It’s a long weekend, with Heritage Day on Sunday and a day off on Monday. I’m staying in town even though my car is officially fixed once again. Even now, I’m wearing my pajamas and treating myself to a cup of “Comfort and Joy” tea from Mary Lou. Yesterday, I received so many compliments on the pin that Mary Lou gave me It’s a long weekend, with Heritage Day on Sunday and a day off on Monday. I’m staying in town even though my car is officially fixed once again. Even now, I’m wearing my pajamas and treating myself to a cup of “Comfort and Joy” tea from Mary Lou. Yesterday, I received so many compliments on the pin that Mary Lou gave me before I left that I felt I just had to drink a cup of “her” tea in thanks. The shades and window are open, the sun is shining and there’s a cool breeze coming in the window. I’ve settled into my space and rearranged my artwork so that my paintings are in the corner of the rooms and I can see them as soon as I enter the flat. I treated myself to a bouquet of flowers from the local Pic ‘n Pay and my Zambian tea set is right in front of me with a “Crazy for U” Valentine lollipop staring me in the face. And now it’s time for my personal tea party with friends. Can you think of a better start to the weekend?
Since Ben left, I’ve become immersed in projects at work and I’m back to the days when I was up at 5:30 and at the office by 7. Then I work through the day until about 6 before heading home to collapse in front of my favorite shows before going to bed or finishing up something that needs to be out to a colleague before the next day. Of course, many of my colleagues are working far longer hours to juggle all their teaching and research activities as well as their personal lives while for me, it’s all personal and just about me so the stress level is very low.
One of the projects that has been so exciting is to work with Annalie on her field trip to the Pioneer Museum. I had the best time getting to see this home and farm with its 11 stations of activities and discussions that focused on life “back in the day”. Students took photographs as they went through the activities and I used my Flip camera to capture the action of the day. After the trip, we asked the students 3 reflection questions that Annalie and I analyzed for themes so that we could compare the students’ experiences on the field trip with the intended purposes of the trip. We put together our results in a research-style poster that is now on display in our campus library with other artifacts from our department. We’ll be able to use this in an article, but I think we may combine it with some other projects that Annalie incorporates into this class. We were fortunate to have a student who is very skilled in Photo Shop and poster creation actually take what I had set up on my office walls (the photo has one "panel" as laid out on the wall) and put it into the poster. It’s just beautiful! You'll get to see it when I return next semester!
Then Miemsie, another friend and colleague, has invited me into some research that she and Cycil, our Head of Department (HOD) are doing around the question, “Why are so few Black students enrolling in teacher education?” She had already conducted one focus group when she asked if I would like to sit in on 2 more groups. Of course, I said yes! The first group I joined in on was with secondary (grades 8-10) and FET (grades 11-12) teacher education students. We had 6 young women and 3 young men. Of this group, only 1 young man chose teaching as his first choice major and he was incredibly passionate. I’d love to interview him one-on-one to find out more about his story. The second group I met with was only early childhood majors from first, second, and third years. They were clear that teaching young children was exactly what they wanted to do, but they also had wonderful ideas for recruitment. Next week, I’m following up with a few individual interviews with them to get more data on their personal stories and their recommendations for recruitment.
All that leads to the week of proposals. The department received a Call for Proposals from the Department of Education related to Foundation Phase (grades K-3) teacher education. So everyone moved into high gear to write up proposals for funding. I worked with Cycil and Miemsie on a proposal to address quality of Foundation Phase teacher education programs and the issue of recruitment and retention of Black students. Nkidi worked on a proposal for home language instruction; Marie on teacher identity; and Ina on citizenship education. Our colleagues from Information Communication Technology and Teacher Innovation also submitted a proposal. Between the emails and the meetings and the writing – it was a hectic week for all but now all the proposals are with the HOD. Please keep us all in your prayers that we actually get the money to do much of the research that people are already doing on a much smaller scale.
