Don't tear out the pages!

I would like to take this blog post to focus on some aspects of the Xhosa culture I have been both intrigued by and challenged with in my stay at Walmer. To begin, it is so neat to be surrounded by a culture that is still so alive with tradition. Each school day begins with an assembly full of singing, rejoice, and prayer. Alice and I have had fun participating in the mornings that we are there early enough for assembly, despite the fact that we don’t understand a word. There have been a few days that Alice and I chose to walk home from school with two of our prefects (Zolisa and Asanda) who walk in the same direction instead of taking the minibuses. It takes almost two hours, but it has been a great opportunity to get to know the girls and their culture. One of the most fascinating traditions that is still practiced in the Xhosa community is an “initiation into manhood” of sorts for boys who are 17-18 years old. Much about this tradition is concealed from women, but I will share what I know. During either the winter or summer holiday, boys of this age go to “the bush” (a mountain or hill of sorts) for 3ish weeks. Over these three weeks, the boys are circumcised and endure a variety of lessons and challenges that help them to become a man. Once their time in the bush is over, they return to society as a man, wearing a very distinct outfit to represent their transformation. These boys are easily distinguishable from the blue and white school uniforms of their peers, as they dress in slacks and fitted jackets (all of neutral tones), orange face paint, and cap. They wear this outfit and face paint for the next 6-8 weeks as a reminder to those around them that they are now a man. They are no longer addressed by their former name, but as “bhuti” or brother for the time being. These men tend to remain very reserved and quiet in their actions, a behavior they learn in the bush that shows their new maturity.

Asanda and Zolisa (whose other first name is Colleen as well!) explained much of this to us. They explained that for a boy to one day be respected as a man, he must go to the bush. If he goes to the hospital for his circumcision, he has not endured any struggles, and cannot be viewed with the same respect. We went on to speak of the differences between “white” and “traditional” weddings, what kind of “lobola” a suitors family will give to the bride’s family, etc. The highlight of this conversation came when Alice and I expressed our fascination with the dilemma these girls faced of which type of wedding they would chose and they exclaimed, “You Americans think everything is sooo interesting, we just think it sucks!” It was honest and hilarious. I can’t count the number of times since I’ve been here that I have described something as ‘interesting’. And I truly believe it is! But for them, this is real life.

We have also experienced more subtle cultural differences that have played a larger role in our day to day interactions at Walmer. Beginning in primary school, our learners were taught to write with impeccable penmanship- neatly on the lines with perfect headings and no errors. If you made a mistake, you started on a new piece of paper. If your paper didn’t have lines on it, you got a ruler. I have never seen such dedication to neatness/organization. While I think sometimes the emphasis on perfect penmanship can be greater than the emphasis on the material itself, I do think there is something very admirable about taking such care in the presentation of your work that American students could learn from. However, with over 700 students and only about 2/3rds of the number of notebooks we need, we can’t afford students to rip out paper each time they make a mistake. The first time we met with each class, we asked them to write a brief introduction paragraph to us about themselves and their goals for the future. We watched student after student rip out pages for one simple mistake! Our instruction quickly adapted as we began instructing students that mistakes are okay prior to handing out notebooks. We explained that our class does not have grades as it is not part of the national curriculum, that we are making the most of the paper we have since we are grateful to have anything to write with at all, and simply that we care more about content than neatness in this class! We begged students not to rip out pages, wrote it on the board, repeated it multiple times- and so they didn’t. Instead, many of them just skipped to the next page, sometime folding the first one in half (neatly of course) to hide the first response, and moved on to the next page. In many of these cases, the two responses said the exact same thing- one was just slightly neater. This need for perfection is so engrained in them and will be a constant struggle for Alice and me this year. Even as I was making a sign that said “University Info” for a bulletin board with colored markers the other day, one of our prefects, Manel, asked why I wasn’t using a ruler! We never thought we would be begging our students to make a mistake!

