Farewell For Now But Not Goodbye Forever

Brief Research Update . . . 
I have collected a total of 22 interviews while being here at North-West.  I have 17 student interviews and 5 lecturer interviews.  This is more than I had planned to get and I am thankful for everyone that participated and went out of their way to make this happen.  It was a great experience, exhausting at times as well as daunting, but I feel lucky that I had the chance to do this over the summer.  Everyone I met and interacted with was great, so I would say the research process was a success.

As for what I got in the way of information and a possible addition to my dissertation, we shall see!  I have to go home and catalogue the surveys, transcribe (which I will be honest is my least favorite activity and the most daunting), analyze and formulate some ideas.  The goal is to complete this by November, we shall see!  Yet, I got more information and different information than I had assumed I would get and I think that makes what I found a success.  I had a basic prior knowledge of the university as well as secondary school system before I got here but my actual experiences were very different then what I had been shown on paper. This, I believe, has proved to be the most interesting part of my research experience.

Things I Will Miss . . .  

Rustenberg Desert

Cape Town Sunset 

I am going to miss all the people that I have gotten friendly with her and the relationships that I have made.  Everyone here has been just warm, welcoming, and helpful.  The students were great and I feel as though I got to know some of them pretty well (through the 3rd year camp as well as the interviews). My housemates worked out really well and the people I have met have provided a diverse and dynamic group of friends throughout South Africa.  I feel very comfortable in this environment and would not be disappointed if I ended up back here soon enough.

Pilanesberg Scenery

I am going to miss the chance to explore this wonderful country.  I have never been anywhere in which the scenery is so vastly different as well as the people.  There is so much to discover and learn here that I  wish I had more time.  There are endless possibilities here, for education, cultural studies, and travel and I hope to pursue them all, eventually.

Realeka HS

As a teacher, all you ever want to do is make an impact on a students life.  I feel in my classes that is possible and happens sometimes.  But here I feel as though there is so much that can be done (and will be done hopefully in the future) and it is hard to leave knowing that.  Education here is exhausting, but the same can be said for the U.S..  South Africa and the U.S. have come a long way but they are still a far ways away from where my expectations are for both systems.  In both cases, I feel as though, there is so much to be done it's almost daunting and weighs on you.  However,  I must remember that this is why I do what I do and why as teachers we are drawn to this profession (despite all the annoyances that go on).


And Things I Will Not Miss . . . 

One of my least favorite animals
 after this summer 

Every morning at 4:45 two roosters, that roam the area around my house, crow and continuously go until past 7.  Honestly, I am constantly awaken by these two animals.   I will admit I want to braai these roosters every morning and do not see the likability in these animals.  I am looking forward roosterless Takoma Park.

Yes, the roosters roam
the streets and campus 

I find South Africa exhausting but mostly because how some things are done here.  Let me qualify that statement with this is not the case all the time or everywhere.  Furthermore, this is not to say that the way things are done is bad but  being American I have ideas and preconceived notions of how things might be completed more efficinetly and I wish South Africa would adopt some of these ways (but won't for numerous and obvious reasons).  I have to stop myself sometimes from getting annoyed (and laugh) and remember that sometimes language is a barrier or things are just different.  For example, I just wanted to buy a baby gift for the Burman's online from a store in South Africa, but you can't do that, the service is not provided.  However,  I think my interaction with the Post Office man, in Potch, the other day sums up some of my experiences:
Me:
When I send this package to Cape Town, is there anyway that I can make sure it gets to the people?  Tracking number? Register number?
P.O. Man:
They will phone you and tell you.

I had to laugh because I felt like I walked right into that one; moreover, he was being serious, he was not joking.  In the U.S. someone might have listed the options but that was not his first thought and in many ways he is correct. I forget sometimes that South Africa is still, despite their progressive efforts, a 3rd world country attempting to transition into a 1st world (the goal is by 2013, I heard).

In The End . . .

