested methods (i.e., Beauty and the Stick). Even at the preschool, the teachers have a creative way of keeping the children in line (“call the police!”). The school calendar continues to be a very fluid concept – while having lunch at the Upper Mdumbi school and discussing with the teachers the lesson plans for the next sessions and the following day, the plan changes mid-sentence when we learn that the learners will have prayer for the rest of the day, and school will be closed tomorrow (the Langalakhe School will be open briefly). A break from preparing lesson plans – ahhhhh. We continue to plan our weekend at Coffee Bay – with ocean view accommodations and a pool!

A lively discussion at our dinner meeting about the focus on rote learning (“its’ all about the checks and the red pens”) versus creativity and independent thinking. After school, the kids seemed to enjoy some quieter activities with coloring, collages, and activity books. We continue to enjoy our daily experiences with the animals that roam freely and peacefully all around us – including today a line of geese traveling down the road behind the three steer (they stayed on their side of the gate today). Looking forward to our flexible day tomorrow.

Message of the day: We can do no great things, only small things with great love. Mother Theresa.

By Kathy

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

So, on to Day Two of volunteering. Again, Nancy is in R-1 with Tobecka while Anita and Judy are co-teaching grade 2-3. Jackie is working with Lola in grade 4. For the first time, Abigail and Kathy were transported to Mdumbi School where they observed 8th grade Social Science and now need to prepare lessons on sustainability and technology, and settlements. They really enjoyed their time there and Mr. Momosa was very welcoming to them. Following too short a nap and recovery from an 8-2 day, the high school kids arrived for help and discussion, then the younger ones arrived for songs, games, jump rope, ball playing and letting off steam. I believe we are feeling more at ease with our situations knowing we are contributing immensely in the lives of these students. Some are so very bright and articulate while others are falling behind in a larger group.

I particularly enjoyed the breaks and lunch time! Watching the 10 a.m. break outside our classroom with lots of kids crouching against the building eating pappab and a gravy from their boxes they have brought in their backpacks. Another group was fed at noon and this group enjoyed just large pieces of bread. After each feast, the sheep and a lone dog gob bled up the leftovers. Lots of wildlife – well, not so wild – on the school grounds – a beautiful gang of multicolored goats arrived which the children loved to scamper after, cameras will be brought each day for me. So many opportunities to capture life in Malungeni. Mom and Grandma walking their little girl to preschool, Mom balancing a large water bottle on her head while child drank from a quite sophisticated one herself. We met cattle and sheep being driven to their grazing lands while the ducks squalk and strut at the pond. Mr. Ndumiso came for a formal dinner in the dining room and charged us with visiting the Chief for a meeting on a weekend to help him understand the need to instill a love of education if ever Malungeni is to rise up from poverty. He was most enlightening and forthright. What a remarkable Day 4!

Message of the Day: Always is never true; Never is always false. The Gift of Time.

By Anita

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Day 1 of volunteering – Today was our first day of school. On our way in, we were greeted by Cromwell (the principal) who was on his way out. He stopped to welcome us and give us instructions for the day. None of these instructions were followed, though we tried our best. All of us were separated into classrooms as the day began. During the first break of the day, the teachers met with us to welcome us, give thanks and information about our new place of work. They were grateful for our presence and concerned for the state of their understaffed school.
With that, we were off to teach and learn. The classrooms were a bit of everything I expected and nothing at all what I expected. The children were friendly, playful, eager, bold, pleasant and in need of all our attention. At 1:45 were saved by the bell. Not long after leaving the children at school came to us again at the guesthouse. More and more children came with smiles and questions to be tutored and build friendships. We worked on debate, algebra, and most importantly, jumping rope (even reading a book about Barack Obama whom the children asked to learn about). We finished the night with a great meal of chicken, veggies, and ground maize, and a glance at the vast, beautiful night sky.

Message of the Day: “A human being is a part of the whole called by us ‘the universe’. A part limited in time and space. [S]he experiences [her]self, her thoughts and feelings as separate from the rest – a kind of optical delusion of consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and affections for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this person by widening the circle of understanding and compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty”. Albert Einstein.

By Jackie

Monday, March 7, 2010

Day 0 of volunteering. This morning we were able to sleep in a bit and then set our sleepy selves outside at the table to eat our buffet breakfast – eggs, toast, porridge, cereals, teas, coffee. An impressive display. Orientation after breakfast defining Global Volunteers' guidelines, volunteer goals and our group goals. Olga gave us a Xhosa lesson and we all struggled to learn “Hello”, “How are you?”, “Where do you come from?” which we got to practice while on our walk through Malungeni. We met many people in the road, most very eager to say Molweni to us. Olga showed us the bakery, the school and we visited the vice chief during his lunch which he ate from a tray on his lap. His house was a welcome reprieve from the sun and he welcomed us as he sipped his tea and ate his bread. We walked back through the tall grass back to the main road where Tai and I skipped down the road holding hands with a boy with special needs. A special need to hold hands.

All of us were bushed at lunch and some of us sun kissed but we were able to enjoy a homemade stew and some leftover mutton. After lunch the community came to the house to welcome us. The local ladies dressed in skirts with hats or scarves on their heads sat in a line while the children huddled in a group. We sat together while the local women offered a prayer and songs of welcome. A few of the women struggling with English thanked us for being here and expressed their gratitude to us for teaching their children English. I felt overwhelmed by the importance these women assigned to the English education of their children and embarrassed at my negligence of understanding this priority before. We were entertained by groups of girls in skirts who showed off their moves holding sticks representing spears. Olga tried to get the boys who work in the garden to dance for us but they were too shy.

When the community went home we were later greeted by a couple of black steers that came into our yard (uninvited) to eat something tasty from the garden. Tai shooed one steer out like a pro and the other left not long after, right through the gate onto the road.

Message of the Day: “Life is short. In the meantime, Live Big, my friend, Live Big”. Denny Crain, Boston Legal.

By Abigail