I ended the week with a trip to J’burg with Nkidi to meet with a potential funder for two of her projects. We got turned around and managed to drive in circles until Nkidi called her niece, who straightened out our directions, and then headed to Ed Con, a conglomerate corporate office for some of the major department stores in South Africa. We met with Innocentia from HR and she was lovely and appeared interested in what Nkidi had to share. We arrived back on campus in time for me to join Annalie’s class as she led them through her “Green Day” activities that integrate virtually everything in the national curriculum into an archeological expedition to Earth in the year 3010 to discover what we can about the planet. This time, I became a member of the team and the two of us had a wonderful time co-teaching (although she really took the lead and I just played along). We’re thinking about another poster or at least more data to go with our field trip article.
So, here I am with a weekend of reading and writing ahead of me. I got the laundry done last night and I’ve already made the bed. The dishes from supper need to be washed so I’ll do that soon. I’ll head over to the bookstore and later in the day, there’s a set of shops that are tucked away in a little corner that I want to check out. Sunday, there’s a flea market and festival that Annalie is taking me to see and I know that Ina and I are taking an evening walk on the university sports grounds at some point. Monday is back to reading and writing with a walk or two just to take a break before returning for another week in academia. I hope that you, too, can enjoy a bit of a break as well to do just what you enjoy doing. And whether it’s a tea party or a coffee break or a trip to Barnes & Noble or Greenberry’s – know that I’m thinking of you over my cup of tea!
It’s the end of the week (March 4, 2010) and the end of Ben’s visit to Africa. We’ve tried to plan some special things to do in celebration of this time with Caroline and Mom. The Cape Town trip was certainly special and then back to reality while the car had to be repaired and I went back to work. Ben spent Tuesday sleeping in and then hanging around until I got home. Wednesday, after visiting Annalie’s 4th year students to explain our documentation project, we headed to Child Academy to meet my friend Maggie and tour the classrooms and talk with the preschool teachers. Then there was some shopping that Ben wanted to do so we went to Bruma Market, one of my favorite shopping places. After getting turned around several times and then a frantic call to Themba for directions, we got onto the right road and made it home in our borrowed car.
For people who know me well, I love my family, shopping, and work so the day was pretty satisfying for me. I got to talk with students who are so much like the JMU students I teach and they were so helpful with the project that Annalie and I are trying out together. Annalie is not only a wonderful colleague with whom I am working on 2 major projects, but she is also a good friend. She’s the one who makes sure that I have a vehicle that works, she draws all kinds of maps to get me around the area, and she’s always recommending fun places to go. She also sends those encouraging emails that remind me to smile or laugh or enjoy my weekend.
Then, I spent the afternoon at Child Academy with another dear friend. Maggie, and teacher in a child care center in Alexandra, is an expert in early childhood development and preschool education. She and her late husband, Isaac Mahlatsi, started Child Academy as a model early childhood center and the school has grown to serve children from 2 years of age through grade 7. She and I talked with Isaiah Modiba, the current director, and the teachers, identifying areas of professional development for the teachers and resources for the school to maintain the vision of a high quality learning environment in the middle of Tembisa township.
Even more important than our conversations about work, though, is our history together. Isaac was the reason I first came to South Africa. I met him years ago when he visited Harrisonburg and wanted to see a model early childhood program. Of course, I took him to see our Young Children’s Program. Isaac was impressed with what he saw and as I got to know him better during that visit, he shared his story of moving from Youth Development to Early Childhood. He became a dear friend and his home became a base for members of Trinity and for me as well. Of course, once in his home, there was Maggie.
Maggie has 3 children whose ages match 3 of my children. Karabelo, her eldest son, is about Suzy’s age; Tclapi is about Abbey’s age; and Tsidio is Ben’s age. On the days that I lived with the Mahlatsi family, Maggie and I would talk about rearing children and dealing with the challenges of being wives, mothers, and teachers – all over cups of % Roses and rooibos tea. She laughs when I tell her I think her cooking is “yummy” (which it is) and she thinks my lasagna is delicious (mostly because it’s a quick and easy recipe).