NorthWest Province Sunset 

Seapoint Sunset 

However, despite not missing some things, all of it makes me love South Africa more (the people and the culture) and is one of the reasons I am intrigued by, so it goes both ways.

This winter/summer in South Africa was amazing and eye opening in so many ways.  I have had the chance to explore the country more as well as get to know more people and experience education at various levels.  It has been unforgettable and I look forward to returning because this is not goodbye just farewell for now!

Catch you all on the other side . . .

Strike South Africa Style and Weekend Happenings

Strike, Strike, Strike!!!

On Friday, a total of 495,000 people (two major unions- nurses and teachers but 245,00 of them were teachers) in South Africa went on strike this past Wednesday (www.businessweek.com/news/2010-08-17/south-africa-nurses-teachers-snub-offer-will-strike.html).  It appears that the main issue is that people want a higher wage toward living expenses (ZAR 1000 or $165), which I understand and support.  The workers had a one-day strike August 10th (meaning they did a day strike to tell the government if their needs were not met then they would strike till they were), which was after a three-day weekend so students were out of school for 4 days.  However, there does not appear to be an end to the strike in the near future (the strike is indefinite because it appears that the government is not willing to give in on the demands anytime soon).  My friend Shan was doing research with a primary school in East London and was supposed to head to Durban next but the strike brought her back here because there was no work that could be done. 


One report said that the Government had made 40,00 study packs available for students and those that have Internet could download study materials.  The Government urged students to join study groups and have asked volunteers to run these groups. The newspaper headline the other day blared "Students teach themselves," with a picture of students writing on the board and teaching their fellow students.  Another article stated that as a past teacher, he understood the want of more money but he just wishes that when many teachers get back into the classroom that they will actually teach (sounds like what I saw last week).  There have been some instances of the strikers stopping children and intimidating them into not attending school.  I understand the need to strike and the need for more money (teachers don't do their job because of the money that is sure)  but it disappoints me that this strike, with no end in sight, hinders the education of so many students that are already struggling.  

The Weekend

On Friday night, Noelia and I headed to the campus bar/restaurant called the Drak and had a couple drinks and some decent food.  The place was packed and it is a favorite hangout for many of the students.  Very much like what you would find near or on many campuses around the U.S.  

Vaal River 

On Saturday, I again rented a car for one last day trip to a nearby town that I heard much about but had yet to visit.  Potch is great for college students because it is a city with a small town feel but it does get a bit boring after a while (it also reminds me of Oxford, OH).  Anyway, Noelia and I picked up the car early and were able to run a couple errands at the mall, the liquor store (she needed Amaretto to take home), and the post office.

A true campus shop-
offering everything and open 24 hrs

Around 1 we started the 45 minute drive to Parys (pronounced pârés).  Parys is situated on the Vaal River and is the oldest and largest meteorite impact site in the world.  They compare it to the Seine (but I would say a very, very African reminder or not at all), and people tend to head their on the weekends to get away (http://www.parys.info/).  My camera gave out right before we got to the town but I have a couple pics of the river (see pics).  Anyway, the little town is filled with antique shops (a ton), some cute little coffee houses /restaurants and a couple other stores (clothing, jewelry, outdoors, adventure).  It is very quaint and nice but a couple of the stores as well as the restaurants were closed by the time we got there at 2 (I am confused why they all close so early when they want to make money . . . bu oh well).   Nonetheless, we walked around the main street and stores for a couple hours and enjoyed the warm, wonderful weather we have had the past few days.  Before we knew it we had to head back and get ready for another goodbye dinner with just the three girls (Noelia left early this morning).  

Shop sign

It has been pretty quiet here at the house and in Potch this weekend (the Finnish boys are gone for a couple days Noelia left) so today Frieda, Matthew and I spent the day hanging out in the backyard enjoying the warm sun (I am very, very pale) and just relaxing.  It was a nice lazy Sunday for me since this is officially my last one before school begins a week from tomorrow (I will be getting ready for school a week from today Sunday)!

