The rest of the week was very interesting at school. When I thought we figured everything out and had a plan for the remaining time here, the school decided to throw a curve ball at us.
The rest of the week was very interesting at school. When I thought we figured everything out and had a plan for the remaining time here, the school decided to throw a curve ball at us. The gave our classroom an actual substitute teacher and then split us up into different disciplines and classrooms around the school. One day I actually started to teach Hospitality. I had to come up with a lesson plan on the spot so I decided to have the learners develop their own recipes and share them. It went over very nicely. Another class only had five students, so I flipped the role and had the learners become the educators and they taught me isiXhosa. It was very hard for me to try and pronounce the clicks of their mother language. This chaos happened for the rest of the week until Friday.
On Friday I got to help teach with my colleague Annie in her Biology room. It was a great time since she was talking about bones in her class and I got to tell my ‘Bone Breaking’ story. Many of the learners were grossed out. My favorite part of Friday was when I had another small class and the learners decided to talk to me about some very serious topics and issues. The first question they had was about AIDS and how to prevent it. We had a lengthy discussion and they seemed very interested. The second question was about equality. Now if you do not know the history of South Africa, apartheid just ended here, which was very similar to the United States fight against segregation. The only difference is there is still a HUGE problem of segregation and inequality in South Africa. So I told the students that it all starts with them. That they need to take action and never be satisfied. I told them to fight for their freedoms and for their children’s freedoms. This put a lot of smiles on their faces. It must have been weird for them to hear this from a white person. School has been great so far and its coming to an end. I am getting very sad because I feel so comfortable at Kayamandi. The students are even recognizing me in the hallways and always shouting my name!
Saturday was my most anticipated day. It was our trip to Robben Island where Nelson Mandela and many other powerful political leaders were locked up for years upon years. To get to Robben Island we had to take a 30 minute boat ride. On our way we saw over 200 dolphins jumping in the water. It was a wonderful sight. Once we arrived to the Island we were immediately put on buses and shipped around the Island. There was a tour guide who told us all about the Island and the people there. The most astonishing part to me was were the prisoners worked. They worked in these mine fields in very hot days and harsh conditions, however, this did not stop them from thinking of new ways to get freedom for the blacks of South Africa. So they developed a cave in the mine where Mandela and others would meet for lunch (By the way they also used this cave as a bathroom so you can imagine the smell). This cave is where 70 percent of South Africa’s current system of governance was formed! It is so amazing what some people will do for their freedom! There were many other facts of the Island that just blew my mind. My favorite quote that I saw was “The journey is never long when the destination is freedom”. One of our tour guides was also a prisoner with Mandela and the others. That shocked me a lot and showed me how recent this struggle was. When I was leaving the Island the one thought they kept running through my mind was why are American schools not teaching about apartheid! It makes me very angry that our schools can skip over such a huge struggle that has hurt and still is hurting millions of people today.
Finally to end the day we went to the top of Table Mountain. This was an amazing view, as we were over looking Cape Town and Robben Island. It was a great ending to our day.
Sunday was a nice chill day and now it is the end of Monday. Today I was privileged in observing at a primary school named AF Louw. I always wanted to be an elementary teacher and this school made me want it even more. I swear that I have never been hugged more in a day! The learners loved me and I even got to teach a lesson on instruction. The point of the lesson was to play simon says. The learners had to realize that they had to follow instructions. Today was great and I already miss the learners at both Kayamandi and AF Louw!
I hope all is well back home! Only one more week until I am back in the states. I am having mixed emotions about that. Have a great day!
Bryan WorldPeace