Other than school, on a typical day Alice and I do a couple of errands before heading home to cook dinner, relax and read. While no singular day ever feels terribly tiring, the combo of seeing so many different students every week, bike riding to school, and still adjusting has been exhausting! This weekend we are having a dinner party at our apartment with some students from Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU) that we met last weekend and then going to a bar nearby where one of them is the DJ. Other than that we hope to be able to relax this weekend (on the beach if the weather permits) and begin planning some fun weekend trips for the weeks ahead! I hope to have some more fun blog posts about our life outside of school soon, but thanks for bearing with me for the nerdy stuff in the meantime J

Dung beetles have the right of way

On Saturday Alice and I rented a car and traveled to Addo Elephant Park. As we drove ourselves through the park, we were constantly reminded that dung beetles, which could be no more than 2 inches long, have the right of way on the road. When they feel threatened, they stick out a big spike from their shell which can pop your car tire. We encountered them twice and gave them ample crossing time! See the photos from the day below (click to enlarge!)

Our first elephant- Nelson Mandela Bay and PE in the background

He walked all the way to our car and crossed right behind it! 

The herd of Buffalo we came across

Warthogs

A kudu (woodland antelope)

At the watering hole

We had to reverse he got so close to the car!

The dung beetle

Alice doing a great job driving on the left side of the road!

Finding our way

In our various modes of transportation (taxis, bikes, and our feet) we have begun to learn a bit more about how to navigate the city. Alice kindly narrated our daily routine with a sweet ipad app- check it out below to get a better idea of our city!

http://www.showme.com/sh/?h=i6jSvg0

Welcome to Walmer!

It’s been a busy, confusing, exciting few days at Walmer High School. We were introduced to the 1,600 students at the morning assembly Monday morning, given the keys to the library and sent on our way.  We got to the library just looked at each other and started laughing- we had no idea what we were supposed to do. Since that moment it has been constant trial and error. We set our class schedule Monday. Walmer works on a 7 day rotation and in each rotation we see each of the grade 8 and 9 classes once- 15 classes, almost 700 learners. It’s a bit wild, but it’s fun. The idea of 700 learners can be overwhelming. Handouts are near impossible because one activity would involve printing 700 pieces of paper. Even simple writing assignments are difficult because of the amount of paper it demands. We were excited today to get enough notebooks for about 1/3 of our classes that they could write in and leave in the library, but we have a lot of more to get our hands on. Aside from the assignments, it unfortunate that we will never be able to get to know all our learners seeing as how many of them we have and that we only see them once every 7 school days. The Xhosa names are hard when you’re only speaking with one learner, let alone 700! I have a hard time even distinguishing between the first and surname, but I know it will begin to get easier as we are around it more often. We are, however, very excited about the content that we will be teaching to the learners. Our overarching theme seems to be “healthy transitions”. We are teaching a literacy class, but we are approaching it in a more holistic sense than just English literacy. We want our students to view literacy as “reading for knowledge and writing for thinking”. Working with this definition, we want to teach cultural, health, economic, and emotional literacy. All of these areas will involve work that strengthens their English reading and writing skills, but we want to focus on the larger goals of the learners. Inspired by the country-wide issue of youth who are “doing nothing” after high school, we want our learners to begin making real plans for their future now.

Additionally, we have this wonderful group of students who are our prefects. There are 13 of them who are in grades 11 and 12 that basically run the library. They work on a scheduled rotation to report to the library on their short and long breaks where they do everything from re-shelving books, checking out books for learners, and handling fines. At our first meeting with them, as they explained how everything in the library works, Alice and I laughed that they didn’t need us there (and they really don’t!) It is neat to see the prefects so knowledgeable about how the library works and to take such pride and ownership in their library. We are their guests and I’m glad that they don’t need us to know how to run the place. In addition to their help, it has been fun to have a group of learners that we get to spend time with and speak with on the regular. Even when they are not scheduled to be in the library, many of them come in just to hang out. They have already taught us a lot about Walmer, clicking, and the structure of the secondary education system. 

