Have we been busy or what? Last Thursday we painted at Manenberg Primary, where I have chosen to do my service work. It was really fun to help paint the school, but it also reminded us of how differently things are done over here. We arrived to a partially painted school and very tired volunteers. The supplies were beginning to run out, so we assisted to make sure that walls that had started being painted were completed. All of the kids were so excited and wanted to help paint. Kristen and I helped facilitate a line of students around the age of 7 paint a wall yellow. They all just wanted a turn! It was very different than say painting a school in the States, where the project would surely have been very structured and organized. But the staff and children all love the newly painted school (it had been 20 years since the school had been painted).
Friday we headed off to High Africa for a weekend of work shopping about our goals and expectations for the semester. We were told we would be going to “the bush” about an hour or two outside of Cape Town. I expected to be ‘roughing it’ for the weekend—boy was I wrong. Not only did our cabins and the other buildings have electricity, but also there were chefs who prepared delicious meals three times a day. It was set on a river and absolutely gorgeous. We did several team-building activities, including a low and high ropes course. I haven’t done a ropes course since I was probably 10, so I was a little nervous when faced with the 40-foot high obstacle course. However once I got up there I loved it and ended up doing the entire thing (and luckily did not fall!) One of our group members is terrified of heights, but she faced her fear and did it with all of us cheering her on! When we first arrived they warned us about the snakes that from time to time visit. Now these snakes are around 4 inches thick and poisonous—so I (who am NOT amused by snakes) was VERY aware of where I was placing my foot! At night we all hung out around a fire, beneath the most beautiful stars I have ever seen. The entire Milky Way was visible. I was tempted to sleep outside, however due to the “snake population’ I kept to the cabin while sleeping. The weekend was amazing and made us all even more excited for the rest of the semester!
Yesterday we went to tour Parliament. It was very exciting to see! I am so amazed by all the tours that CIEE has taken us on—I feel like we have done SO much since we arrived. We also had a lecture by a professor from University of Western Cape about Cape Town’s history. In the evening we had our first Xhosa class. I am still deciding between Xhosa and Afrikaans for my language, so for this week I am going to both classes. The language is so different from others that I have been exposed to, with 16 clicks to learn—lots of practicing to be done and sore jaws awaits us. So far my knowledge really only extends to a few phrases including “Igama lam ngu Catie” (my name is Catie). The teacher is so friendly and it is very interesting to learn about Xhosa culture! In the evening we went to Clifton Beach to have dinner at sunset for Ore’s birthday. It was fabulous and the views here continue to amaze me—they seem to get better and better everyday. I will definitely be coming back to Cape Town in the future. Afterwards we drove up Signal Hill again so I could play around with long exposure shots of the city at night on my camera. Some of the shots came out amazing, despite using the car as a tripod!
Today we had another Xhosa lesson at 8am, then a group of us headed off to Manenberg Primary. We started to visit various classrooms and meet teachers so we can decide where we want to do our work within the school. I was particularly excited when one of the teachers expressed interest in wanting to start a school newspaper. She said she really wanted to start the project, but did not know how to use a computer, format it, take photos, upload artwork, etc. So Emily and I are going to help get this project started and teach her all of the skills to carry it on after we head back home. I am very excited, as this is a way to alert the parents and community about what is going on in the school! We are still really exploring and getting into a flow at the school. It was so moving to stop in on various classes and see how different their education is from those that I have been exposed to before. First off, the classes are all huge. They range from around 30 students to as many as 70—all with one teacher. As a result of such large class numbers, much of the day is spent trying to get the kids to behave, known as ‘crowd control.’ During interval (recess) all of the kids were pouring over us. One girl refused to let go of my hand, telling all of her friends that ‘Teacher Catie’ was going to be in her classroom. I think at one point I had seven different children playing with my hair. In the classroom I saw the look of determination in so many children’s faces, and was glad to assist a few with work they were struggling with. I think it is going to be a very moving and eye-opening experience to work at Manenberg.
The weather in Cape Town continues to be wonderful to us and I love this place more and more with every new day and experience.
Hope all is well at home.
Love from Africa,
Catie
Painting at Manenberg Primary
High Africa High Ropes
All of us at High Africa
Clifton at Sunset
On the way to Clifton-views are amazing!
Playing with Long Exposure Shots on Signal Hill
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