Hometime

Well this is it! My last blog post before I arrive back home. I can't quite believe the time has come to say goodbye to everyone here - it seems like only a couple of weeks ago that we arrived...

The last week has been a strange one. On Wednesday we held a leaving assembly for the school and played the video we made for everyone last weekend. Kathryn, Zoe and I started tearing up on stage while trying to say our introduction which was quite embarrassing... but soon all the teachers and children were crying too - we didn't feel as ashamed after that. The video was liked so much by the staff that the school decided to put it on their website (wow!). We have actually been given permission to post it via our blogs - this is amazing because the first part of the video shows you all the children we've been working with in the Enrichment Centre. So please check it out by clicking on this link: Our Leaving Video

For the rest of the week we just made the most of our time left with the children. I know I'm going to miss them so much when I'm back home again, so we didn't waste a moment with them. As well as our normal schedule, the three of us stayed up late every night wrapping presents for the children and staff members. We had to get everything ready for Friday because the Enrichment Centre was hosting a leaving party for us (as well as the Fear Factor...).

When Friday arrived Kathryn, Zoe and I were all quite nervous. We'd heard about the Fear Factor throughout the year from previous GAPS and it sounded disgusting. It definitely lived up to our worst expectations... The staff and children from all three classes (juniors, seniors and lifeskills) were waiting for us in the physio room when we arrived in the morning. Three chairs, a table, a sick bucket and glasses of water were set up at the front of the room and we all went to sit down. After an introduction by one of the assistants, he lifted up a cloth covering three plates and revealed what we had to eat. On each plate there were fish eyes, worms, chicken intestines, chicken heads (complete with beaks, eyes and brain), chicken feet (complete with nails) and small fish. After a lot of gagging, Zoe and I managed to finish everything apart from the bones of the chicken feet and skull but Kathryn with her fear of birds was unable to touch the chicken parts. I don't think any of us ate anything for the rest of the day because we felt so sick...

Once that revolting challenge was over we had a party with everyone until it was time for the children to go home. Before we catch our bus to Joburg on Tuesday we're doing a quick round of the school to say our final goodbyes. I'm feeling a whole mix of emotions at the moment - excited to come home but sad to leave. It must be impossible to teach somewhere for a year and not grow to love the kids and I do. I really, really love these kids. I'm so incredibly grateful to them for accepting me into their lives for a year and letting me get to know what makes them tick. It's amazing how much you can experience and achieve in just twelve months and I think I've definitely made the most of my time here regarding work and travel.

Thank you to all of you for following my year long adventure. It's been really nice for me being able to share some of my year with you all - I hope you've enjoyed keeping up with what's going on. Apart from that there's not much more to say, I'll be landing in Edinburgh on Thursday evening and am super excited to see everyone again. Gabotse!

Nearing the End

I can't quite believe we're entering our final week of school on Monday. Yesterday Kathryn, Zoe and and I spent 14 hours putting together a farewell video to play at our 'leaving assembly' on Wednesday - finding all the photos and pictures from our year and putting them all together made us realise what an amazing time we've had, and how much we're going to miss the children...

This week I was in Lifeskills and we mainly worked on the veggie garden which is coming along nicely! We've recruited Grade 8s and 9s to help us plant our chosen vegetables - tomatoes, carrots, lettuce, marrows and onions - and it's great for the Lifeskills kids to have that interaction with some of the mainstream pupils.

As well as this we had our usual popcorn and pancake sales and in the classroom we focused on the changing seasons. With the help of symbols and pictures the children seem to be grasping the concept quite well, but it's just a case of going over it until they completely understand.

Apart from that there isn't much else to say! Next week is going to be hectic. Making the most of our last few days with the kids, lots of goodbye dinners with staff and packing which I'm reaaaaally not looking forward to. The following Sunday's post will be the last one before I'm home... Ahhhhhh!!

We finally received our Gap Photo from January (yay!)