Ending the Chapter

My teaching here in Cape Town has sadly, reluctantly, or thankfully, come to an end. To recap: last week was terrible. Friday was just a long drawn out day. The kids were still not listening and the boys were getting on my nerves. By the end of the day I had had it with four boys so I first told them to separate to the four corners of the rug. They just stared blankly at them and so I pulled a mom punishment. I yelled at these boys and had them go into the four corners of the room and to keep their noses to the wall. If I looked up and saw their faces I yelled at them "I don't want to see you right now." They actually responded pretty well to this. One boy, after ten minutes of this, was behaving well so I told him that if he felt he could rejoin the group then he was welcome to do so. At the end of the day I really wanted a nice, strong drink.

Friday night we went to a Rugby game. I feel like the sport is a combination of the best parts of football, hockey, and some soccer. I figured the best idea was to throw backwards and run like hell. There was another group of Americans sitting in the same section as us so it was nice chatting with them. After the game we went to a night club called, Tiger Tiger. It was really fun. We all danced, drank, and had a great time.

Saturday was spent hanging around the house and updating my facebook a billion times. That evening, I made plans to join in a girls night with one of the student teachers at my school. She was super nice and allowed me to crash. I had such a good time being around other people. All of her friends are also doing their teacher prac so it was just like being with my group only not as loud. We went out for sushi and then watched a movie. I had been craving good sushi since I got down here so I was thrilled!

Sunday, I went to a book fair with my host family. It was pretty dull but it is always nice to get out of the house.

This has been my last week at school. On Monday and Tuesday I subbed in a grade 1 classroom. These kids made me realize how much I missed my own hooligans. The little kids just swarmed around me and would do that stupid little kid thing where they poke you repeatedly and say "Miss, Miss, Miss, Miss." I actually swatted at this one kids finger and said "Stop poking me! I hear you!" I was immune to this from working at the summer camp but it that skill has since left me. After school, I went to the boys' soccer game. The Under 9's play indoor soccer games on Monday and they have practice on Tuesday. The boys won both of their games! It was very exciting.

When I returned to my grade 3's on Wednesday I couldn't have been happier. They were actually paying attention to me for awhile which was great. Mrs. Naidoo was mostly with the class so I didn't have to do too much.

Today, Thursday, was my last day. I started out the morning with having the kids write letters for my future classroom. This way we can start a penpal thing. I went over the writing process with them: brainstorm, rough draft, edit, revise, final. In the morning I had them do a rough draft which I edited and then they made their final drafts on nice paper and were able to draw pictures. Some of the kids really got into it while others could have cared less. One of the boys, who comes from a bad home, didn't have a lunch today and I felt so sorry for him. I gave him R8 (just about 1 dollar) to go buy some food. By the end of the day, I had gotten so many chocolates and cards from the kids. They were all actually sad to see me go! The boys all kept telling me that they "will miss it when I smile". How sweet. I'm terrible with goodbyes so I didn't do too much with the staff just kind of a "Hopefully, I'll be back one day!" Then "peace out!" The kids all gave me hugs on their way out. Except for the boy who hates me, who asked if I could take him to George this weekend with me.



I still need to update you about our weekend away to the Western Coast. I fear this is going to be an incredibly long post. I'll try to do this quickly though, because I still have to finish packing, and I think the teaching stuff is more interesting.

We went to Langebaan and stayed at a resort called Friday Island. It was absolutely beautiful and right on the beach. We went to a San Village where we learned some of the clicks and some neat survival skills. It was so interesting being able to learn about the indigenous tribal people. We went to a shady white lion place. I didn't feel like the guy who "bred" these lions was doing it for the right reasons. That is why I call it shady. He didn't seem to be working for any respectable organization.

We went to this awesome fossil museum. I was hoping to do some digging, like the places in Israel, but it wasn't quite that way. We saw fossils from all sorts of cool extinct animals. There was a whale skull and an elephant skull. Those were amazing.

[edit] I forgot to add a closing. We are going to George this weekend where I get to hang out with all kinds of cool animals, climb through caves, and BUNGY JUMP!

For now, I'm trying to finish my penultimate paper before I forget what I read in the study this is about.