After our time at Child Academy, Ben was eager to get to Bruma Market to do some shopping for his friends. I had a sense of where it was, but wasn’t exactly following the directions that Isaiah and Maggie were giving so Maggie led the way and we followed. Once at Bruma, an area of J’burg, we waved goodbye and made our way to the market for about an hour of intense shopping. Shopping at markets is more than just running in, making selections, and then paying for goods. It’s being invited into small stalls to look because, “looking is free. It doesn’t cost anything to look.” Once you start looking, then the sales person makes many recommendations of items that will be sure to fall into your price range. If you find something you actually want to buy, then the haggling begins. Remember that to determine the cost of any given item or set of items, you must divide by 7.5 (or by 7 if you have trouble mentally calculating with a decimal) to see if you’re willing to spend that amount of money. Of course, the shopkeeper starts his price high, then you have to figure out how far you are willing to negotiate for what you want and be willing to walk away. It’s unusual that you won’t find almost the exact same thing somewhere else along the way and the shopkeepers never sell for less than what they are happy with. Once you buy something, several shopkeepers from nearby stalls grab you by the arm to invite you into their spaces “to buy some small thing to help me out as well”. Ben did well with his purchases and I succumbed to a couple of necklaces and we started for home.
Now, I had been trying to follow Maggie to the market in heavy traffic, so I wasn’t exactly sure how to get back to the highway to get home. This time there were a series of wrong starts and stops, followed by a phone call to Themba, and Ben’s good eye sight to get us homeward bound. Thank goodness for leftovers for supper!
Thursday was Ben’s day. I packed up my map book, Ben’s flip camera, a sweatshirt and we headed off early for our morning with the elephants, eager to see what would really be in store for us. We had been past the entrance to the sanctuary before so we found it without getting lost (again thanks to Nico’s map from our first adventure to the dam). A small group of us, 3 people from Denmark, a couple, a set of grandparents, son, daughter, and grandchild, and the two of us made up the 10:00 group. We were led to an area with some wooden benches arranged in a semi circle around a small corral. Three of the five elephants were led into the corral from the barns where they sleep at night. People were getting their cameras ready when Ben leaned over to ask where his flip was. I had said I brought it along, but it was still in the car. We were stuck without a camera and I could see the disappointment on Ben’s face.
Simba, our guide introduced us to the elephants and their trainers, giving us some background on how the animals are cared for, some basic behaviors they display in the wild, and information on the particulars of each animal. Then one by one, a trainer would have his elephant perform a behavior such as kneeling down and then Simba would explain that the elephants typically bend when trying to reach down into the water. After our “lecture and demonstration” on the elephants, we had the opportunity to actually go up to have our own individual time with an elephant and trainer. Talk about a memorable moment! Finally it dawned on me that my cell phone from Themba had a camera and video capability, so I pulled it out to capture our magic time with the elephants. Each of us had the opportunity to check out the elephant’s mouth to see those big molars and the tongue, we rubbed the face and brushed our hands against the long eyelashes. We compared the skin texture of the ear from the front and the back, felt the toenails and foot pads, checked out the nipples, rubbed the side of the elephant and examined the tail. After our inspection, we held the elephant’s tusk, posed for a photo, and received an elephant kiss. It had been so long since I’d had a great big kiss, that I gladly accepted the vacuum cleaner-like smooch from my elephant.
Once we finished our visit with the elephants we were led to a huge ring area to meet the elephants for an elephant walk. As the trainers led the elephants, we let them hold onto our hands with their trunks as we walked around the ring. Their warm breath on our hands as we walked was special. Then we walked over to a display area to learn more about elephant anatomy and comparisons between Asian and African elephants. Our time at the sanctuary ended with tea and a chance to get some directions to the Lion Cub Park.
We decided to do some shopping since we were at Hartbespoort Dam. We had been shopping there before when I spent way too much money on paintings, chairs, and a table. This time was for Ben, since it didn’t look like we’d make it back to Bruma to pick up the few things he had forgotten on Wednesday. We tried out a couple of new places, but didn’t see much so we went back to the bigger area and once again, we spent all our cash and had to make a withdrawal at the ATM to take care of all our wants and the upcoming stop. Between Ben’s thoughtful gifts for friends and my insatiable need for earrings, we contributed once again to the South African economy.
