Miscellaneous Photos from PE, SA

My first Friday evening in SA was spent with one of my three roommates, Britt. We trekked 45 minutes to The Boardwalk (pretty much an outdoor mall/food court) and had ball. I had my first SA pizza on that trip... it was pretty tasty. I got some delicious candy at The Boardwalk candy shop (Yay!). They have these suckers called "Fizz Pops" that have this awesome sour powder in the middle-- replacing tootsies and gum. The powder fizzes, hence the "fizz" in Fizz Pop. We also moseyed over to The Boardwalk's arcade (actually we almost ran) to play ski-ball and air hockey. It was a fun introduction to a very new place.

There is a flea market style craft shop at The Boardwalk where a lot of the girls buy souvenirs for people back home. This wire and bead work is all over the place down here. It is a traditional South African art medium. The native tribes did a lot of bead work-- wore a lot of bead belts, necklaces, earrings, etc. I learned this at Bayworld. I guess that place wasn't a total bust!

It is so cool. We spoke to one of the vendors about his stuff. He said it takes a couple weeks to make a small mask like this (about the size of a small cantaloupe). Crazy huh? They are so beautiful! There is a giant zebra at his shop; it took him several months to make. He told us that the beading takes forever, otherwise it wouldn't take so long.

We went to the movies this past weekend... we didn't see The Lorax but they did have this fantastic stand-up at the movie theater! I mustache you a question... but I'll shave it for later. According to the roommates the popcorn at the theater is not tasty. They said there is no butter and no salt... so basically it is made the popcorn was created to be: healthy-ish. The movie theater was small but was very much like the theaters back home. A big screen, seats, a concession stand, box-office, ticket taker that directs you to where you need to go, many many posters and movie stand-ups and lots of pre-movie movie previews. Yep. Just like home.



Some more from Herbert Hurd Primary School...

The students line up like this every morning. Very straight. Very quiet. Ready to start a very straight and very quiet day. When I say very quiet that is exactly what I mean. I do not fit in at Herbert Hurd. :) I will say, they make a pretty mean line. First grade people. The kid out of line near the back is a 7th grade monitor. The 7th graders (top grade at HHPS) are basically in charge during break times. It is cool. They have responsibility in the school and the teachers are free to do what they need to do. It works out well. They remind me of little commanders with their troops at the beginning of the day. They've got serious bossing skills, these 7th graders.


Herbert Hurd has it's own indoor swimming pool! Here it is in all of its glory. All of the students swim two times a week. This is an awesome thing since PE is right on the shore. Knowing how to swim when you are so close to the beach is essential for safety purposes.

Here is a word-building assessment. Each student has their own box of letters. My CT had each student bring in small tupperware containers at the beginning of the year so they have storage for their sight words, letters, etc. Isn't that a great idea? I love plastic storage!

The schools here don't teach letters and sounds-- they teach sounds only. So the letter 'f' is not said this way: "EF," rather they just make the sound. the letter 'f' is the 'fff'. It is hard to explain and I'm not sure if it is working to the students' advantage. The vowels are also taught differently. There is 'a' which makes the short 'a' sound, 'i' which makes the long 'e' sound, 'o' which only makes the short 'o' sound, 'u' which makes the short 'u' sound only, and 'e' which only makes the short 'e' sound. There are no other sounds taught. There are words that students can sound out and words that they just need to memorize.

Here is a worksheet that the students completed yesterday. They were to say the word shown in the picture and break it up into the three sounds. They were then to determine the middle sound and circle the "sound" (letter) that made that sound. This was a hit or miss thing. A lot of the students did really well, but some of them really had trouble. There wasn't really a middle level on this one. And of course, when they were finished they were to color in (meticulously) each of the pictures. One of these days I am going to time how much of the day is spent coloring. I am sure you all would be very shocked. They have coloring books at their desks so they have something to do when they finish work (that needs to be colored) early.

Here is another assessment. The students are finishing patterns, "counting on" and "counting down." I love the dividers, though, with one teacher they would take a bit of time to put up. The worksheets the students are completing are below.

Finishing patterns...

Counting on and counting down...



Last Friday I led a word-building lesson with play-doh that I made at the apartment and the sight words they are learning. The students loved this activity. If you look hard enough you can see their words... even their "play-doh handwriting" is fantastic! :)

And finally, here is some student drawing. I am impressed with their vibrant pictures. A lot of the students draw similarly because they are taught how to draw in art class. You make grass, trees, clouds, flowers, etc., "just so." Still, I don't know many 1st graders that can sit and draw as long as these guys. They seem to love it.