Roller Coaster

This has been one of the most frustrating/educational weeks for me yet. I have learned so much from my students--although, I don't know if a lot of it is good! Last Friday, I promised myself I would be able to keep my students' attention for 10 minutes. 10 minutes!! At first I thought this goal was ridiculous. Oh no.

Monday was alright. It was the start to a new week and I was optimistic. I was unaware but the class had a math test to write. They take the test and are mostly quiet. Then as time goes on more and more kids start chatting. Fine. I can deal with this. I manage to quiet the class down. The rest of the day is similar to a game of tug-a-war. I pull the kids to my side and they pull back. I have a chance to take out some of my kids for reading- which is a time in the day that I absolutely love. I love the progress these students are making. By the end of the day I think that there will be absolutely no problem with achieving my goal. We were even able to start my science experiment! I explained to the class what it means to be a good scientist. We went over terms and rules for going through an experiment. We got the experiment set up and the class could not have been more excited and I was pumped that they liked it so much.

Tuesday. Oh Tuesday. I hate Tuesdays. All of them. Forever. The day started out with the students not listening to me or my mentor teacher, Mrs. Naidoo. I can't remember the exact chain of events but the class, as a whole, was not listening to anyone. The Xhosa teacher came in and the class would not pay attention. Granted, the work is mind numbingly boring, they need to learn how to deal with it. The teacher just writes on the board, has the students copy it, and then has the students repeat her pronunciation. It is terrible. That being said, she is still a teacher. I tried to make a competition. I told the class that whichever table was the most quiet would get to leave for interval early and the table that was the loudest would have time removed. This worked for all of 2 minutes. Then, they just stopped. I think there might have actually been an explosion of sorts. The whole class transformed into this vicious, diabolical being. I lost it. I told the class that they would sit in during interval, with their heads down, for 15 minutes. I scolding the class about respect. That's when I wrote the word on the board with a definition from the dictionary. I told the class that they were to write, for 15 minutes, about respect. I told them that if I saw the definition from the board in their papers then I knew that they did not care at all.

The most amazing thing about this classroom is that their is no sense of community. Everyone willingly and openly tattles on the other. All the time. I am constantly being badgered with "he did this" or "she did that". I cannot handle it anymore. I told the class that they need to learn to respect each other, respect themselves, and their teachers. Most of the passages were good. The boys who wrote the definition from the board were sent back to their seats and had to rewrite it. Those who made a sincere effort were allowed to leave.

On the plus side- we had a really great discussion about the experiment. The experiment was seeing what happens with water (dyed a color) and the celery stalk. We were talking about how there are roots that suck up the water. We talked about how the water moves through the plant through the xylem and we touched on how the water molecules are able to move upwards through the xylem when gravity wants it to move down. Not all of the terminology was used by the class but the ideas were there. It really was awesome.

Wednesday. I achieved my goal. The class was nothing special but I was able to keep their attention while the class filled out a "lab report" about the experiment. I don't remember specifics because it was just an ordinary day of struggle and fighting with the class. I implemented the only technique I have found that remotely works for quieting the class. I raise my hand and wait for all of the other students to mimic me. Once I see a few hands I start timing. I then write the wait time on the board. So far the longest I've waited is 5 minutes!!!

Thursday. It's hard to decide if today was worse than Tuesday or just about the same. The morning started out great! I graded their reading comprehension tests last night and decided to go over some grammar items with the class based on these. I downloaded a Schoolhouse Rock video about subjects and verbs, so the class could hear complete sentences (The Tale of Mr. Morton). The class LOVED this. They haven't been that quiet for me, ever. Then we did some sentence practice. I quizzed them on what sentences end with (statement, question, or exclamation/command). Then there was quite a bit of mix up with a puppet show that was supposed to take place. Our time for the performance kept getting pushed back. The class did not know what was happening. By the time the class was eating lunch it was absolutely insane. A prefect came into the class and told me that another teacher requested that this class stay quiet. I mostly just laughed at the prefect and told her I would try. I told the class that we had to be extra quiet (I don't care if they get chatty during lunch, usually). I requested that they practice using nonverbal communication. Then to enforce this I asked them to start an activity where they arrange themselves by age without communicating. This is where I really saw the entire lack of community in this classroom. Nothing happened. Only 7 kids or so paid attention to what I wanted them to do. After chucking my three troublesome boys out of the class I was so frustrated that I just walked out. I did not go very far (just outside the door). I closed the door and wouldn't let anyone come out to talk to me. I looked at these boys and told them that it was now their responsibility to keep the class quiet for me. Usually a few students just write names on the board. But I hate this and won't let any of them do it. As soon as I was about to let these students back in to begin my teacher came back in. These kids were in so much trouble. She had them stay in for interval and do busy work. She told me that this was the first time she ever kept a class in. Some of the girls came out to see what was wrong and all I responded with was "I'm angry."

