Now reporting to you from Johannesburg (also known as Jo'burg or Jozi)...
Thursday, July 16th
Woke up and went to LEAP to teach the second creative computing workshop. This time, 25 students showed up, so there was a much higher demand for teacher and resource attention. Workshop went very well, we got about 12 Photostory videos from the kids, as well as a short rap in xhosa by one of the kids. After the workshop, we waited for Solomon to arrive, and I feel asleep in a chair in the computer lab, while one of the straggling kids recorded himself singing some song (really, really badly). In the afternoon, we went to REALISTIC's headquarters in Gugulethu, which apparently is worse off than Langa. Solomon knew just about everyone there, which stems from his time as a prison warden. Came and found people cooking dinner, which was roast chicken, mashed potatoes and a brussel sprout casserole. Dessert was chocolate cookies. Stayed up way too late talking with people and saying goodbye.
Friday, July 17th
Woke up early to go find the canal with Karly, Emily and Beth. Went home, and grabbed a quick breakfast before more goodbyes and the drive to the airport. Finally started getting nervous in the c ab, when it hit me that we were leaving the group. Got to the airport way too early, so Sara, Karly and I played rummy half-heartedly before getting onto the plane. I fell asleep almost immediately, and woke up only a few minutes before we landed in Jo'burg. Once we found our bags, we waited for Oral to come and pick us up. He took us to the school, which is on a huge compound. It's inside a giant house, which looks like it was a swingers resort in the 70s. The Life Orientation classroom was the master bedroom, complete with walk-in closet, mirror wall, and enclosed jacuzzi. One of the science classrooms is in what was the bar, complete with wine rack and fish tank wall. Our apartment overlaps with the staff area, and has a kitchen and two bedrooms. It's very small (my bedroom doesn't have a closet) and in desperate need of cleaning, but it will certainly be a whole lot of fun for the next four weeks. We then went out to dinner with the majority of the staff, including the Life Orientation staff, the Computer Teacher, the Life Science Teacher, and several others. They are incredibly nice, and I really am looking forward to working with them all. Despite how cold I expected it to be, the space heaters work well, and I fell asleep completely exhausted.
Saturday, July 18th
First morning in Jo'burg. Slept late (9am), then waited around for Oral to come and pick us up. Got groceries, then returned home to unpack them. Set up three packages of tea and biscuits, with the expectation that we would be visiting old people to celebrate Mandela's birthday. Instead, found that we were visiting a hospice in Alexandra for people with HIV/AIDS. We sat with the caregivers, and listened to them talk about their experiences and reasons for working there. At first, it was a bit awkward, because it felt like we were taking up their time, but after a bit, I began to feel a bit more comfortable. We then went home and cooked dinner (baked chicken with feta, walnuts and currants, as well as fried beet greens and rice) Dessert was baked apples with nutella. Then talked about TWA and life in general until late.
Sunday, July 19th
Woke up and had another cold “shower,” which consisted of bathing in water from the tub faucet. The bathroom is freezing, so I steam as I wash. Really hoping that some solution can be reached, so that I can have some sort of wake-up before school. Speaking of, classes start tomorrow, Still not sure what I will be doing, and still quite anxious about teaching students. Today we went to a lion park, with one of the teachers from LEAP3, Stacy. There were a number of lions, hyenas and wild dogs kept in pens. Got to go into the pen for the youngest cubs and pet them. The youngest was approximately 2 months old, and already looked to be about 30lbs. They were remarkably docile, having just been fed dinner, but all of the keepers had scratches up and down their arms. Got to photo giraffes, zebras and ostriches up close and personal, as well as Meerkats, one of whom ran around the pen constantly. After that, we drove through the park, which had a few herds of wildebeasts and springboks. Saw an ostrich 's head poking through the grass. Then moved on to the lion pens, which were enclosed pens of several females and one male. All of the lions had just been fed, so I got lots of photos of lions eating what looked like horse carcasses. Once we were done, we went to the barbacue pit for a braai, which is the Afrikaans word for a barbecue. Grilled Chicken, boereworst sausage, squash, zucchini, corn and pineapple.