Alice and I bought bikes off gumtree (the SA craigslist) yesterday, but since the shop couldn’t fit them in for a tune up until tomorrow morning, we decided to walk home from school today for a bit of exercise. We walked with one of our prefects, Asanda, who lives not far from us. It took almost 2 hours from door to door, but it was beautiful out and it was fun to chat with Asanda on way back- we learned a lot on the walk!

The library!

Walmer High School

This weekend Alice and I will be renting a car and heading to Addo Elephant park for the day so look for a post/pictures of that sometime early next week!

To the windy, friendly city

Alice and I are in PE! We arrived late Friday night and ended up spending much of the night unpacking and starting endless lists of all the things to do/buy for the apartment. The apartment is beautiful! The living area is spacious and well furnished and we now need to meet friends to invite over for dinner because of how much seating area we have. Alice and I each have our own bedroom and bathroom with a shower and big tub. Each window in the apartment can see the water, some better than others. It is nice to have such a spacious apartment in contrast to gates and bars that surround many houses (our apartment included). It rained the first day and half we were here but today the sun came out and we were able to explore more freely. We visited Walmer High School for the first time on Friday and Mr. Dyani, the principal who was overjoyed to meet us, said that it is good luck for it to rain on the day we arrived. Mr. Dyani, who was dad to the two Fulbrighter’s last year, was so excited for us to arrive. The few hours to follow were a whirl of introductions to students and staff all over the school. We finally ended up in the library where we will be spending most of our time. It is a beautiful facility that is spacious, has great resources (including wifi which is rare), and will be a great place to work. The students seemed eager to work with us and the teachers were more than welcoming. It was a bit overwhelming and comical at times, but was comforting to feel so included already. Mr. Dyani was sure to tell us he would pick us up bright and early Monday morning to get to school in time for the morning assembly and to show us around the township/how to get to school etc. There were a million ideas thrown at us over the course of the morning that were overwhelming at times, but we have the weekend to digest. I am grateful that we are at a school that is full of ideas and searching for progress, even if it is overwhelming at the time.

The last week has been full of excitement, exhaustion, and information. I feel fortunate to be surrounded by such dynamic people. It starts with the Fulbrighters- I have 9 other colleagues that have incredible, well rounded experiences as well as big plans for the future. Next, I have been inspired by the dedication and optimism of the South African educators amidst a turbulent system. And finally, I have seen the support of the US Government in the effort to improve the state of education. It is exciting to be working in the SA education system in a time of such change and transition. While there has been much to be inspired by, I have also been shocked by the stark contrast of the “have” and “have nots” in this country. It is astonishing how quickly you can move from wealthy, first world neighborhoods and shopping districts, to run down townships of makeshift houses and dirt roads. This happens in the states as well, but there is a sense of “two worlds” here that doesn’t seem to be as prevalent in the states. As upsetting as it is, the township schools seem to be fueled by immense dedication and optimism that give us a lot to look forward to!

See the pictures below and check out my facebook for even more :)

Alice and I

Our kitchen

Our living space

The view out the living room window

Some of my bedroom window view (ocean to the right)

My bedroom in its current state- don't worry Mom, I'll be adding more color! 

As a quick disclaimer- the internet situation here is tricky and our access is quite limited, so I will attempt to post updates about once a week!

All my love to the states, xxx. 

Getting our educational bearings..