I don't know if they are trying to make me cry or what, but they will learn that I won't. Somehow, I am still optimistic about this class. Even though it is packed with the naughtiest kids in the whole grade. It has been an incredible challenge but the kids- individually- are very sweet. A lot of the girls made me cards saying how much they love me and how they feel sorry that no one listens. It's very sweet. Hopefully, I can impress upon them that their classroom is a community and they need to work together to have success.

Tomorrow is Friday! I look forward to it. Especially to go out after the rugby game. I've been itching to get out and do something different. I should be working on some of my papers but it is always more interesting to update here. I can probably even eke out a paper from my blog posts.

Skool

This is how school is spelled in Afrikaans, for your information. I was going to work on some of my papers for the trip but this seemed like a much better idea.

School has been a really interesting experience. I have been left alone for longer amounts of time now and am given more duties in the class. I am leading Math Corrections, and reading individually with students. I lose complete control of the class within 5 minutes. If it weren't so sad, I would say that it was really fantastic how quickly they turn on me. Things I have learned:
1. Counting doesn't do anything when the class doesn't fear you
2. Writing names on the board is useless
3. I am not good at yelling
4. I think I have found my "teacher look"
5. Kids will tell you EVERYTHING.

Most of these are self explanatory. Just as I am gaining an ounce of control of the class someone always comes up and tells me "so and so just did this." My new answer: Just worry about yourself. I can see what is happening. If I don't see it, then deal with it on your own." Also, if I tell the class I have worked with 5 year olds who are better behaved than they are, they tend to hush up for a little. Mostly, and unfortunately, I have to threaten the class. If we are grading work then I tell them that if they do not hear the answer than it should be marked wrong. Then there are the Lost Boys. The Lost Boys wander around the room as though they are lost. I have now banned two children from moving out of their chair without permission. It is sad, but it is actually working.

I am hoping to start a science experiment with the kids soon. In life skills we have been learning about vitamins and minerals and vegetables. I want to do the Celery experiment with them. The one where you put a celery stalk in colored water. The class seemed really excited about it. So hopefully we can start that next week or tomorrow, which is unlikely as we didn't stop to buy anything. Life Skills instruction makes me want to cry. The Xhosa teacher comes in for 45 minutes and writes on the board and expects the students to just copy everything done. Silently. In the first block the kids are just cutting and pasting pictures into their notebooks. I feel bad yelling at them when the work is so mindless and pointless.

Today, I was asked to watch over a different class for the last 45 minutes. This class was so different from mine. The kids actually listened to me as I read through 3 books! We talked a little bit about where I come from and what things are like in Michigan. I thought it was hilarious when I asked the class if they knew where I came from. At first I thought someone shouted Mexico, but they all knew I was from America. When I asked if they knew what state I live they knew I am from Michigan. Someone has been talking about me.

I've also been working with some of the slower readers. I love this! I have been working with this one girl who, at first, couldn't really sound out new words. Now, after reading with her for a week and teaching her some strategies like looking for parts of the word she recognizes. She is now really looking at the word to see what she can identify right off the bat. Then we have been working on vowel patterns. Her progress is amazing! She is reading words so well and is starting to see the patterns. Then, there is this boy who can read well but does not try at all. He hardly does any work in class, comes from a bad home, and is probably just barely passing every grade. We read together the first few days but yesterday he wasted 30 minutes of my time, and time I could have been spending with someone else. I made him stay in during interval with me and read the entire time. I want him to do well so badly but he is so frustrating. He can do math pretty easily but doesn't do the homework or the activities so his success is going to be limited. I keep trying to make sure he understands that he is smart and that he can do the work and do well if he only wants to. I don't think he has totally jumped onto my boat.

