Updates, updates, updates

Hey all!
I've been really busy with service and classes lately. Spring break starts in one week, but I have 2 tests and my research proposal due before then! Service has been going well. My kids are really great. It can be frustrating at times because they are only at a 1st grade reading level and they have so much potential, but they don't have the resources they need. Starting this week and the week after break I will start an after school creative writing program. Kids from grade 3 and 4 will participate (hopefully). I'm also going to do the program with kids from the grade 3 Afrikaans class (every grade has an English and Afrikaans section). I can only work with 8 of them, because they are the only ones who can write in English, but I look forward to being able to reach out to more of the school. Hopefully this program can turn into my capstone if it is successful, but we'll see! (These are pictures of me with my two classes and the class rules they made up)

On Wednesday we were invited to sit in on a meeting with Parliament and President Zuma. We got to witness Zuma answer questions about a lot of different topics. It was really interesting to see. The security was a lot more relaxed than Obama's security in the US. The interactions between Zuma/ the ANC and opposition parties were tense. The ANC tended to boo and cheer a lot. I was surprised by the relaxation of the proceedings and, in my opinion, the rudeness of the ANC to opposition. Zuma talked like most politicians (talking a lot but not necessarily answering questions).
Afterwards we attended a book launch by Manuel Castelles. If you have never heard of him, google him. He is one of the most influential men of our time. He spoke a lot about American politics and the role of technology in the modern world. I had the pleasure of meeting him after his talk. It was so neat to meet such an important and wise person!
Yesterday we visited a clinic in one of the townships and discussed HIV with a doctor. I learned a lot of shocking things. Something that really struck me: They have about 40 school girls come into the clinic on a regular basis, some as young as 11, to get shots to prevent pregnancy. Very few of them, if any, use condoms, even though it is very likely that their boyfriends have multiple partners. It is surprising to hear stories like this in light of the rampant spreading of HIV in the country.
We also attended a meeting of the Mozambiquan society in which we watched 2 documentaries about the xenophia attacks in South Africa last year. I had never heard about these attacks while in America. However, the attacks were widespread and extremely violent. The first documentary was about a man who was burned alive (warning: this is disturbing). The second documentary was in a Mozambiquan language with subtitles in Portuguese. So, we had it translated by members of the club. The discussion afterwards was very provoking because some of the people were here last year and experienced the fear of being a foreigner at the time. We Americans compared the situation to undocumented immigrants from Mexico.

Also, last weekend we hiked up Lion's Head (a mountain next to Table Mountain). The view at the top was unreal.

Molo!

Molweni! (Hello all in Xhosa)
I want to update you, but I'm going to start from today and go back in time. Please forgive me.
I realize that my last blog post may have seemed a little stressed, but no need to worry, it's all starting to work out. I talked to my teacher last week and I now have my own group of 12 students or so that I will work on reading with. I had 6 students today for the first time. Unfortunately, there wasn't a room for us to use, so we read in the back of the classroom, which was really distracting. I assessed their reading abilities and I'm really excited to work with them everyday. I also look forward to working with the other group of 6 tomorrow (there wasn't enough time today).
Sunday was a nice warm day so I went to the beach (Camps Bay) with 2 girls (Bre and Emily) from my house and some of our African friends. I put my feet in the other side of the Atlantic and couldn't help but think "somewhere, many many miles away, there is dirty beach with a boardwalk and Thrasher's fries and Fischer's popcorn." We also played soccer and i almost got a goal.
Friday night we had a potluck dinner at our house. I made mom's rice krispies, they were a hit! Friday during the day we went to Bo-Kaap, which is a Muslim area in Cape Town. We got to go into a mosque and learn about the religion. This area is also known for it's brightly colored houses, which were very beautiful. The highlight of the tour was a lunch that a woman made for us in her house. We had samoosas (pockets of chicken and vegetables- my favorite! my teacher brought me some at schoo the other day), currey, chicken, and kooksisters (little donuts), among a lot of other food.
Last weekend we had a 4 day weekend because it was Women's Day! On Thursday we went out for Mexican food. Friday we went shopping on Long Street (the main street in Cape Town) and then we had a braii (a South African barbecue) at our house. Everybody we knew in Cape Town came and we ate, drank, talked, and watched movies until 5 am! Saturday we went to Cybar (a local university bar) and watched the SA vs. Australia rugby game. I tried to learn the game. We also had Springboks shots. Springboks is the SA rugby team, and the shots include peppermint liquor and Amarula. Delicious!
Sunday was the highlight of the weekend. We went to Mzoli's meat restaurant in the Langa township. This is a very popular place for people to go on Sundays. We ate meat and pap with our hands and stayed there from 11 AM until sundown. There were hundreds of people there, hanging out in the street, and dancing. It was amazing and so much fun!















