Last Day in Cape Town

Hello All!

This is Manny a senior BME volunteering at Ellerton Primary with earlier blogger Drew Johnson. Today was our last day in Cape Town, and we all had to say goodbye to our learners and fellow teachers. It was an extremely emotional day for us all.

Throughout the past two weeks I have gotten to not only talk to some of the teachers about the education system in South Africa, but also experience firsthand both the great advancements and issues of the modern-day system. Many of the learners at Ellerton travel great distances from the townships, which are non-permanant settlements outside of Cape Town, to attend school everyday. While this speaks well for the quality of education at Ellerton, it is obvious that the schools in the townships are as inadequate as the housing. The government is currently implementing a plan to build permanent homes with electricity and running water for the nearly 9 million citizens living in shacks, but this takes time. In addition, the economic gap between ethnic groups has yet to be closed. After a lengthy conversation with one teacher I learned that when the schools in South Africa were desegregated, instead of raising the colored and black schools up to the level of the white schools, standards were decreased to the lowest level. This caused all the families that could afford privates schooling, mainly the white families, to leave the public schooling system. Less than 2% of the learners at Ellerton Primary are white.

While the conditions within the South African education system are not ideal, the children have proven to be a beacon for the future. I spent most of my time assisting in a 2nd grade class and came to love all the children I worked with. They were energy packed and had little-to-no attention span like all 8-year-olds, but were instantly accepting and eager to learn. I was greeted the first day with songs and finished today with heart-warming letters from each (and even a few tears). Many learners do not get the love and support at home and simply needed one-on-one attention and someone to care for them. The teachers are engaged in the classrooms, but do not have the time or resources to attend to each learner’s individual needs. I hope that my time spent with them has touched their lives like they have touched mine, and that meeting someone from America has broadened their horizons. Heading back to the U.S. I plan to keep in touch with the learners at Ellerton as they develop into the men and women that will shape the continuing transformation of their country. Based on my experiences with them, I am excited for what the future holds.

It was a crazy day in Cape Town

So you may be sitting there wondering “Nathan, why haven’t you added any pictures to the blog yet?”  The short answer is the internet here isn’t perfect, and I don’t want to rack up a huge bill uploading pictures (they charge by the megabyte).  I will instead posts some picture blogs after we get back into the states and collage all of the pictures into an awesome picture blog.

So on to the last to days.  Today was incredible, we started in the morning at our school (St. Paul’s) by teaching the lesson that we did yesterday, which was the Water Bottle Rockets MindSET Module.  We taught grade 5 and 6 about energy, Newton’s laws, and force.  We split the learners into small groups where they worked with another EGL to complete a worksheet and build a rocket.  We then (thanks to some amazing engineering by Akshay Desai and Daniel Kiefer) launched the rockets into the air.  They went everywhere from 1 meter to 13 meters.  It was absolutely amazing.  It gave the kids a chance to learn by doing experiments, which, according to some of the teachers is very rare.  All of the kids went crazy over the rocket launches, and I even saw some of the volunteers crack a smile.  I really enjoyed the chance to introduce the kids to a different kind of learning and do something that I’ve been doing for a couple years back in the United States.  I’m not sure if the lesson will stick, but I hope the kids come running back to their parents or friends and say “GUESS WHAT I GOT TO DO TODAY!?!?!?  I got to shoot rockets in school!”.  I would count that as an awesome day at school.

And now, another guest blogger (I swear I could write these blogs, but people are chomping at the bit to blog too [sarcasm]).  Here is Melissa Boelstler to tell you about her experience so far (but really today):

I have fallen in love with South Africa since the day I arrived.  Every day reveals more beautiful wonders than the last. Between the beautiful scenery and attractions, the adorable children at the school, and the amazing people I’ve gotten to know and spend my time with here, having a bad time would’ve been impossible.