The last thing I wanted to update on was the township that we visited. It was such an eye opening experience. The people of these townships, almost all black, live in such tight quarters. The worst of these are the old hostels (formerly used as dormitories for the men who were sent to work there during apartheid). In these 4 bedroom, 2 bath, 1 super tiny kitchen, lives 4 families. And by 4 families I mean that in one room there could be up to 16 people living there! As a comparison, the room is no bigger than the Snyder dorm room I lived in. Even though these people live in complete squalor they are really as happy as can be. There is such a strong sense of community in the township. Everyone helps out the others. In this aspect the township is beautiful. But you have to wonder what happens to all of the children running around with nothing to eat, no clothes, and virtually no hope. It is a lot to think about and really brings life to that stupid cliche, "There are starving children in Africa."

School Days

I have just completed my first three days of school. I am at Turfhall Primary. I am in Grade 3 with my host mom/collaborating teacher. There are 42 students in the classroom and only one teacher! This is the average number of students to teacher. Generally, if you want a smaller ratio you have to go to a school that has higher fees. Everyone must pay to go to school here. Schooling is required for students up to grade 7 or 8. But the education is not free, or supplemented by the government, parents must pay school fees. The fee depends on the area and the quality of the school. Turfhall is 1,850 rands (about 240 dollars) for the year. Can you believe that? Farmington Public Schools budget has $9,892 per student. Turfhall is also one of the better schools in the area!!

The facility of the school is really nice. The classrooms are large, and cold, but they have space for every student and a blackboard. There is a computer lab on the grounds, a library, a staff room, and music room. There is also a printing room for the teachers use. School starts at 8:00 AM. The kids all file in and sit quietly. There are morning prayers done in English even though most of the student population is Muslim. There are exams for 3rd grade at the end of term 3, which will come up after I leave. This test focuses on Math and Literacy. These are the main focuses during the school day. Right now my students are working on long division. I really like the method my teacher, Mrs. Naidoo, uses. These are my notes that I typed up showing the process:

164÷4=41

100	20	20	20	20
20	5	5	5	5
60	10	10	10	10
20	5	5	5	5
4	1	1	1	1
	41

1. Start with columns for divisor

2. Share the 100s (100-80)

3. Share leftover 100s

4. Share 10s

5. Share 1s

6. Add columns

382÷3= 127 r1

300	100	100	100
80	20	20	20
20	5	5	5
5	1	1	1
2+2	1	1	1
	1

I think this is such a neat idea, to physically show the sharing, instead of the linear model I learned on. It allows you to actually see the equal sharing. It is similar to how division is introduced in the Montessori schools. Most of the kids really seem to understand the math this way. Of course, there are always students who do not learn in the same way so there are some struggling. One of the big differences I've noticed is with the group work. There are three groups for the class: Rubies, Sapphires, and Diamonds. Each group is associated with an intelligence level: Rubies-slow learners, Sapphires-middle learners, Diamonds-higher learners. This is so anti everything we have learned from MSU. The teachers are all very open about these differences and make sure to point out students' errors in front of the whole class. In the US that is not acceptable and rarely happens anymore. These students seem to be used to it and it either reinforces the label or motivates them to do better. More often, I believe, it reinforces.

The students are generally very respectful to the teachers. Most just call me Miss. Which is actually really adorable. Although most of the girls keep asking if "Miss is married?" The class has a really interesting mix of personalities. There is one boy who is 11 and has repeated grade 3 a few times. He is quiet and really sweet. On Friday, when Mrs. Naidoo, stepped out for planning, he came up to me with a book and asked me to read it. The girls are very sweet, but are much more timid which I believe comes from gender roles and their Muslim background. Not that this is necessarily true, but the boys are a lot more audacious and have more personality.

There are three student teachers at the school. They are from a university around Cape Town but not Cape Town University. Their program requires them to have 3 years of theory and 1 year of practice, so it is kind of similar to MSU's. They, along with all the other teachers, are curious about the differences between education. They seemed surprised when I told them that we really do face all of the same problems that their schools have. The girls are all really sweet and I we all have coffee together during interval.