Much of orientation was framed around the great changes and challenges occurring in the South African school systems. I don’t want to ramble for too long about this, but it is an important framework for the projects I will be undertaking in the upcoming months. The largest, and most prevalent issue related to Alice and I’s project at Walmer High School is the 12^th grade matriculation (or “matric”) tests. These tests are taken at the end of high school to determine whether or not you pass or fail, and further, whether or not you will be accepted in a university. There are no college essays, no letters of recommendations, just a number. While there are 11 national languages in SA, these exams are only offered in English or Afrikaans (the two languages spoken primarily by white South Africans). While subjects are taught in English beginning in fourth grade, most black learners are raised speaking their home ethnic language and use this language to interact with their peers and teachers throughout their schooling. In observing numerous secondary classes where classes are to be instructed in English, there was a large hybrid of English-ethnic language jumble, and I imagine this would be even more so, if not primarily home language in the villages. But back to matrics. This is the focus of every student beginning in high school. The seniors can be identified by their uniforms that include a tie that says “matric” near the knot, or a jacket that says “matric” on the sleeve. It is the one focus of 12^th grade. What is interesting about these tests is that one can pass the matric and not be admitted into university. In fact, this is a reality for many students who pass the matric. And of the students who begin college, only 50% graduate. While these numbers are upsetting, there is an even larger issue at the moment- what happens to the students who don’t pass? There is no system in place, few opportunities available for the people who don’t go to college. It results in learners returning home to perpetuate a cycle of poverty and poor education. This issue has been the main inspiration for Alice and I in planning our projects at Walmer. Alice and I have been trading a lot of great ideas this weekend and I will post more as we finalize plans at the school this week! 

We've arrived!

I apologize for not posting sooner, but this is the first time I've been able to sit down and condense my thoughts! It was a long day and a half of travel, but we made it to SA! The 16 hour flight was not nearly as bad as I expected, largely because we each had our own row to spread out in. I didn’t even need Ambien! I have now only been in South Africa for 5 days, but they have been packed full nonetheless! We arrived in Pretoria in time for a late dinner Monday night and orientation began promptly at 8am the following morning. Our first day of orientation was hands on. We visited both a secondary and primary school in the townships where we observed instruction and spoke with learners (the term for students in primary and secondary school) and teachers. That same afternoon, the principals and teachers we had met joined us at the conference room in our hotel for a panel discussion about the events of the day and how they related to the current state of education in South Africa. This latter topic would prove to be central for the remainder of orientation. Day two of orientation was a bit more pragmatic. We took a trip to the U.S. Embassy to register in their system and meet the staff who will be great resources for our program. Following our embassy trip, we had a rather intimidating security briefing by a less than intimidating government agent where we learned that on a six point scale of low to critical, South Africa is a critically dangerous county. The good news is that Port Elizabeth is one of the safer cities and that common sense will do a whole lot of good here! That evening we engaged in a presentation by a representative from the National Department of Basic Education. He provided a key insight to the perspective of the policy makers in an education system that is constantly changing. Day 2 concluded with a dinner reception at Moyo restaurant hosted by the embassy. The restaurant was set up on a beautiful piece of land and included a large outdoor space. After a brief cocktail hour, we spent some time drumming with a band of drummers outside for good vibes before the meal. Dinner was my first braai, somewhat comparable to a barbeque in the states but on a much bigger scale. As many of you know, I began eating meat again before I arrived, and for dinners such as this one, I’m so glad I did! I’m not sure I could even list all the foods I tried, but it included a combination of fish, meats, stews, rice, and cold vegetables. The food was good, but the atmosphere was better. Many of the teachers and embassy representatives we had spent the last two days with were present, and it was great to intermingle in such an enjoyable setting.

                Our final day of orientation was only a half day in Pretoria, but we got to speak with many great people. The first was a lecture by Profesor Makalela from Wits University in Pretoria. He is incredibly knowledgeable in his field and well respected both in SA, as well as internationally. He provided great insight to the state of education in South Africa from the university educator’s point of view. Additionally, we were able to speak with the Ambassador’s wife (who is from Boulder, CO!) She was very friendly and supportive of the Fulbright program in SA. She spoke with us about the ongoing education programs in SA and how the states were supporting not only these programs as well as the general mission of the United States in South Africa. After a long 2 ½ days in Pretoria, we left for PE with a lot on our minds. 

The 10 Fulbrighters at Moyo