Today we were able to explore one of the seven new wonders of the natural world (according to some random sign), Table Mountain. It’s a beautiful mountain that sits right in Cape Town, and if we went to Cape Town without visiting it, it would just be disappointing [editors note: it was on my bucket list]. All 15 of us met up after volunteering at the base of the mountain to start our hike to the top. We got a later start than we wanted, so to avoid hiking down in the dark we had to be quick. We ended up splitting up into three groups and I was in the middle group (we had a fast group and a slow group, based on hiking abilities), and this is what happened.

So out of all the trails up to pick, we decided on the one called Skeletons Gorge. Yes, I know it sounds like not the best one to pick, but we heard it was easy. We were wrong, it happens sometimes. After about 15 minutes up [editors note: it was 15 minutes of climbing steps, which as the least physically fit member of the group was rather difficult], we came across some ladders. We climbed up about 6 sets of ladders and once we got to the top the trail disappeared. We were in a gorge with a waterfall coming down, trying to climb up the rocks with really no other option.  We literally had to climb up a waterfall for 100 m or so. After some very careful decisions and some awesome climbing, we managed to make it up safely and all of the sudden the path reappeared! There was even a sign that suggests you don’t climb that part of the mountain, because it could be dangerous in the winter and rainy months [editors note: the current months in South Africa]. As helpful as it was to see that AFTER the trail, we were relieved to see some stable ground. After a couple hours on much better terrain, we made it up to the first peak, and we spotted the first group in the distance. To make sure it was them we decided to yell out GO and were thrilled when the response BLUE was returned [editors note: this was really me yelling “GO”, even while out of breath.  My voice carries a ways]. After a few of those, we finally caught up to them, only to have them start their hike back down to beat the sunset (hiking in the dark is very dangerous). We decided to keep on going to the top to see the full view and take the cable car down. It was about 5:00, and we still had an hour to the cable car, which closed at 6:00. Needless to say we were walking quickly; no one wanted to get stuck on top of that mountain. After losing the path a couple of times, walking through some marsh and strange plants, and, after stopping for a couple pictures, we made it to the cable car with 3 minutes to spare. Plenty of time! We were exhausted, but every second was worth it. From the top, we could see the sun set over the ocean with the mountains range running straight into the coast. Even the cable car ride down was an amazing sight.  Definitely something that you can’t see anywhere else [editors note: unless you check the blog after we get back, when I will be posting videos].

More Guest Blogs from South Africa

Today we have Andrew Czyszczon writing about his experience so far:

Hi everyone,

I’m Andrew, a Junior studying Mechanical Engineering. I’d like to share a bit about my day today, which is similar each day in structure but offers new experiences and adventures daily . Since St. Paul’s Primary School is the furthest of the 3, we left the volunteer house around 7:15AM and arrived at the school about 15 minutes later. The past few days we’ve been working with some 5th-7th graders who come in early to get extra help with their math work. The first week or so I was primarily with fourth grade classes, spending at least one day with each class and also moving around with specific teachers (i.e. math, technology, etc.). This opportunity has allowed me to get to know some of those students individually, even creating super-cool handshakes with several of them. Last night while going to the local grocery store for some snacks one of the kids spotted me from across the store and yelled my name while frantically waving. Today, I was actually with a few 2nd grade and 3rd grade classes which was a new experience. They were probably just as rowdy as the 4th graders, but at a slightly lower volume. During the day today as well I was able to grade some practice exams with Melissa which I think the teachers appreciated because it allow them extra time to work with the children.

The nice thing about working at the school furthest from the house is that we are near “downtown” Cape Town as well as several museums. After work today we visited a museum known as the “Slave Lodge,” which formerly housed slaves of the Dutch East India Company in the 17th and 18th centuries. I found it pretty interesting to learn that slaves  were actually brought to South Africa from other countries including Indonesia, Mozambique, Madagascar, as well as West Africa where a majority of slaves brought to the Americas were from. The museum building also housed several interesting exhibits relating to the region, from weapons and treasures of the original Dutch settlers to a silent film and photographs from an Italian anthropologist/movie director who visited the Zulu people in South Africa in the 1920s.

