Advertisement
Published: April 9th 2006
Edit Blog Post
Okay, okay we know it has been a while since we wrote the last entry, but we have a good reason this time. We were out in the bush in the nature reserve (Groot Winterhoek) surrounding the Educo base camp for 7 days. We have been lucky enough to have an amazing experience volunteering on an Educo course. In one of our recent blogs we explained, as best we could, what type of courses and philosophy make up Educo and now we have experienced the magic for ourselves.
We headed off last Thursday (March 31) to pick up the students we would be working with. All of the participants are from a university program called Tsiba. It is a new university focusing on training young people who otherwise wouldn’t be able to afford to attend post secondary education to be able to go out into the community and make a difference in the business world. The email address for this amazing program is www.tsiba.org.za if you would like some more information. When we arrived at the school we could see that many of the students were nervous about heading out into the wilderness (a place many of them had never spent
If you can't dance, just clap
On the second day the two groups met with great singing and dancing. any time). The second year students who had been with Educo last year had successfully scared these new student with tales of snakes, not washing for a whole week and great treks through the hot sun. Not only did these “tall tales” become true, but they were also introduced to “the toilet situation”. During the orientation, one participant put up their hand and asked whether there would be toilets in the wilderness. The sly response to this was that “there are toilets everywhere - just remember to take Doug with you when you go”. The students soon found out that “Dug” is a spade, and they were required to dig their own thrones. What really brought wrinkles to the noses was when it was explained to them that part of the “Leave No Trace” Educo wilderness philosophy required them to carry out their own used toilet paper.
To be honest these were things they would have to get used to, but to their credit they coped just fine (and I think even ended up enjoying it). In total there were 22 students, which we split into 2 equal groups. Each group then had two Educo instructors and one volunteer (that’s
In Peak Shape
Nearly at the peak of a mountain, overlooking the fynbos. Nick and I). This was to be the first time we were apart for any length of time over the last 9 months. Luckily we each had some wonderful people to take care of us. Sarah was with Cole and Wiebke and Nick was with Siphelele (Spesh) and Alister (thanks for taking care of him guys!).
After arriving at base camp we got all packed up with group equipment and the food we would need for the next 6 days and headed off to our respective campsites for the night. The program for both groups was very similar in the activities we did, but as you can imagine the group dynamics were very different. As we only have one digital camera we had to compromise and so Nick gave the camera to Sarah for the week (this is the reason for the one-sided pictures).
The rest of this blog is mainly the story of the week as told by Sarah.
On the first morning, after taking some time to write in their journals and reflect on some questions posed to them we met up with the other group for a rock climbing session. This was an exercise in team building
and reaching goals. Watching the two groups come together after only one night apart was magical. All of these students are amazing singers and dancers, so when they came together they sang and danced as one big group.
Right from the get go my group worked amazingly well together especially when preparing the food. They would bring all their bowls together to dish out fair amounts of the food. This was all their idea. When the distribution of food in the backpacks wasn’t working they gathered all the food together, took stock of what they had, and organized it by meal. Again this was completely on their own initiatives. What more can you ask for? (On the other hand I think Nick’s group went more for the free for all and “finish all the food at the beginning” method).
Other activities included a number of days of long walking in the hot hot sun, swimming in water holes, heading towards a peak, team building activities, and a solo. Through all of these exercises we helped the students to learn more about themselves and about their fellow students who will be with them for the next four years.
Generally the
weather was nice and warm (sometimes too warm), but there were a few nights of rain. This is not a problem when you are nice and cozy in a tent, but Cole was convinced it wouldn’t rain so we slept under the stars - unfortunately they turned into clouds some time during the night. Luckily our group was on the ball and hopped in their survival bags at the first sign of rain. Too bad the instructors weren’t so bright!
We had lots of fun watching the students do the team building initiatives. We cheered them on while they strategized on how to get the whole group over the imaginary acid river using only one pair of “magic shoes”. We had some students carrying three of their peers and smaller students taking their fair share of the weight to complete the exercise.
One of the most amazing activities of the week was the solo. A solo, as the name suggests, is where the students head out on their own for around 12 hours (overnight) to reflect on their life, their goals, their fears, or in general anything that comes up for them. The next day we all sat in
Tsiba First Year Wilderness Graduates
Twenty-two of the stinkiest students after seven days in the bush. a circle to listen too and respect what came out of this experience for them. I think this process was very worthwhile and even life changing for some of the students.
These students taught me a lot during this week about living life, teamwork, dedication, and working through problems. This was a once in a lifetime experience of which I don’t think either of us will ever forget this wonderful week.
And still our experiences continue! The other night we were invited over to Spesh’s house in Langa, the oldest township in Cape Town, for some more traditional food (no braai required this time). We had an awesome time, and at one point Allison introduced the “Canadian custom” of Easter-egg hunting --- that went over pretty well --- but we’re so sad to leave because we don’t know when and if we’ll ever see those people again….people who have become really close friends over such a short period of time. We’re trying to figure out how to smuggle them all over to Vancouver for a visit.
Now we’re getting ready to go to Tanzania, and it feels like we’re leaving home. We’ve met some really amazing people (a
Nick's Chicks
Spesh, Allison, Linda and Sarah pretty good cross-section of Cape Towners), seen so much of the country, and generally settled ourselves down the last two months. It’s likely that East Africa will be a bit of a shock after the calm of Constantia here in Cape Town.
Goodbye to all our new South African friends! Nick will definitely miss his daily massacre of the Afrikaans and Xhosa languages (and the laughs they generate) and Sarah will miss the beautiful singing and dancing that has been a huge part of our experience here.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.095s; Tpl: 0.022s; cc: 9; qc: 46; dbt: 0.0472s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
Stepsis
non-member comment
Miss You Already
It has been so incredible to share my world here in South Africa with you. I am convinced that you guys can make friends and adapt to ANY situation. You have definitely left your mark here in SA and won a place in many peoples hearts. You will be greatly missed and not soon forgotten. Love you! xo