Interval happens at 10 AM and 12:30 (?). This is when they eat lunch and take some time to play outside. It is like recess only much shorter. One of the hardest things for me to adapt to is the "bell". This bell is actually much more a siren. The siren sounds exactly like the Tornado Siren. Everytime I hear it I become panicked and start looking for a safe place. I did not realize how conditioned I was for the sound. Thanks Pavlov.

These are the big things about school. I have been having a hard time uploading pictures to the blog but I have been putting pictures up on facebook. Yesterday, we did the Contour Path around Lion's Head Mountain and walked over to Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens. I LOVED the gardens and wish I could have spent more time there, but it took about an hour for me to get my food. Also, I had to buy new socks because mine were so wet from the waterfalls and streams that we had to jump across.

I am starting to get sick which I am upset about so hopefully I can get to a pharmacy today before this becomes a sinus infection.

Moving on up

Our time at Deo Gratia is over for now. It had been real but I am ready for some privacy and a hot shower. I mentioned the Southern most point which was fun. Emily Arbour had the most spectacular time ever. It was adorable.

We had an event Tuesday night to meet our host families. I met my "mom" and then she had to leave because her brother-in-law was still in town from the World Cup. Instead, I bunked at Professor Jansen's guest house with our professional schlepper, Dayle, and Ally. We had good times. I have now lost incredibly in scrabble and in Wii Bowling. I can't be good at everything. Although, the scrabble loses have taken a toll on my confidence. I blame the fact that we have been playing at 11 pm or midnight. I cannot think that late.

I had my first day of school today. I observed for the majority of the school day, which is 8:00-2:00. The kids are hilarious. I was greatly amused at listening to them try to pronounce my last name. I am now officially, "Miss. S." It's pretty cute, and I may just stick with it. One girl asked me if I was married. I was also laughed at when repeated some of the kids' names.

The classroom has 42 students and one teacher, my host mom. She seems to easily control all of these kids, most of whom she has had for 2+ years. I have been in the classroom for only a few hours and I had to become somewhat of an enforce within the morning. I love the power that comes with being a teacher, as soon as I walk up to a "naughty" group of learners they quiet up immediately. Apparently, my authority is intimidating even though most of the kids come up to my shoulders. Speaking of tall things, door handles here are placed incredibly high up on the door. The other day I rammed my shoulder into the door handle. Another reason to hate doors.

My host family seems to be incredibly amazing. I am with an Indian family. I've only had one dinner and one lunch and it has been spectacular. I have had the most delicious foods here. In Hermanus I had the most fantastic lamb curry. The family has an amazing house with a beautiful view of Table Mountain from the back yard.

Everyone is asking me about differences between the classrooms here and in the US. It is hard to say at this point. One of the biggest things I've noticed is that the student to teacher ratio is much higher. There are 42 students in my class. The students are not given as much freedom as the students in the States. The students are also much more respectful here. They rarely use the teacher's last name. They just refer to my host mom/teacher as "Mrs." and I am "Miss." But, children are universal so of course there are similarities in how students act when the teacher goes out for a moment. Also, there is no cafeteria. Kids bring their lunch and eat in the classroom. Usually the teacher eats in the class with them but on Wednesdays there is a large staff lunch. I was able to join in on this and it was interesting to watch the interactions between everyone.

I think that is all for now, I have not been getting much sleep lately so I may go to bed early. How cool.

Quick update

Hi all,

I do not have much time as my computer has less than 20 percent of it's battery remaining and I am unable to find my converter to plug it in. Typical.

We have spent the last week at the University of Cape Town. It is a smallish campus situated in the middle of Table Mountain. What is Table Mountain? Well, it is a mountain shaped like a table. We took a cable car up on Thursday and then hiked/climbed/slid down. It was a 2 hour venture whichever way you went down, unless it was by cable car. The path was nothing like I thought it would be. The whole thing was rocks, shocking, I know. By the end we pretty much all died. The view from the top was amazing! Cape Town is an unbelievably beautiful city. I don't think I want to leave. There are funny little mountain animals called Dassies. Google it. They are adorable.

