Long Update

Sorry that it has been so long since I have updated!

Since the last post the group had an eventful weekend at the beach house in Pringle Bay. The house was perfect for our group! There was a basement, main floor, and loft. The kitchen and seating area was huge. The best part was that we were a small sand dune away from the beach. It was nice being all together after a long week in the schools. Friday we witnessed the most beautiful sunset! It was amazing because the sun went down behind cape point, the spot that we hiked the previous monday. Some of the group made us a pasta dinner and we all hung out on the porch for most of the evening. The next day Kayla and I read the hunger games all morning. We finished the first book and moved onto the second. The books have been passed around to almost everyone on the trip.

While reading downstairs on Saturday, I was startled by the sound of screaming. I look up to find a 250-300 pound baboon breaking in the window of our beach house. It was the most terrifying thing ever! The house came alive as people tried to make as much noise as possible to scare it away. When that didn't work, Jeremy threw a trash can at it. It hit the baboons chest and was not affected by it. Then, Kayla came running down the stairs with a 2x4. She hit everything that was in her path as a last attempt to scare the baboon away. She was two feet away and about to smack the baboon when it decided to climb out the window. The baboon wanted food for it's family and took some chocolate with it. We were lucky to still have all of our food. Later that evening Jermey and Kayla were reenacting the baboon scence for the people who were not in the house at the time. All 18 of us were laughing so hard and having a blast when all of the sudden, a large window shattered. Now, we were in trouble because an open window means more baboons. The boys found a large piece of cardboard in the basement and covered the opening. We had to prop a couch against it to keep it in place. Katie (my roommate at the house) and I were scared and stacked our suitcases in front of our door that night just to be sure than no baboons would attack. You probably think I am exaggerating but this was the scariest thing!

The next morning, Sean woke up early to be on baboon lookout. Some of the group decided to go to the beach. Mid morning we hear screaming from the house and see our group running toward the house. They were being surrounded by 15 baboons. Everyone made it back safely but the baboons were not gone. They lined up on the dunes ready for battle staring at us in the house. Sean held the cardboard window with a shovel and we shut the other windows. They surrounded the house. Once we thought they were gone, Kayla, Laura, Kala, and I headed up on the porch which has outside stairs. I saw the baboons coming back toward the house and quickly ran inside. Kayla, Kala, and Laura didn't think that they would come so they stayed up on the porch. Two minutes later the baboons are attacking and climb on the porch. The girls grab their stuff and are about to head down, when the HUGE dad baboon blocks the stairs. All we can hear from inside is screaming and crying. They were literally stranded up there. Rob and Lizzie grabbed 2x4's and headed out to scare them away. After a few minutes the girls would run down into the house. The baboons were not gone. The entire pack (15+) were surrounding the house. We called security and the baboons moved down the street. The guy told us that the baboons are vicious and becoming more comfortable around people which is scary. Our transport came and we left the house.
***The actual scenes of these encounters were much scarier in person! I have pictures and videos to show back home :)

After that crazy weekend, we had a full week in our classroom. The days flew by and I was able to help out more in my class as time went on. I was able to have a 4th grade class write letters back to Rayna's class and my second grade class write back to Mrs. Baxter's class. The letters went well and the kids really enjoyed hearing about America. I took pictures of each student to show those kids back home. I can't wait to get back and share them. Thursday, I brought in all of the supplies that I brought to help the class. My teacher needed rulers, pencils, paper, books, expo markers, pencil sharpeners, stickers, and more. My teacher was so thankful and the kids loved it! The class wrote me and thank you note on the white board with the new markers. It was the coolest thing to be able to help!

On Friday Lizzie, Kayla, and I decided to have a treat yourself day. We got pedicures and went shopping at the mall. After we went out to dinner at a italian restaurant and met up with Annie, Laura, and Julie for drinks. I spent way to much money but it was so worth it! On sunday we went back to the salon and I got a manicure as well.

Saturday our entire group went to Capetown. It was an early morning but we had a lot to accomplish. First stop was Robben Island. We loaded the ferry for the 20 minute boat ride. It was extremely foggy and kinda spooky out. On the ferry we saw a pod of 200 dolphins swimming next to the boat. It was the most amazing thing! I have been waiting the entire trip to see wild dolphins in the ocean. It was definitely one of my favorite parts of the trip so far! We toured the Island and saw the prison where Nelson Mandala was held. For lunch we ate at the Capetown Harbor. There were street performers and many shops. We couldn't stay long though because we were off to green market square. After and hour of bargaining we went to Table Mountain. We took the cable car up to the top. The top of the mountain is flat and is often covered by clouds which looks like a tablecloth hence the name. We were very lucky that the clouds lifted by the time we wanted to go. There were some walking paths on the top, which Kelly and I explored. Great picture spot!

Sunday was our free day. This was a chance to spend time with our host families. My entire family including the dad which we don't see often, all of the kids, and the dogs went on a walk/hike around stellenbosch mountain. It was so much fun and a great chance to bond with the kids and family. The weather was PERFECT!