Fun Fact

I found out the other day, that the street that runs parallel to North-West is Oak Avenue which is a 6,84K (452 miles) lined with oak trees that were planted in 1910.  It is the longest avenue of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere and is considered a national monument.  Who knew!

The End is in Sight (a brief update)

This past week has been filled with a slew of different events and the realization that I am leaving in just six short days.

To begin, I scheduled 8 interviews between two lecturers and 6 students.  I had thought this would be the last week of interviews (fingers were crossed) but one of the lecturers got sick so she was unable to make her interview so my last one will be early Monday morning.  As for the students, I had 6 interviews setup and two of them stood me up; however, they restored my faith in students by showing up to my office to apologize and then sit down for an interview (I was impressed in the end).  I also had one student come up to me when I came into the 1st-year class to help facilitate an activity and ask me if he could still be interviewed (I was not about to say no). As of this moment, I have 24 interviews (5 lecturers and 19 students), which is way more than I had thought but not looking forward to having to transcribe them all.  Who knows more  students might show up at my office next week! I am still focused on my research and what needs to be done but once that last interview has been completed I have an inkling that I will have more to say about them.

On Wednesday night, Pekka and Henry were nice enough to throw Noelia and I a goodbye party (which included bottles of wine, brandy and coke (brandywine as it is called here) and beer).  Everyone in the house participated as well as an honorary member of the house, Jurie (one of the guys friends here).  Also, one of Pekka and Henry's professors is here doing some guest lecturing so he joined in with the celebration as well as the other roommates and friend.  We just sat around and drank for awhile and then decided that we needed to eat, which turned into more drinks and dancing hte night away. A crazy and unexpected goodbye night, which made working and doing things I needed to do the last two days a bit rougher (but well worth it).

Today, I had a lunch with Professor Roux, who once again is just lovely.  We discussed my future plans (dissertation, research, fellowships), my experience here at North-West and the possibility of me coming back at some other point.  I also had the chance to do a short presentation on content area reading to the chair of the department, Professor Nel as well as a few of her students.  It was a small presentation but good practice for the future.  I have a meeting with Professor Nel next week to ask a few questions about the program at North-West as well as just to talk with her one last time before I leave.

It is crazy to think that 10 weeks have flown by and I am back to MD in less than a week.  At the moment, I am excited to come home but sort of sad to leave here.  I am looking forward to my last weekend here (have plans to explore one more area) and wrapping up my research.

Still more to write before this blog takes a break!

House Braai and Lion Cubs

Prepping 

Braai time 

A couple weeks ago we decided as a house, to have a celebration and goodbye braai this past Saturday.  Henry's birthday was on Tuesday (he turned 22 and we baked him a cake . . . not my best work ever) and then Noelia and I are leaving soon so we thought we would put it all together in one celebration.  We went as a house to Spar (the grocery store) on Saturday to buy the things we needed and each and everyone was in charge of some aspect of the braai.  Noelia and I were in charge of the starch (pop and sauce- corn meal and sauce) as well as the vegetables (not shocking there), Frieda was in charge of the pasta salad and the braai, Henry and Pekka did the guacamole dip and a salad and Matthew just showed up.  As for the meat, (because it is not a braai without tons of meat) everyone was in charge of their own (I had lamb and beef sausage). Since a braai is suppossed to take awhile Frieda started the fire at 1 and we were ready to grill by 2:30 (much faster pace so a bit shorter than the traditional South African one).  There was tons of delicious food, the drinks were flowing, and we had a great time (we were all passed out by 10:30)!