With our economic investment complete, we headed off in the wrong direction once and drove past the unmarked entrance to the park, but all in all, did OK in getting to the park. We purchased our tickets, even though all we wanted to do was see the cubs and weren’t too interested in driving through the bigger part of the park to see the older lions. As we were about to enter the gate, Ben realized that the flip camera was still in the car so he made a quick trip to grab the camera and we headed for the cubs. Lion cubs are separated by ages into large cages where they can run around and people can pet them. We were among 6 people who were in the cage with one of the volunteers who supervises the visits to protect the cubs and the people from one another. The cubs that we saw were between 3-4 months of age. One was a darker color and the rest were whiter. Ben and I roamed around, petting the cubs, watching them play, and generally have fun just being around them. After 15 minutes or so, we left the cage to look at the other animals in that area. There were two beautiful cheetahs, some wild dogs, a couple of meerkats, zebras, and ostriches. We were really disappointed that the giraffes that are usually around had decided to take a VERY LONG walk and we never got to see them. So, because we hadn’t eaten since our 9:00 egg MacMuffins, we decided to eat at the restaurant at the park before heading home (without getting lost). Once home, we turned on the tube, started the laundry, and got ready to pack.
Friday, the big goodbye, started early for me. I was a guest speaker in two sections of Nkidi’s First Additional Language (FAL) class. I had prepared to talk about diversity from Bronfenbrenner’s ecological theory perspective. When she introduced me to the class, she told them that I was talking about diversity and second language acquisition. I was a little surprised that I had misunderstood, but after she explained the assignment that the students would be doing next for class, I picked up on what she might like and modified my approach. Her literacy assignment was for her students to identify a concept (e.g., tall and long or time) that FAL learners would need to learn, develop a story activity and supporting learning materials. As she explained the assignment with examples and more detail, I started thinking about the many ways that teachers could create language based activities, and that became the starting point for my conversation with the students. The 8:30 class had almost 50 students and the 10:30 class had almost 40 students, but the time flew by. Nkidi seemed pleased and the students were gracious so I got ready to leave the office to get Ben.
Friday traffic starts early and continues late. When I got home, Ben was on the computer with most of his things packed. We did our final checks through the flat, almost missing the flip camera, loaded up the car and headed to Soweto for final goodbyes to his homestay mom, the children, and his friends. After a two-hour trip in stop and go traffic and a major storm complete with rain, thunder, and lightening, we got to Cena’s house for a visit and fond farewell. Then back into traffic for a ride to the airport, supper at Ben’s favorite restaurant, Ocean Basket, time to walk around, and then a final goodbye hug at the security gate.
In mourning, I left the airport for Themba’s and Thembela’s house for the weekend with my adopted “family”. I managed to make a wrong turn and Themba figured out exactly where I was, coming to rescue me from the Best Burger Roadhouse and lead the way to his house. As I write this, Ben should have landed in Atlanta and be changing planes for Washington DC soon. I’m not really anxious to hear from him - more like eager to hear that he’s made it through customs. In the meantime, I’m trying to get some work done while Themba grills all kinds of meat for a bar-be-que this afternoon, 2 lab puppies run around, and Lisha and I read through “Spot Sleeps Over” until she can read it for herself.
It seemed so simple when we started planning our trip to Cape Town. We had done a favor for a colleague and that led to an opportunity to meet the people we had assisted and then we added a little side trip to Cape Town as the grand finale of Ben’s trip to South Africa. A few days away to learn a little more about the history and culture of the country in a beautiful area seemed like a great idea at the time so I proceeded to plan.
After checking the prices on Kulula Air, a modestly priced, no frills airline, I decided that leaving early on Saturday morning for the Cape would save us some money without missing out on the time to explore. The times worked out for Dave and Renee Smit, our hosts, even though they were going to be busy with a Saturday training session at their church, two Sunday services, and their daughter Nikki’s 22nd birthday. I booked the airline tickets, getting us back home on Monday in time to avoid the 5:00 rush hour traffic. Then I booked a red bus city tour so we could spend all day Saturday touring the area and visiting some museums, the aquarium, and Table Mountain while reserving Sunday for church and Robben Island. Then we could all take our time on Monday to sleep in, go our for breakfast, and then catch the flight home. The agenda was set!
When I learned that the Soweto Gospel Choir was performing in the area, I decided that would be too good to miss so I also bought tickets for Dave and Renee and Renee prepared a light picnic supper for us all to enjoy while listening to the choir at the park. What a great plan, especially since Ben had lived in Soweto for a week and a half.