My 2E1's <3

On top of table mountain!

Our trip has less than a week left which is CRAZY. Seems like yesterday I was packing to leave and now we are starting to pack our souvenirs to head home. Bring on the last week :)

It's Friday!

It's been a busy week! I was in my class tuesday- friday. My teacher takes a little bit of time to warm up to. Her style of teaching is much different than I have ever seen. At first the students were doing a lot of busy work. Busy work is having the teacher write questions or math problems on the board and having the students copy it down in their notebooks. Yesterday and today I saw a bit more instruction. Every morning the class starts out by counting from 0-100 by 1s, 2s, 5s, and 10s. The students are awesome and I almost have all of their names down. The names are difficult because they are spelled different than they are pronounced. I am hoping to become more active in the classroom and even teach lessons. Today was the first day that I led something. I read a book and started a game of simon says.

My favorite part of the day is after school. My class gets out an hour earlier than the upper elementary classes so if my teacher doesn't have work for me to do, I get to hang out with the kids. They love braiding my hair and asking me thousands of questions. They are so loving and curious. Stickers are also a big hit :)

Wednesday night my host parents went out to a dinner and left Kayla, Lizzie, and I to babysit all 5 kids. It was cool to be able to hang out and spend time with the kids. We had a water balloon fight. 4 boys vs. 4 girls. It was fun until it turned into dumping buckets of water on each other. It was also Andre's birthday. Leisel and Pieter left us lasagna and Nicola made us chocolate syrup to put on ice cream to celebrate. The three of us have become so attached to those kids that they will be the hardest to leave.

In a couple of minutes the group is leaving for a beach house in Pringle Bay. We have the entire weekend to hang out and relax right on the ocean. It is 95 degrees now and hopefully the weather stays nice. I'll update next week!

It takes up a lot of internet to load pictures but here is a Sneak Peak :) 

 Sunset at Tsitsikamma

Zip Lining in the African Jungle

The southernmost tip of Africa where the two oceans meet

Passing out bubbles in the township!

Second part of holiday!

More overview of our holiday adventures:

We traveled to gansbaai next to go shark cage diving. This city is known for great white shark sightings. We ate lunch and loaded onto a boat ned nemo. They launched the boat into the water and we were out in the Atlantic ocean. There were some huge waves, bigger than I have ever seen. I was so sea sick that I was unable to dive but I did see the sharks up close and personal. Five great whites were circling our boat and liked to jump out of the water. After we headed for Cape Agulhas backpackers. It was the nicest place yet! There was a pool and bar/hangout area in the middle of our rooms. They provided authentic African food for breakfast and dinner. Our second day there we went to the most southern tip of Africa which is also where the Indian and Atlantic oceans meet. We took some cool pictures and climbed to the top of a lighthouse there. Inside the lighthouse are pictures of other famous lighthouses and Grand Haven made the cut :) In the afternoon nine of us went to three wineries for wine tasting. It was so much fun and I ended up buying two bottles. The backpackers place was two blocks from the beach so Laura and I walked there around sunset. There was jellyfish everywhere.

We tried to feed the string rays today but the water was too cloudy for the rays to come near the beach Now we are on our way to Montegu which is our last part of holiday. On our way we stopped at the hot springs. It was such a hot day (100 degrees in the sun) that the pools were perfect. After the hot springs we went to our sleeping location. We stayed at the De Bos farm which was awesome! The guest barn was rented out for us. The barn had stalls which two or three people slept in. Andrea was my stallmate and we had a fantastic time. The best part was that all of us were in the same place. The stalls were separated by half walls. This was the perfect ending to our holiday trip. Outside of the barn were horses, goats, dogs, and peacocks.

Saturday was when we rode a tractor to the top of a mountain. At the top there was a cottage with refreshments. While we were on top it started down pouring. By the time we rode the tractor down to the lunch spot we were all soaked. The lunch was made up of poikes which are traditional meals made over a fire in a large black pot. It was quite an experience. Afterwards we went to two more wineries for tastings. At night we hung out and played games. Pierre made us braai and we all ate at the longest picnic table ever.

Today we wine tasted at a huge winery and took a tour. It is so cool being in the middle of wine country and tasting pinotage wine because it is special to South Africa. We headed back to our host families for the night. My family is out of town though so we are on our own. Tomorrow is our last day with pierre and antoinette :( and we are going to cape point where the penguins live.

Surfing

Today was our free day in Mosselbaai. I lounged in the morning and it was quite cloudy. As noon approached the sun was shining. 6 of us decided to take a surf lesson. The instructor picked us up from the backpackers and took us to a beautiful part of the ocean. The entire beach was pure sand and the water was bright blue. The waves were constant and perfect for beginners. We put on wetsuits and carried our boards down to the water. The instructor taught us about currents and how to help ourselves and others if we were in danger. Before we went out in the water, the guy had to save some children who had swam out too far. The guy helped us take many runs on the board. I got up on one foot after a couple tries. The water was super salty and I can still taste it in my mouth. Such a cool experience!

