Already in week 2 of school

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On Friday we had athletics day for Pearson. We went to the university field and did track and field events for an entire school day. It was really different than anything I’ve experienced. The entire school participated! All the kids were in several events and they were really trying and encouraging each other from start to finish. There was a lot of school spirit and house support. The students are separated into 3 houses (like Harry Potter). I was initialed into Deary house after some girls asked if they could paint a green “D” on my arm in support. I helped with the boys’ high jump. It was a long day sitting out in the sun and the wind was going like crazy, but 3 layers of sunblock during the day saved me. They did a teacher/student relay at the very end of the day - thankfully I wasn’t asked to participate. Afterwards several of the teachers, including myself, went out for a drink. Much needed after a long day. Long, but good. It’s nice that the teachers can unwind and socialize with each other and I certainly appreciated the invitation.

Saturday morning I got up early and went to the beach. It was a little cloudy, but I just grabbed the iPod and spent some time walking around - did some stretches, man am I out of shape! It was nice to just have a couple hours of enjoying the peaceful water and relaxing. I went out with a friend Saturday night and he spent the beginning part of the evening explaining the rules of rugby as there was a game on TV. It was really interesting and made American football look longer and more boring than I originally thought. (I know, Go Cats!) I’ve bumped into several people who have connections in Kentucky so that’s weird. I was also introduced to Biltong which is like dried meat - think beef jerky but WAY better!

Sunday I went to Jefferey’s Bay with Lesley and met Nicola’s dad and his family who were all very nice. We had coffee and he told me how I had nice teeth - hilarious! Jefferey’s Bay was nice. Lesley showed me all around. We went to the factory shops for Billabong and Roxy - no, I didn’t buy anything, can you believe it? We of course went to the water a bit. It was the most beautiful aqua marine coloring I had ever seen. We ate lunch at a restaurant that didn’t have actual floors. It was on the beach and just had the sand of the beach for a floor - awesome! I’ve learned to enjoy fish more than I thought. They have a simple fish that is quite good called Hake, which went well with my “chips” (fries).

I’ve driven past several townships since I’ve been here. They call them “locations.” At UK we were encouraged to try to teach in a township school, but our host family has advised against it because they are too dangerous. One girl was student teaching and went to one and found herself in the middle of a fight complete with guns and knives. No thank you. The housekeeper at the place I’m staying at lives in a location and won’t even let her boss drive her into it to drop her off because it’s not safe. We hear about these places and see pictures, but nothing comes close to actually seeing one. You know you’re coming up on a location when you see the ground covered in trash - then you see the shacks and yes, people actually live there.

I had my first day teaching the grade 9 geography class. I had two classes today. The first one was a bit hectic. I learned that simply asking the students if they covered information from the previous lesson is not good enough. I should have started out with a review. The kids tested my discipline, as I expected, but were not too badly behaved. I had to get onto a couple kids, but it was only mildly annoying. I told the other teachers that I didn’t want to be the mean American teacher and they told me not to smile until April and that I needed to be strict. It was encouraging. The second period class went much better. I started with a solid review, which was practically like re-teaching them the information (longitude and latitude). This was a great class. They were a little confused at first but I could see improvement as the time went on. I adjusted some structure, timing and note organizational things for the second class and that seemed to help a lot. I also learned to have extra work to assign in case they get off task or done. Side note, it was very interesting to write on a chalkboard when I’m used to dry erase marker boards. It reminded me of playing school when I was younger.

Moved into the back room of the back flat. So far it’s just me and one other South African student. He’s very nice and helped me move furniture my first night. There should be 2 other South African students coming at some point to live in the flat. I guess I’m separated from the other American students, but I kind of prefer it that way. Then I’m not inclined to just hang out with Americans and can make sure I’m meeting local people. I like the arrangement very much.

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Comments

[Mimi]

Hi Again
Hi Becca! Sounds like you are adjusting well. I know your experience there will continue to get richer and richer as the days go by. You're going to be all toasty tan when you get back to the States! So glad you are enjoying your experience. Take care, Mimi

[anonymous]

I love reading your take on everything in South Africa, it's so refreshing. I'm inspired by your adaptability in the classroom, what a fantastic teacher! You should have told my dad that he would have good teeth as well, if he didn't SMOKE!!! (had to chuckle at that one). It's snowing here again so it makes it hard to look at your beach pictures. Looking look forward to reading your next post.