Following our visit to the museum we decided that it would be nice to walk back to the house and stop for food along the way. Once we determined where we were in the city we decided to find a restaurant we learned about during our initial tour, the East Asian Bazaar. The restaurant itself was over a block long and had counters where an incredible variety of Indian food was being prepared. After eating the walk back proved necessary and fortunately we had amazing weather to enjoy along the way.

Hope you’ve enjoyed reading this blog…and now back to South Africa.

-Andrew

Nathan’s footnote:
Tomorrow we will be launching water bottle rockets.  Oh yes, I’m bringing MindSET to South Africa.

South Africa Guest Blogger #1

And now, a guest blog from Drew!

Hello All!,

My name is Drew Johnson and I am a senior in Nuclear Engineering. In fact, I am the only nuclear member of EGL, which makes me “special” and “unique”. At least that is what the rest of the EGL community keeps telling me. My trip to South Africa has been an amazing one, starting in Washington state. I took a slightly different route to SA, going through London right after the close of the Olympics. Despite the 15 hour layover, I got to take a picture with a member of the gold medal winning four-person crew team from South Africa. At that moment I knew my trip was about to be ultra-amazing.  Since arriving here, I have been working at Ellerton Primary School. I’ve primarily been working in the school library where my responsibilities include putting books away and helping the kids with various projects. One of the coolest things about the library is that I get to see and interact with all of the different classes and grades at the school. This gives me a unique perspective on the progression of the students and how they develop over their years of education at the school. Other students volunteering at the school celebrated instant fame as they were welcomed into their classrooms with gratuitous amounts of hugs and affection. I, on the other hand, did not receive such a warm welcome until very recently. I attribute this to the fact that I am the only one of the school campus who has a beard, and I believe they think I look scary. I swear I’m nice! Most kids in the school think that  I am 35, even though I am one of the younger volunteers in our group. My facade as “The Enforcer” has diminished as of later, and the children have become more social and curious around me. I talk with them about America and coming from the west coast. They are always disappointed when I tell them I don’t know celebrities like Beyonce. Some projects include studying the flags of different countries, where America is a favourite, and writing biographies about famous people. A few children decided to write their biographies about me, where I was more than happy to contribute my time and attention to help them to complete their project. I have also had the privilege of teaching an entire class for the day with the help of the other volunteers at Ellerton. I can assure you it is a much different experience than teaching nuclear classes back at Michigan! It would be hard to find a better bonding experience than handling a class of 6th graders for a day. The cultural experiences don’t end at the doors of the school. The volunteer house has many people from England, Ireland, Russia, and Germany. Speaking with them and learning about their stories has been as interesting as learning from the kids at school. Bonding with learners from school, guests at the volunteer house, and fellow EGL members has made this a trip I will never forget. Friendships have been forged here that will never fade and I look forward to the upcoming year with the new relationships I’ve developed in the past week. So much has happened in the last week, and I couldn’t ask for a better crew to be here with. With an entire week to go, I can’t wait for the fantastic adventures still in store for me and the rest of the gang. Hopefully we get to keep teaching maths all day and bonding with the Ellerton crowd. From Cape Town, Stay classy Ann Arbor and Go Blue!

Cape Town Weekend Recap!

Hello Everyone! This is Tim Curran, a senior CHE/IOE student on the Cape Town VA trip. I am writing a blog post to first briefly talk about my experience volunteering, and then to talk about some of our weekend adventures, specifically Friday night and Saturday.

As Vicki mentioned in her previous post, I am working along with her at an elementary school near downtown Cape Town. While she has been placed in the 1st grade, I am in a class of 42 6th graders, which has been an exciting but exhausting experience! I have been helping wherever the teacher needs assistance, whether that is teaching a science lesson on photosynthesis (I did that two hours into my first day), grading math quizzes, or typing up English assignments for the kids to complete. So far it has been a great experience, and I look forward to continuing to volunteer again starting tomorrow!