Frieda, Henry, and Matthew working
to make sure the braai fire was good 

Me and the tiger cub

On Sunday, Noelia, Matthew and I decided to rent a car and head up to Rustenberg to see some lion cubs as well as whatever else we could find.  We left at 7:45 and were at Sundown Lion Park (http://www.sundownlionpark.com/) by 9:30.  The park is nothing special and is located near Pilanesburg where we were last weekend for our game drive.  The Lion Park's main purpose is for research and conservation.  There are three young cubs that you can play with and pet. One is 5 months and then there is a brother and sister who are 7 months old.  We were led into their cage and allowed to pet them. They were so cute that you forget they are dangerous animals.  I ended up playing with the 5 month old and all he wanted to do was bite so he went for my knee and clawded me (see pic).  It did not hurt that much but I was not about to play with him again (it appears even wild cats do not like me)!  The handlers/ researchers ended up letting them out of the cage (which made them so happy) and  three cubs were able to run around the grounds of the park (pretty crazy to be there when they did that). There was another cage with 6 other lions but they were too old, too naughty, and too unsafe to play with (8-9 months), so they were not allowed out.  The handlers let them out once a week when they feed them because a cow leg is the only reason they will come back into the cage!  The park also has full-grown lions around the park as well but they are not as cute and you obviously cannot play with them!

The three cubs, brother and sister in the back
 (7months) and the 5month old in the front 

  Some fun lion facts:

• The more often you feed them the more often they reproduce so these lions are fed once a week 
• Each time a lioness gives birth, they have between 2 and 4 cubs (gestation is 3 months)
• Lions learn how to hunt in groups but learning to kill is an individual trait
• Lioness are better at hunting and killing then their male counterparts
• The males are separated from the females as soon as they turn 2 to make sure they do not interbreed
•  Lions spend more time asleep than almost any other animal 

Rustenberg from atop the mountain

The traveling family car 

After the lion park, we decided to explore Rusetenberg (which is not exciting but was one of the host cities for the World Cup).  We first tried to find somewhere for lunch but we got lost and randomly stopped at Information center.  It just so happens that they serve breakfast and lunch.  There were three Uruguayan guys that worked there and they tlaked us into staying (and were really excied to meet and speak with Noelia).  The three guys (father and two sons) have been traveling around the world (http://blog.the3rdrock.com/2010/05/26/uruguay-por-el-mundo/)  in this crazy car (see picture) for almost 3 years.  They are currently in South Africa because they wanted to make sure they saw the all the Uruguayan games during the World Cup (they said they traveled around ZA then any other country)and now are toward the end of their trip and headed to Argentina (their last stop) in a few weeks before heading home  (http://www.uruguayporelmundo.com/).  I thought it was pretty cool what they were doing and impressive as well.

The path to the right 

So African looking 

We left the eatery and were told that there was a nature researve down the road with some hiking trails and some wildlife.  Kgaswane Mountain Reserve is small but we decided to explore it for its trails and good views.  The reserve is situated on the other side of a mountain so we drove up the mountain and had a great view of the city.  The city is not a beautiful one (very industrial) but vast and you can see for miles when it is clear.  We conitnued onto the trails and the driving path through the reserve.  The trail was misleading nad part of the way in  there was a rope that said not to pass through but we did anyway.  However, we did not get far because we realized once we walked down the side of the mountain we would have to make our way back up and there was not enough time for that!  We got back in the car and explored the loop through the park and we headed to a shop for snacks . . .  back to Potch we went.  It was not an easy trip back because the signs were sparse and hard to find at times (for example one was hidden in the brush) so we found ourselves frustrated!  But we made it back to Potch just as hte sun was setting over the vast North West District desert and it was gorgeous!

Sunset outside of Potch 

Springbok

Another excellent and tiring weekend!  I am finishing up my interviews this week and should have about 20 all together at the end.  No more big trips planned (maybe a day trip or two) but I leave a week from Thursday so my time in South Africa is drawing near!  Crazy how time flies.

Henry's new favorite beer 

Just in case I forgot he was a predator . . .
 look at those teeth!

Pekka our vegetarian
(who isn't while being in ZA)

Our attempt at pap (corn meal)  

Noelia and one of the cubs (he likes her)

So cute!