Friday night before we were to leave, my colleague Linda invited Ben and me to meet her and her family at a local shopping center for supper and a movie for her son and daughter, her daughter’s friend, and Ben. We found the place with only a momentary pause when Ben and I stopped at the wrong mall. We had a lively visit over some wine, good food, and the beginning of the weekend. Just as we were leaving, a storm began and Ben and I managed to get home with no wrong turns and just a few scary moments when I really couldn’t quite see which lane was which. Arriving home after 10:00 was definitely past my bedtime, but we got our packing finished up and started the search for passports. Ben’s was exactly where I put it when he returned from Lusaka. Mine was NOT in my pocketbook where I was sure I had left it. Instead of going to bed at an almost reasonable hour, I tore the apartment apart twice looking for that passport. With no sign of the critical document, I gave up and decided I must have left it in the office. We decided to get up early, shower, stop off at the office to search, and then head to the airport in J’burg, an hour away from Pretoria. Only a slight deviation from our agenda, so only minimal worries.
At 3:30 Saturday morning, the alarm went off and I headed to the shower. Ben was up at 4:00 and we were out the door by 4:30. Arriving at the office just before 4:45, we checked in with the guards at the gate who informed us that they could not let us into Aldoel, my building, because the doors to all the buildings were controlled by the university’s security and those folks would not be around until 6 since it was the weekend. It was dawning on me that we would miss our 7:00 flight so we headed home. Ben went to sleep while I tried to take care of the flight via phone calls, only reaching a pleasant answering message that let me know that they were closed for the evening. It was clear there would be a significant change in starting our agenda on time.
At 6:00 Ben and I arrived at the office once again. The guards called the security person and by 6:30 he unlocked the building for us. The mad search began with the passport no where in sight. I started going through the books on my shelf when it finally fell out of a research book. We ran out of the building to the car, hit the road, and headed to the airport. We managed to get onto the R21 that would take us directly to the airport. Of course, it wasn’t long until the car began it’s signature morphing into a rabbit and we just held on as we hopped along.
Having made it to the airport by 7:45, we headed to the Kulula desk to rebook the ticket – an experience something akin to buying another ticket. I wasn’t taking any chances that we wouldn’t get on the 12:00 flight as standby so I paid for the new ticket that would get us out of town by 10:45. Ben and I had breakfast at his favorite Two Oceans Restaurant, roamed around a while, then went through security to wait. Note to self: Shopping on the domestic side is incredibly limited. It’s definitely much better on the international side! Our flight was on time and we landed close to 1:00 in Cape Town. I began to reorganize the agenda.
Dave, a Presbyterian minister, was an absolute delight. He was so friendly and outgoing and made us feel at ease immediately. He took us by his church, then ran us over to the Waterfront clock tower to begin an afternoon of shopping and getting our bearings. Since we had the tickets for the choir, he said he’d pick us up at 4:15 so Ben and I made the best use of our time by checking out the shops, getting lunch, purchasing our Robben Island tickets, and then going by the Visitor’s Bureau. Ben was immediately attracted to the adventure opportunities and before I knew it, we were booking a trip on Monday to see sharks. Of course, that meant another change in our flight plans, but how many times do you get to come to Cape Town? We have now modified the beginning and ending of our agenda. This is getting more expensive as we go!
The concert at the park was lovely. There was a band that opened for the Soweto choir and they were certainly perfect for the younger crowd. We were sitting near a group of American students who loved the music, but as more sophisticated adults, we just sat back and enjoyed it all. When the Soweto Choir came on, we were all enthralled. Music certainly communicates across languages and cultures and everyone enjoyed the performance. I think this was even more special after Ben had lived in Soweto for a while and then we had seen several of the choir members in the airport prior to our flight out of J’burg. We returned later in the evening to the Smit’s home to learn from Gareth, the photo journalist in the family, that there had been a big earthquake in Chile. Between trying to catch the international news and get to know our new friends, we had a lovely evening. Carrying some amazing photo equipment to a young photographer turned out to be a wonderful opportunity to meet an amazing family who became new friends.