This weekend we went to Hermanus. It's a quiet little beach town. There are no people there because it is winter here and really, quite cold. We went to the Southern Most Point of Africa. Pretty fun. I'll try to upload a picture when I have battery. We went shark cage diving today which was insane. It was quite the experience but I don't think I need to do it again. I saw one shark and had to bail from the cage. Then I promptly ran to the other side of the boat and was sick for the remainder of the voyage. Good times. Sharks are pretty cool though, hopefully I'll be able to steal a copy of the DVD from someone (hint hint Jordan). Okay, my computer is going to die in 0.5 minutes.

Bye now. Host family tomorrow and teaching on Wednesday.

A Massive Post about my past week in South Africa

This is the past several days all rolled up into one massively large document. Enjoy.
Blog Posts
Flight 6/29-30
Flying procures a mix of emotions for me. Usually, I am excited. Recently, I’ve been plagued with a nasty case of nerves. Sometimes this is caused by not knowing members of mmy traveling group but more often than not t is from knowing what could happen. Although, today’s experiences have been altogether different. I have identified two new panic inducing situations as a result of flying.
Due to the increased security threats every item packed is under sever scrutiny. My first security check point in Detroit was fine. Once in Amsterdam I encountered an entirely new scenario. As I am gathering my many dispersed items from the conveyor belt, a very polite TSA agent asked about a pair of “tweezers” that appeared to be in my bag. I never assumed a pair of aluminum tweezers would became a security threat, and so in the last moment I decided to toss the tweezers into my carry on backpack. Because really, every girl needs a pair of tweezers that are readily accessible and trusthworthy. The agent is patiently waiting for me to instantly locate this dastardly small tool. I begin to frantically search pockets of my backpack. “Please sir”, I beg, “I know I have them, but this is like searching for a needle in a haystack.” The man looks gentle enough but shows no sign of empathy, “It looks as if it is in a small bag”. Of course! The toiletry bag! I begin the search with newfound hope that I may have placed something logically where it could be located in an instant. Those nasty buggers aren’t there. I stare dumbfounded at the agent who is now obviously questioning my intentions. Then I recall packing my back up toiletry bug which was scrunched way down at the bottom of my bag. Alas, I find the tweezers.
I never would have guessed that a simple pair of forceps could transformed from a trustworthy tool into a betraying piece of scrap metal wanna-be. I sadly hold up the perpetrator when the agent states, almost jokingly, “Okay, now we know.”
My second anxiety inducting interaction came with attempting to connect to the internet. Upon settling in our new base for the next five hours in Amsterdam I sit down to use the wi-fi connection. It doesn’t work. Okay, now it’s time to find a hot spot. Some friends and I relocated to a wi-fi hotspot. The search is on. Target acquired: lounge below the food court. Denied. Apparently, there is an access code which we do not have.
In a situation like this a group of intelligent college students turns into a rabid pack of wolves on the brink of starvation. Facebook. Gmail. We need these things to live. If a college student could choose facebook over shelter we would opt for facebook. We cannot survive without these things. The airport is started to wake up, it is just about seven in the morning, so I find a cashier in a News shop. She has no idea but directs us to a different lounge area. We grab our bags and haul up the dizzying spiral staircase to a new lounge. A man comes by, and mumbles something to us that is later translated into “No. We no open til 7.” Like dejected puppies we walk back down the dizzying, spiral staircase. Then, the glimmer of hope. We spy a small group of men happily browsing the internet. I boldly walk up to a friendly looking African man and ask how he got the access code to this crazy network. He sharply replies “It is today’s date.” Easy enough.
We had been flying for 7 hours already so we knew that It was June 30th. This tidbit turned out to be not so helpful. This was like the first smell of food after not eating for a few days, or hours, depending on your eating habits. It wet our appetite but was unmistakably not susbstantial enough. New questions arose: What format do we use, date month year? Or month date year? Is the year shortened? Should we spell the month entirely? Stumped I am back to the hands that fed me. Dejected, I ask the man for more help with the format. He seems embarrassed that these young American adults could figure out something so simple as the access code. How could the general public be so naïve? He looks over at his friends with a face that read those two questions and reluctantly types in the password: klm30062010.