One of the handlers playing with one of the cubs

Matthew, the scientist, looking
at the mounds made by termites

Not sure I wanted to take a trail
that has interpretive in the name

The 8 and 9 month old cubs, three were born at Sundown and 3 were brought in from another park.  They don't get to play outside because they won't come back in unless there is food (a cow leg or two)

Sunset over the North West Province desert 

The Harsh Realities of Education

One of the classroom buildings

The block of school buildings

Wednesday was most likely the most exhausting day I have had since being in South Africa.  At the same time, it is the one that made me remember why I am here and why I am passionate about education.

My colleague Scott, who has been in South Africa on and off for three years on a  fellowship to help teach English to students at the high school level, was nice enough to invite me to the school he visits twice a week so I could experience a day at a township school.  The school is located about 1 1/2 hours away from Potchefstroom in a small little town called Ottosdal and the school is Realeka Secondary School.   Realeka is situated in the middle of the township and a very rural community so the students come from the surrounding areas.  The school houses about 1000 students, grade 8 to12.  However, each year the student population declines (400 9th grades, 300, 10th graders, etc.) after the 9th grade because students in South Africa are not required to attend school after that.

Students during lunch break 

Buckets for the toilets in the main building.

The students are in class for 10 periods a day, 35 minutes each (not enough time for learning), with an hour lunch break.  The students stay in one classroom all day and the teachers move around.  Most days the school has basic electricity, no heat, and no water (see the bucket picture for the bathroom).  The doors to the classroom do not close and the windows are broken so the room is colder than it is outside. On Wednesday, it was really cold and windy and lunch was not being served at the school (there is no cafeteria just a little shack that offers food) so many students did not come to school or left after lunch.  A 10th grade classroom I entered had 30 students at the start of the day and by the last period there were 16.  Many of the teachers I met today are nice people but they do not teach.  What I mean by that is that they do not plan for class so they go in unprepared, show up late to class, don't show up at all, yell at students for the entire period for not knowing the material (which they had not been assigned). The principle does not lead the school, he is simply in the position because of politics and in one class I observed the teacher left the room take a phone call and had the students copy correct sentences off the board for 25 minutes.  Even more disturbing, after lunch (there were 4 periods left), I walked by 6 classrooms, where there were no teachers present during the middle of the class.  It was heart wrenching to see. I asked one student how he felt when a teacher did not show up to teach the class and he responded "pretty bad."  He also said he is aware when the teachers do not prepare either (today I saw 4 teachers and 3 had not prepared).

A classroom

Broken door, broken window,
chalkboards falling off the wall 

In South Africa, there are 11 recognized languages and one of the problems that comes with that is that many times English is not the home language so they learn it as a subject or are taught it once they enter school (bilingual idea).  However, many of the teachers do not speak English to the students and conduct most of the classes in Sesthwana, in the case of this school (this puts students at a great disadvantage both for school and for their future education).  In August the government administers a Grade 12 test (Matriculation Exam) for all seniors.  It is given in only two languages, English and Afrikaans, so the students who do not speak either as their first language are at a grave disadvantage.  This is why many of the black students in South Africa do poorly or fail their exams, are at a great disadvantage if they go to college or in many cases they do not continue onto college or any kind of higher education.

Just in case I forgot I was in Africa . . .
those are sheep that were on the school campus

A shack located near the school. 

 Scott and I got to teach a class that did not have a teacher.  The lesson was about prefixes and suffixes and the 9th grade students were really trying and appeared to really enjoy the lesson.   There is no doubt that many students want to learn but unfortunately, they are not in the best environment for that.  Many times students end up teaching themselves because of the educational situation they find themselves in often.  If this continues and nothing is done South Africa is going to have an even greater education problem on their hands.

Students walking home from school

Honestly, at the end of the day I was exhausted from being at the school and dealing with the teachers and the conditions. I know I have painted an awful picture of this school but this is the case in many townships and poor cities throughout South Africa and much is not improving because teachers, educators, the government, and the parents are not really working to change things.  It is upsetting to see students being subjected to this on a daily basis and have no outlet in which to know better.  I just felt that I needed to share my experience because this just put education in South Africa as well as globally in a whole new perspective.