Holiday update!

Hey everyone! Right now I am in Mosselbaai which is located in the western cape of Africa. This is the first and only place where we can get internet on holiday. Soooo much has happened that it is hard to type it all on my phone so I will try my best.

Our entire holiday is throughout the cape of africa. First We drove 7 hours to Knysna on the eastern side. This place is known for seahorses. All of us stayed in a nice backpackers house. There we took a ferry across the seahorse estuary to the Featherbed Reserve. On the other side of the reserve was the Indian Ocean. We took a tractor type vehicle to the top of the reserve which was on a mountain. We hiked down on a path in the forest. They also fed us a huge buffet lunch. The views were amazing. The coolest thing was the fog that comes and goes quickly. It became so foggy that I couldn't see ahead of me and then it was crystal clear the next minute. I also got bit by something poisoness at this spot and had to go to the clinic for antibiotics. Its healing now.

Our next spot was Addo elephant park. We stayed in Forest cabins which housed 4 and had a bathroom. I stayed with kelly and laura. As soon as we arrived at the park we went out on our first game (safari) ride. Some people passing us said that they spotted lions on the far side of the park but it was closing in 2 hours. Since there are only 9 lions in the entire park, they are not spotted often and we went for it. Pierre our fearless guide sped through the park. We got to see 3 lions and many other animals. That night we went on a night drive and the next morning we went on a sunrise game drive. We have been one of the luckiest groups because of all of the rare animals we saw. We saw a rhino at night which is special because they will be extinct by 2015 due to poachers. I was face to face with an elephant. We also saw zebras, warthogs, buffalo, kudu, meercats, hyenas, monkeys, and much more. I cant wait to post all of my pictures when I get to good internet and have my computer back.

After Addo we drove to Tsitaikamma. We stayed at the national park in forest huts overlooking the Indian Ocean. I stayed with Abby. The bathrooms are in a separate area and it brought me back to remembering all of my WAC trips. We had some rainy weather but it didnt matter because the scenery was beautiful. The first night some of us climbed rocks to put our feet in the ocean. The first full day there we went zip lining in the jungle. There were ten different zips and it was awesome! I thought I would be more scared but after the first two I got the hang of it. Dont worry because I bought the dvd incase you want to see for yourself :) The next day we hiked to a waterfall which was 6.5km. The hike was on the side of the mountain along the coast of the indian ocean. The path was muddy and the rocks were slippery from all the rain which made it difficult. It was definitely unlike any hike that I have ever done before. When we finally got to the waterfall it was a shock to our leaders because it was so forceful. Usually students are able to cliff jump but due to the rain it was unsafe. That was a bummer but it was beautiful anyways. The pool was on the ocean too. That night I did laundry overlooking the ocean. We had some great group bonding time here and everyone on the trip is getting to know each other well.

Yesterday we arrived in Mosselbaai. We are staying In another backpackers house. This one is fully stocked with a bar, pool, and wifi! Today we left early for an ostrich safari. We were up close to the birds. I never knew how big they were. We saw an ostrich race and some people went for a ride. Then we went to the conga caves. After the caves we went to a Afrikaans Festival. It was awesome with sooo many craft booths, food, music, and culture. I bought some really cute engraved wine glasses. Also, My friends and I were also mistaken for africans today. We are finally starting to blend in a little bit and have learned a few words. Haha.

We have eaten out many times on holiday at all different kinds of restaurants. Its fun because you don't really know what you are ordering and most restaurants have gift shops. When we don't eat out we self-cater. We had a braii (bbq) and have had pasta dishes. Usually for lunch we have sandwiches if we don't eat out. It is a blast going grocery shopping for 20 people in a foreign country.

Tomorrow we have a free day and I am planning to try surfing and sitting on the beach. Pierre and Antoinette (our guides) are preparing dinner for us at there home. Hopefully I will update more soon! The trip is already a third over. I still have to remind myself that I am in Africa because it doesn't seem real! I miss everyone!

3-23

Last day of the term! We watched a movie all morning in school- Spy kids two. It is interesting because the students aren’t as attracted to movies as they are in the states. Classroom management techniques are not used in A F loud so most student talked and played handclap games during the movie. During break I taught some students how to play link tag and they all loved it. After the movie the students got their reports. It was already sad to see the kids leave for so long. It will be hard to say goodbye at the end. There is just so much love from the children. After Jodie (driver) dropped us off at our house we ate lunch, did laundry, and headed to phoebe’s house for a pool party. It was nice to finally get some sun with everyone on the trip! The rest of the afternoon was spent with the kids. We also had some quality roommate bonding time. At night we went to Ida’s Valley for cake and ice cream to celebrate Brian, Andrea, and Abby’s birthdays.