On Friday night, we had the opportunity to go to dinner with an EGL alumni named Ryan Purcell who lives and works in Cape Town. We went to dinner at a place called Mama Africa at the heart of downtown Cape Town and enjoyed a delicious meal. The more adventurous of us tried delicacies like warthog, crocodile kebabs, ostrich steak, kudu (antelope) steak, or springbok (gazelle) steak, and everyone had a great meal and a fun time meeting Ryan [editors note: there was a combo plate for ~R250, so instead of ordering that the business savvy EGLs each ordered one of the meats for R125 and just shared, because EGLs rule]. The evening showed us that the network of EGL alumni truly extends everywhere!

On Saturday the schools were closed, but we still had an early morning, as we had a full day touring Cape Town and seeing the sights. We started the day with a beautiful scenic drive through Cape Town along the ocean, and we eventually reached Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope, the southernmost western part of Africa. From here we had some spectacular views, especially from the lighthouse on top of Cape Point. After driving to an area nearby and enjoying lunch at a seaside restaurant, we went to an area called Boulders, where we were able to see a multitude of African penguins. They were even smaller and cuter than we had anticipated, and it was difficult to restrain ourselves from trying to bring one home as a pet! In addition to the penguins, some other animal sightings for the day included several ostriches and a group of baboons, so we were able to see plenty of South African wildlife. After seeing the penguins, we ended the day with a tour and wine tasting at Groot Constantia, one of the wine farms in the greater Cape Town area [editors note: don’t worry, everyone was of legal South African drinking age]. Our guide, Eon, was friendly and funny and made the day even more enjoyable, and we are excited to have him as our tour guide for the rest of our weekend activities!

And now to talk about today’s activities, it’s back to Nathan!

Luckily for us, we got to sleep in till 8:30 am this morning!  It was amazing, since we all went to bed before midnight.  We started the day off with a quick trip to the oldest building on the island, the castle (it’s really a fort).  This was built by the Dutch and then occupied by the English, then the Dutch again, then the English again, and finally it’s now occupied by South Africa.  It housed a lot of 1700s war memorabilia and was a very interesting relic of the Colonial era.  We then took a short boat ride over to Robben Island, where many policial and regular prisoners were held during the aparthied era, including Nelson Mandella.  We first toured the island in a boat, and then walked through the prison itself.  It gave many of us a chance to reflect on the suffereing that some people went through to give the freedom that all South African’s enjoy today.  Nelson Mandella, specifically, was imprisoned for 27 years, which is longer than all of us have been alive.  I personally felt touched at the sacrifices made by people like Mandella in the name of equality and freedom.  After that, we took a ferry back to the mainland and drove up to Signal Hill, since Table Mountian was closed.  We had a mini EGL photo shoot with lots of crazy pictures (which I promise I’m going to post later… seriously) and got to enjoy a very nice view of Cape Town.  We then headed back to the house, excited to spend another week volunteering and helping our awesome learners out.

Look for another guest blogger from South Africa tomorrow, and maybe even some pictures.

It’s the weekend in Cape Town!