7/1
- breakfast: there is vegemite, or miramite, or termite. Something –mite
- mall: computer that looks like darth vader. Picture to follow
- Park: pet a cheetah and drank wine. Dad, I’m doing my research to bring you back the best bottle possible.
- Dinner: mall food court, tried to call home, failed miserably. Will rely on slow computers at the main building of the guest house.
- Tomorrow: Robben Island & district 6 museum & SOCCER//er FOOTBALL
- Weather report: beautiful during the day, mid 60s. Once the sun goes away the cold comes out to play. It is pretty cool at night, my fingers are not moving very quickly to type.
7/2 Robben Island
Robben Island, in case you are unaware, is a former leper colony/military base/political prison. This is where Nelson Mandela was jailed for 18+ years. Our tour guide was a former prisoner there for seven years. It is always eerie to be touring a place where people experienced the worst possible situations. We were told about the founder of PNC, whose name I cannot remember, who was in the medium security prison. He was not allowed to talk to anyone but had free range of the prison. After he was released the man was psychologically deranged and died of a heart attack at age 56. It is amazing to me that someone like Nelson Mandela could survive 18 years of abuse, near starvation, freezing, public humiliation, etc. He did all this, then became president of the country. The most inspiring part of this is that he, and the other prisoners, were capable of forgiving and reconciling with his captors. This act is so powerful. Just knowing that there are people out there who can do this is encouraging as a person and future educator.
There was also the “Robben Island University”. The prisoners would hide out in a cave while working at the limestone quarry (which was a pointless humiliating task as the Island would not and could not use limestone for anything) and teach each other to read, write, professional things, etc. Their slogan, “Each one teach one” Is truly inspiring.
It is crazy to learn about how these men banded together to help survive. Each prisoner would go through hell including extended periods of no food, solitary confinement, etc. I suppose that if you truly believe in your cause and if it is just then no amount of physical or mental roadblocks will keep that goal from being achieved.
As a total 180 we spent the remainder of the afternoon watching “football” with all of the South Africans. The atmosphere was AMAZING. There is such an evident sense of pride and nationalism. No one was being rude or mean to any other person.

7/3 Wine Tasting
We went to Vrede en Lust Winery. Cape Town is famous for their wines. This winery in particular is well decorated with awards for Best Wines. We tried a Rose, which was yummy, but tasted mostly like Franzia. Then we had some white wines which were flavorful but kind of strange, mostly because it tasted like licking the bark on a tree. The red wines were definitely the best. We tried one which was recently awarded the Best Red Wine EVER. The actual title is more professional but I can’t remember it. This wine was best enjoyed with some yummy dark chocolates. I bought a bottle. It’ll be a great present for Dad who is trying his best to become a wine snob. After eating some delicious cheese and wines we made our way to an Afrikaans monument. It was interesting but I could not hear the curator very well.
That evening was spent at another Fan Park. These are places that have jumbo TVs for everyone to watch the games. This was insane. It was for the quarter final game which was being played in Nelson Mandela Bay in Cape Town. This meant that the whole city was crazed with football fever. There is just an in describable energy in the air. The walk up to the stadium is filled with merchant stands, where I bought a vuvuzela, musicians, and just so many people. I have to say it now, and probably a thousand more times: Vuvuzelas are amazing. I do not know how I ever lived without one. It is basically a shofar on steroids, and made of plastic. These need to be incorporated into everything. The great thing about these is that people start vuvuzela wars with one another on the street. Also, there was a vuvuzela band but that comes in later and I do not want to jump ahead.
The walkway to the fan park was so crowded that a bunch of us left and explored the city on our own. We walked around trying to find somewhere to eat, watch the game, or both. We went to one place which was packed full of people just watching the game. The bouncer-guy was super friendly although could not make space for the 7 of us. We ended up walking back to the fan parade area. There we found a mall which was transformed into a party. There were bands in the atrium area, TVs on everywhere, and people just having fun. We ended up sitting on the patio of a hair salon where we met Hugh, which is actually pronounced like “you”. He was so nice, and drunk. He introduced us to his entire family/neighborhood. He just chatted with us for a while until we had to meet our group. I love the atmosphere that comes with the World Cup. Afterwards we had a late dinner where I tried ostrich! It was very yummy. Then we got home around 1 or so.