Well all, I am verrrry tired. It is almost midnight here in PE. South Africa does not do Daylight Savings Time so instead of being 7 hours ahead we are now ahead 6 hours. Saturday we are horseback riding on the beach and Sunday we will be hiking at a nature reserve nearby. They have a beautiful lighthouse (supposedly) and a penguin sanctuary. Stay tuned for some of that!

**Also, shout out to Park School's third graders and Mrs. Miles-- I have made a video to answer all of your questions but won't be able to upload it until tomorrow afternoon (your AM). The plan is to get it online so you can see it at school tomorrow.

Goodnight friends!

Sarah

Xhosa, Electricity and FOOD

Remember Latita? How could you forget that beautiful smile?! Latita and her mama, Zookie, speak one of the several languages spoken here in Port Elizabeth: Xhosa. This language is so cool. The language boasts clicks and pops (made with the mouth) when certain sounds/letters are spoken, for example, the name "Xhosa" has a tongue-in-cheek click at the beginning of the word. Believe it or not, it is very hard to do... I have had several people try to teach it to me but I just cannot speak and click/pop simultaneously! I am trying, I really am.

So Xhosa is one of three languages taught/used at Herbert Hurd Primary School (HHPS). Isn't that awesome? Kids in grades 1-7 are taught English (all classroom instruction is in English), Afrikaans (similar to dutch), and Xhosa (a native language). Afrikaans is taught daily (mostly memorization in grade one) and another teacher comes into the classroom once a week on Wednesdays for 30 minutes for Xhosa instruction.

Today was Xhosa day! A couple of the kids in my class speak Xhosa at home-- they are 7 years old and bilingual-- soon to be trilingual! It is beautiful.

I sit in during the Xhosa lesson and learn right along with the kiddos-- it is quite fun! Today we learned how to ask someone's name and give someone our name. Here is what we learned:

ngubani igama la kho? 
What is your name? (Exact translation is: What is name of you?)

igama lan ngu Sarah.
My name is Sarah.  (Exact translation is: Name of mine is Sarah)

Some of the students seemed uncomfortable speaking the language out loud for the instructor and their peers to hear. A lot of them are being introduced to the language for the first time, not that they haven't heard it before. The instructor had the students ask one another the question and take turns answering. This seemed to lighten the mood for the kids. For grade ones they are doing well. They caught on faster than I!
One of my favorite things about living in South Africa is the diversity here! The languages and nationalities that are represented here make it an interesting place to be. You never know what language the person next to you at the check-out speaks, or what country your waiter calls home. It is really neat-- people being who they are in a place where everyone has their own thing. I love being surrounded by people speaking entirely different languages than myself. It reminds me of how egocentric I am as an English-only speaking American. I expect everyone to speak English, but why should they? Maybe I should speak Xhosa...


Last night we had a black out.

It was for 30 seconds, not a terribly huge deal, but let me tell you-- it was so dark on our side of PE. I was talking to my CT this morning and she told me that not too long ago all of PE had blackouts for hours at a time because of energy shortages. Between the World Cup (which apparently used up crazy amounts of power between the stadium, hotels, restaurants, etc.) and mismanagement in the energy realm (mismanagement in government?? Unheard of!), the people of PE, and it seems a lot of South Africa, had to go without power for 2-3 hours at a time on a daily basis. Garsha said that she remembers it lasting for a while. Can you imagine? PEOPLE! We have got to stop taking what we've got for granted! The Internet, the electricity and the food... OH the food....

So let me tell you, the food here is not like it is at home. There are a few things about the food back home that I miss: the flavors, the flavors, and.... the flavors. Most things aren't bad, they are just very different. A kind of different that I don't really appreciate. The food that I have experienced and seen is very much the same as is found back home (toasted cheese sandwiches, pizza, burgers, pitas, chicken schnitzel, "chips" (fries), Italian, Chinese, Indian, Mexican, hot dogs, etc.), however the flavors are just not at delightful. I never thought of myself as a food snob until I came out here!

There are a few McDonalds and KFCs in PE. Those are the only familiar chains. My roommates tell me that they are good but that the food tastes different. I suspected as much. I haven't had a chance to try them out for myself... the line at the closest KFC is always crazy long. It's right on the beach...

Here is a list of foods that I've seen at the Pick-n-Pay that you could find back home:

Planter's nuts
Pringles
Coke
Pepsi
Cadbury chocolate
Lindt chocolate
Twix bars
Kit Kats
Rolos
Cheerios (these are quite different!)
Corn Flakes
Special K
Nutella!!!!!
Heinz Ketchup
French's Mustard
Lipton Teas
Powerade
Glad products
Lays potato chips

Those are just some of the products/brands I can think of off the top of my head. There aren't a whole lot that I've seen. Everything else at the grocery store is pretty much the same just a different/local brand. Unfortunately for us, the local shop is pretty much on the beach which (we suspect) raises the prices a bit. It isn't too bad though... I spent R312 today on about two weeks worth of groceries-- which seems like a ton; however, this is equivalent to about $39.