Sorry about the delay folks, we were without internet yesterday. We’ve entered our first weekend on the Volunteer trip and we have all been having an amazing time. We have been busy volunteering at our schools and trying to soak in as much of the culture as possible. We are split 8-4-3 between three different schools in Cape Town. I can only speak for the school with 8, but we will have others blogging about the 4 and 3 schools. Our school is St. Pauls Primary school, and it is located on the side of a mountain. It has about 800 learners (students), and they sit about 40 to a class. The learners are grades R (kindergarten) through 8. We were thrown into the proverbial fire from pretty much the first moment we set foot in St. Pauls. After a quick tour, we split into different class rooms and helped with everything from reading to maths to technology to PE. We have even been put in charge of classes when teachers do not show up. It has been very challenging work, but extremely awesome. A couple highlights have been when I spent most of a period helping a couple learners complete a worksheet about reading comprehension and the wheel. The teacher later remarked to me that that was one of the few times that one of the learners I helped had actually done his work. The teachers simply do not have time to give individual attention to students, so us getting a chance to help them will hopefully make a huge difference. I also found a kid in my class with my first name (Nathan). Since the learners are required to address everyone formally (“Master ___, Sir, Mam’, etc), the kids started addressing me as Sir. Nathan. After schools, the learners will usually approach one of the volunteers and ask “when are you coming back?” and “will we see you tomorrow?” with these huge grins on their face. Now for a bit from the other schools, here’s Vicki Yu who is volunteering at Prestridge Primary School with Tim and Tom Curran. Our school has around 800 students from grades R through 7. Each class has 40-45 students with just one teacher. The first day walking through the entrance of the school, we were drowned by hundred’s of children running, playing and screaming in the courtyard. Somehow making our way through the wild playpen, we found our way to the principal’s office. He quickly gave us a tour of the school and immediately assigned each of us to a classroom. I got placed in a first grade classroom and was ecstatic to work with the younger kids. When I first walked into the classroom, all the students instantly looked my way gleaming with the biggest smiles. As volunteers, it is our responsibility to aid the teachers with their daily lesson plans and occasionally take over the class. The kids are ALWAYS full of energy and overly excited to learn, however as you may imagine, forty students is a wild goose chase for one teacher. Some highlights of my volunteering experience have been teaching the students how to subtract with their fingers, singing the ABC’s with them and playing with the students during break time. (By playing with the students, I really mean giving them piggy back rides, airplane rides and letting 20 kids climb on me at once.) We get quite the physical workout at school! Nevertheless, the endless hugs, kisses and adorable smiles makes every moment of the experience memorable and worthwhile. Waking up the morning knowing that I get to see those smiles right away is my favorite part of this abroad experience

Reporting in from Capetown

We have finally landed in Cape Town!  After an exhausting 1.5 or so days of travel we made it to our volunteer house in Cape Town.  The weather is nice and chilly, which is a nice change of pace from hot and humid.  We are about to go to sleep and start our volunteer orientation tomorrow.  We should have plenty of awesome stories to tell in our next blog post!  Some more thoughts now that we’ve landed:

Meital Haas: “I’m excited to be here!  I can’t wait to start tomorrow!”

Andrew Czyszczon: “The flights were long, I didn’t sleep, I watched some movies, did some seated calisthenics.  Flying over Africa was amazing though, I got to see the desert from the air. I can’t wait to see Cape town in the light (we flew in at night). They drive on the left side of the road here, which was really cool to see.  I like everybody we are sharing the volunteer house with and I can’t wait to stop.”

Manny Hill: “I’m too tired to answer your questions Nathan.”

We hope to have plenty of cool pictures in our next post Tuesday or Wednesday!

Greetings from the Chicago Airport

Greetings from Chicago! The EGL VA South Africa trip has officially started with myself and three other EGL taking the red-eye from Detroit to Chicago. We are now waiting at the gate for our flight to Cape Town through South Africa, and it’s exactly as exciting as it sounds. Anticipation runs high as I wait for more people to talk to. Some initial thoughts from the poor souls sharing this gate with me:

Dan Kiefer: “I’m glad I found the terminal. I’m also excited to fly on a triple 7 (being carried by GE-90s, he pointed out), whatever that means.”

Nick Clift: “This is awesome. I love staring at planes take off.”

Phillip Bunge: “I’m excited. Also Nathan is the best blogger ever! (The second half of the sentence may or may not have actually happened).”

Nathan Rowley: “First time of the continent! If you had told me 4 years ago I’d be on a plane to South Africa, I wouldn’t have believed you. The chance to go halfway around the world is an amazing one, and I’m so thankful to everyone who helped make this happen!”

Alec Cohen: “I am so excited. I was too busy bugging Nathan to start the blog to come up with anything else.”

Some Pictures:

Nathan and Dan at the gate (I hope this will be the lamest caption from the trip).

Nick ponders what the next two weeks will hold.