I'm also getting ready for our homestay weekend next weekend, spring break in just 3 weeks, and Steve's visit in a month! I'm having so much fun, but I also miss everybody a lot, so be sure to send me updates on your life. Love you all!

Manenburg Primary

Goeie naand! ("good evening" in Afrikaans)
A lot has happened since I last wrote. I have started my service work at Manenburg Primary School (kindergarten-7th grade). I am working in a 3rd grade classroom. There are about 40 kids in the class (for one teacher), but they are really great kids. I spent about 30 minutes observing them one day, and when I returned for a few minutes a few days later, they attacked me with hugs. I couldn't physically leave the room because there were so many children immersing me in a hug! It was such a great feeling! They had trouble concentrating and behaving the first day that I was there, but hopefully this will get better. I could talk about the school for hours, but for now, I am going to copy a reflection piece about the service that I had to write for my Afrikaans class. It's a little long, but it should give you a pretty good idea on my thoughts so far. I am really confused and overwhelmed, but I'm also absolutely in love with the kids and school.

I started my service work at Manenburg Primary School last week. I spent the first couple of days going to most of the classrooms in the school so that I could choose which class I would like to work in. Many things that I saw overwhelmed me. All of the classes had large amount of students. The third grade class that I chose to work with has about 40 students for one teacher. The classroom is small compared to the amount of people in there. I have never seen such a large class and I wondered how the teacher could possibly keep control. I saw the teacher grab a student by the sweatshirt when he was misbehaving. I was shocked to witness this because in America teachers cannot even touch a student.

I also doubt, with the large class size, that any of the students get the individual attention that they need and deserve. When I asked my teacher what kind of help I could offer her class, she asked that I read one-on-one with the students. She told me that most of the students cannot read and, to demonstrate her point, asked that I read with a little girl. The girl could read at about a first or second grade level. She could not read basic words like “the” and “be.” However, she could read the words “Rainbow Machine,” which was the title of the book. This led me to believe that she had memorized most of the words that she did know, rather than actually reading them. Having just worked in an American third grade classroom last semester, I was surprised to see that the girl had a much lower reading ability than my American students.

I learned that a CIEE Service-Learning student worked in the same classroom last semester. She had read individually with the students, as well as played games with them during their free time. The children spoke very fondly of her and she donated most of the books in the classroom. While it was nice to hear how much the children loved this student, I felt like her work there was not as sustainable as something I would like to do. I hope to make a lasting impact at the school. While reading with the students may help a few individuals for a few months, I want to contribute something that will help the school even after I am gone. However, after spending the week in the third grade classroom, I realize that perhaps the most help I can offer is circulating the room to offer individual attention to any struggling students. I feel helpless about the situation. I keep thinking that the only thing that would really help the school is thirty more teachers and new facilities. Of course, I can’t offer that kind of help. I hope that with more time at the school I will be able to think of the best way that I can help.

The Afrikaans that I am learning will be very helpful during my time at Manenburg. All of the students and the teacher speak Afrikaans. About half of the conversation and instruction that occurs in the class is in Afrikaans. The teacher assigns them reading in English and Afrikaans. A few times, while practicing spelling with the students, they have spelled in Afrikaans. I also noticed that many of them call me “Auntie,” which I learned in class is an Afrikaans term of respect. I was playing a clapping game with a group of children and they sang the song in Afrikaans. When I asked what they were singing, they said “Oh, I’m sorry, we’ll sing it in English.” I then said, “No, can you teach it to me in Afrikaans?” They then got very excited that I was singing in Afrikaans, even though I’m sure I mispronounced a lot of the words. I think any time that I speak or understand Afrikaans with the children will help to bridge a gap between us. They appreciate my effort to speak their language. I think it also helps me be more relatable to the students. Since I am foreign and white, they tend to treat me with a lot of admiration, almost as if I am royalty. This makes me feel very uncomfortable. The children are always saying “I like your eyes” or “I wish I had hair like you.” I do not want them to think that I am any better than them. I think this hurts their self-esteem and only furthers the divide between us. Hopefully, by the end of the semester, they will think of us as equals. I think that learning Afrikaans in class and from the children will help them to understand that I admire many of their qualities as well.