28 hours , 3 flights, 6 meals, 3 movies and several naps later I made it to Jeffrey's Bay, South Africa.
Getting in at 12 midnight last night, I was not sure what I would find this morning. My private room on the beach with a balcony overlooks the Indian Ocean. Did I say it was on the beach. Not too shabby. The room is simple, but clean. I am definitely the oldest person here since it is a hotspot for surfers, but it is used by the volunteer organization also. You can check it out at http://www.islandvibe.co.za/.
I was taken to the preschool this morning by a South African woman named Melissa. All south African women are tall, blond and speak with a combination British/Austrailian accent. Myself and a girl from Sweden, Karen, are helping in the two local preschools. Where I am staying on Jeffreys Bay is sort of a resort town with nice homes, very shore like so I was naturally confused on why they needed volunteers. When we got closer to the school maybe about two miles from the beach the homes deteriorated drastically. The schoolhouse was built in 2005 by some German volunteers and is one room with about 20 kids ranging from ages 3 to 6 and one teacher and an aide.. The languages spoken are Afrikaans, IsiZulu, IsiXhosa, and some English, hence my purpose here. The supplies consist of some paper, a pile of half used coloring books, and a dozen books and no chalkboard. There is a plastic container containing some legos, and a few toys, but that is it. Did I mention 10 of the 20 kids had runny noses. Tomorrow they said there will be about 30 children as this was the first day back from a 10 day holiday.
I am suppose to help the teacher with lesson plans and give her ideas and themes. Melissa said they want to empower the teachers to do more with the children, but the teachers are overwhelmed since they are also in charge of the budgeting and everything else to do with the school.
I walked to town with Karen to pick up some groceries for lunch. It looks like I will be eating peanut butter and jelly for the next week or two. We were warned not to go to town at night after 7PM and not to walk on the beach after dark. It seems pretty safe so far. There is a bar here, so I think it is time for a beer.
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7 comments:
Hey you! I am so glad that you made it okay. You must be exhausted though! This is all very interesting so please keep it going! By the way....what do you do there for dinner since you can't go out? Well, thankfully there is the bar.... :-) Looking forward to your next post!
Yay! I'm happy you started a blog - I will definitely check it to hear your stories. Good luck and have fun! I'm sure it will be an eye-opening experience.
wE ARE SO HAPPY TO HEAR YOU MADE IT SAFE AND SOUND! YOU MUST BE TIRED....BUT I'M SURE WITH SO MUCH TO SEE YOU PROBABLY DON'T EVEN FEEL IT. IT SOUNDS LIKE A VERY INTERESTING PLACE... BEAUTIFUL BEACHES/NEEDY CHILDREN.(IS THERE ANYTHING WE CAN SEND?) WELL, BE SAFE AND TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF. ENJOY THE EXPERIENCE :)
Here I am worried about the African men and I hear you hooked up with a surfer your first night there. Joe's hair has turned completly grey. Don't forget you still have family here in the States!!!
Hi Mona,
How cool is this! I know how you love to wake up and see the water. Let me know if you need anything. Teach the kids to sneeze into the crook of their arm and not their hands!!!
xoxo...Ellen
Hi Cous
Thank you so much for calling, you really made me feel like I was there even if it was for only a few moments-- you relly are a brave chick, that flight sounds like the flight from hell, but then you did wind up in parpadise. Do you need me to make a dollar store run, I 'd be more thn happy to help- Stay well and enjoy every minute, love and miss you,di
We haven't herd from you in a while so we tracked down the principle of your school. She said the last time she saw you was at the Tiki bar and you were with a surfer named Biff. What's going on over there?
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