Sunday morning, with a new agenda in place, Dave dropped us off at the Waterfront so that we could spend our day on the top of a double decker bus touring the beautiful Cape Town. We headed straight for Table Mountain, the cable car, and my first chance to see the area from the top of this mountain. Ben and I walked all over the top, gazing into every direction to see what this landmark had to offer. After a lovely start to the day, we boarded the bus to drive through the area and return to the Waterfront for lunch. What we thought would be a quick lunch of club sandwiches turned out to take over an hour so that we were unable to return to the bus tour to see the museums we had planned to visit. Instead, we walked around a bit and then headed over to the Robben Island departure point so that we could make that trip. The tour was fascinating and our guide was the same former prisoner who had led my students when we were there in July. At the end of the day, we headed back to the Waterfront, had a light supper, and then met up with Dave and Renee. After a cup of tea and some conversation, we turned in early since we had a pre-5 a.m. pick up for shark viewing. The modified agenda was working out, even though there was a significantly early start to our last day.
It’s amazing how quickly the time flies when you’re asleep! The alarm went off at 4 for me and I made Ben get up a little before 4:30. By 4:45 our van was outside the house waiting for us (10 minutes early) so we headed out and slept for most of the 2-hour ride to our location for shark diving. We had spent quite a bit of time on Sunday searching for some swim trunks for Ben because we had no plans for swimming when we left Pretoria (See how limiting an agenda can become?). As you might imagine, the end of the summer season is not the best time to search for swimwear and what’s left tends to be on the high price end at the specialty shops. We did luck out at long last, by finding one set of board shorts that actually fit and were on sale so we got ahead of the US summer season! After a buffet breakfast, a bit of a video, and some basic information, we and all the other folks we had traveled with headed down to the dock to board the boat that would take us out into the bay. Thank goodness, jackets were provided because the wind proved to be quite chilly and the water temperature was a chilly 9 degrees Centigrade.
We rode out into the bay, set anchor, and the first group donned their wet suits and got into the cage. The shark cage is really for underwater viewing of the sharks and remains attached to the boat. The first group was quite lucky and we all spotted our first shark within the first 5 minutes out. Ben watched the “divers” and I watched the sharks. They are quite amazing animals. I stayed on board the ship, noting that even with wet suits, divers were freezing in the water. I learned that actually the water is warmer in the winter (June and July) and the boat anchors closer to the seal island so that makes this trip a real possibility for next summer’s group of students.
Ben was in the third group of people to get into the cage. He spent more time waiting than viewing, but did actually see the sharks several different times. The women who entered the cage with him got so cold that they came out a little early, but Ben, hands shaking from the cold the whole time, stayed in the water in the hopes of more up close viewing. By the time he got out of the water, he was blue. We nibbled on chips, sandwiches, and fruit, took a ride to see the seals and their babies, and then headed back for tea and cookies, watch our video, and buy a t-shirt before heading home.
The trip home was quiet and we had a short nap along the way, getting back in time to have a brief visit with our hosts before making our way to the airport for some supper, a 30-minute delayed flight, and a 10 p.m. arrival in Pretoria (complete with car pretending to be rabbit experience). One would think that our arrival home would be routine, but as you can probably tell, there’s no such thing as routine or planned agenda. When we drove up to our flat, the remote that opens the gate refused to work. We back the car up, we drove around the block, we aimed the remote in every direction we could imagine. Finally I simply stopped the car in front of the gate and a security guard opened the gate for us! Who knew? Does the agenda ever end the way you think it should?
With Monday morning and my final week with Ben beginning, I headed out early to get caught up with emails and work so that I could relax for the final week. I backed out of my parking spot, aimed the remote, and nothing happened! Thirty minutes after a frantic call to Jaco for the number of campus security, an attempt by another resident to open the gate with his remote, and the announcement of the cleaning ladies that the gate had been broken and attempts to repair it were obviously unsuccessful, a security guard came with a massive set of keys to make the gate open manually until the system was repaired.
Lessons Learned:
1. Agendas are a good idea to create some structure for what you want to do.
2. Flexibility is imperative to deal with all the curve balls that come your way.
3. Enjoying the good company of the people you are with makes the whole experience worth living through.