I made roasted veggies in tortilla wraps with hot sauce for dinner tonight; it was very flavorful and tasty. Exactly what I needed. I am trying my hand at some cooking, Bronson. Maybe it will be perfected before I come home (HA!). As it is everywhere, it is far less money to eat in than it is to eat out. So we make it a point to eat in. :)


Those are just some of the things I have been thinking about and wanted to share with all of you. I wish I was less tired in the evening and could write more concisely so I could share more with you in fewer words! :) I am sure my skills will slowly improve as I continue to share my journey through writing.


See you in a while.

Sarah

Beachy Keen

I took another stroll along the beach during low tide this morning. There are so many creatures to see!

I officially love treasure hunting at low-tide!

Latita Means Sunshine

Happy Saturday!

Here in our apt we girls have a gal who comes and cleans up after us.This is technically a hotel so it makes sense, however, we could be a bit neater... maybe a little more organized for her sake. So anyway, one of our housekeepers is Zookie. During my first day in PE I was in the apt alone resting (everyone else was at school) and she came in to clean. I was a little freaked out at first-- no one warned me that she would be coming-- but we hit it off very quickly. We talked about our families and missing them so much. She told me she had a daughter very soon after her mother passed away so she named her "Latita" which means "sunshine" in Xhosa. She said that after her mother died she needed someone to bring sunshine back into her life. Isn't that beautiful? She was such an encouragement to me. I am very thankful for her-- for cleaning up after us each day and also for being such a kind and encouraging friend.

Today Zookie brought her 3 year old baby girl Latita to meet us. Latita (who only speaks Xhosa, with the exception of a few English words) brought sunshine into our one bedroom apt this morning!

She started out quiet and shy but that soon faded and she erupted in giggles and smiles. She played on my computer for a while then we used Crayola markers (SO glad I brought them from home!) to draw some lovely pictures. We traced shells, made portraits and scribbled mostly. Her smile and laughter are contagious-- I hope that my own babies are as fun and crazy as this little girl.

Zookie left her with us for a while this morning. I tried to get her to dance to the Rick Roll but she was having none of it. I'm guessing she just knew deep down in her heart that it is bad music. There was a language barrier between Latita and I but everyone laughs in the same language. So that is how we communicated-- lots and lots of laughter!

How can you now love this little girl??!  Check out this video of Latita in action:

We became very best friends. She didn't want to leave and asked her mama if she could come again. I hope she does!

After Zookie and Latita left, Britt, Andrea and I walked down to Bayworld-- a museum and aquarium a few miles down the main road. On our way we walked along the beach. It was low tide so we were able to walk along the rocks and tide pools there. It was gorgeous!! We found quite a few treasures as we explored...

This is what the beach looks like at low tide. Many rocks!

This crab is dead but I thought it was still a beautiful thing.

Look at all of those tide pools! It was such a beautiful place to explore. The entire time we were exploring I kept thinking to myself, "this would be an amazing place to bring students... what an adventure!"

Another tide pool high up on the rocks.

I spotted a starfish in one of the tide pools!

There were some fish and red sea anemones (I think...) in this small pool. Everything was so colorful.

Whirlpool going down! The tide was low but there were still some pretty intense waves. The ocean spray felt so refreshing in the hot sun.

Once we left the beach we made our way to Bayworld.

We started out so stoked!

There were some cool things... I can't lie. This is a reptile fossil. The impressions of the eyes, mouth, nostrils, etc., are too cool.

OK, OK... this was hilarious. These large dinosaurs moved to backgrounds sounds-- growling, roaring, bug sounds, etc. The funny thing was that their movement was jerky and they squeaked. WD-40 anyone?

Thank goodness!

These signs were everywhere.

Oh... herbivore? Never mind.

Please don't make me go back!


As silly as those pics and captions were we really did have a fantastic day. We walked for miles and miles and miles. I feel like I lost 15 lbs today. But I didn't...

I can't believe it has been 12 days since I have been in the States! Time is flying here in South Africa. Britt (a new good friend and roommate) and I are planning some trips for the upcoming weekends and school breaks. We are looking to go to a game reserve to RIDE elephants (eek!!!), hike in the Eastern Cape's gorgeous countryside, horseback ride on the beach, and zip-line over waterfalls. We are also planning on doing some more volunteer work at the township schools. What?! This is a crazy way to live.

God is good.

53 more days, people!

Love you all!!!!

Sarah