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!)

Much Excitement

The last week of work has been quite strange - Monday and Tuesday were holidays so I only started work in Lifeskillls on Wednesday. Even though we only had three days of class, we still managed to get a lot done by the end of the week. Wednesday was mostly spent trying to teach the children about seasons - why it gets colder during the year, why we have night and day etc. But some of the kids did grasp the concept of the Earth's revolution which was a big step! The next day when we tested their knowledge again, a couple of them remembered 'the northern hemisphere' and 'the Earth's axis'... That was definitely a highlight for me this week because you could clearly see their progression in essential general knowledge.

On Thursday both the Junior class and the Lifeskills class went to the local bowling alley for their end of term excursion. After an hour of bowling (which all the children loved), we still had some time left so we decided to take the kids to try out the crazy golf course. They were all fascinated when the golf ball went down a tunnel and came out somewhere completely different, it was hilarious to watch their expressions.

On Friday it was pancake and popcorn day so we all spent the morning popping, packing and selling. I was on pancake duty and I think we managed to make about 80, which we then sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar. This whole process is great for the children, especially those with autism because they depend a lot on strict routine and get agitated if it's interrupted.

On Saturday we were invited round to Jenny's house for dinner. She's studying psychology and has chosen 'volunteering' as her topic of interest. Kathryn, Zoe and myself each had an interview, sharing with her the reasons why we volunteered, hardships that we've overcome, what makes a good volunteer etc. It was very interesting because I don't think any of us had asked ourselves some of the questions, so we learnt some things as well. After the interviews were over we sat down on the couch and ate pita bread filled with chicken - a perfect way to end the evening.

In other news: I think my family will have landed in Cape Town by now after a long flight from Heathrow. After they've spent a couple of days there they'll head up to Polokwane on Wednesday. On Thursday and Friday I'll show them around the school, introduce them to all the children and then on Friday evening we set off on our road trip to Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe. This means that I won't be posting on my blog for the next 3/4 weeks, but I'll write a big update on my return. I'm so excited.  

Excursion

Winding down

It's getting close to the holidays now, and the atmosphere around the Enrichment Centre is very relaxed. This week in Seniors we slowly took the pressure off work and concentrated more on enjoying the couple of weeks we have left. After Zoe, Kathryn and myself arrive back from the month-long break, we'll only have three weeks left with the children before we fly home and that fact is starting to hit home! 

During my five days in Seniors we celebrated one of the boy's 12th birthday. Birthdays in the Enrichment Centre are always a big occasion and I've been very lucky by somehow managing to land myself in the class with a birthday almost every time... Much to the annoyance of Zoe and Kathryn. On Thursday during cooking we made a delicious pancake stack - basically pancake lasagne because we filled it with mince and white sauce. It was a huge hit with the children and everyone polished it off - I'll definitely be taking that recipe home with me along with bunny chow and marmite and cheese cake.

At Aftercare this week we had to move the children to the more sheltered playground because of the cold. It was actually warmer in Edinburgh than in Polokwane at various points last week! Kathryn and I also played a very funny game with one of the Grade 00 boys, Tchifiwa. He would sneak up behind one of us while we were sitting on the chairs and shout ARRRRGGGGGGG and then lean in close and wait for us to tell him to go and scare the other person. The funniest part was that he'd always run up to the person he was scaring, so you could hear him coming. Then he'd stop, take a huge inhale of air and finally ... ARGGGGGG. Later on we told him to go and scare one of the Grade 00 girls in the sandpit who had her back to him. She turned around when he was still about five meters away and gave him a very unimpressed look. Kathryn and I were almost in tears.

This weekend we also purchased some daisies from the nearby garden centre. We're going to plant them in memory a fellow Project Trust volunteer who tragically passed away in India about a month ago. We'll plant them in the memorial part of the Enrichment Centre garden, so she can be remember along with the children we've lost over the years. 

Fun and Games

The weeks are now passing by in a blur, I can't believe we only have five more weeks working at Mitchell House (excluding holiday time). The last few days in the Junior class were fun, but as usual everyone had their hands full!

I'm finding it hard to think of things to talk about in these posts, as everything seems normal now. It's funny when somebody from outside the Enrichment Centre comes in for a day because everything seems highly unfamiliar to them, but we're so used to the routine and the children's quirks that anything considered 'abnormal' is a typical day for us. In fact, if a day was 'normal' we would consider it strange!

We've been very lucky to have extra hands over the past couple of weeks because an ex-gap student, Ellie, returned to see the kids. It's been great getting to know her and very interesting to hear how much has changed since she was here three years ago. What's especially encouraging is when she comments on how much certain children have progressed - grown in confidence, improved language abilities etc. Hearing that really makes us feel that we are making a positive difference to these children's lives.

As well as work this week, a lot of games have been played. On Thursday (our cooking day) we decided to join the Senior and Junior classes together and have a braai in the garden. The children cut up the vegetables and made a delicious salad while the teachers took care of the wors (sausages) on the fire. After everybody had eaten we played a couple of games with the classes - 'duck, duck, goose' and 'what's the time Mr Wolf'?' One of the girls in the Junior class couldn't grasp the 'goose' part of the first game, and would just shout DUCK again but extra loud when she wanted someone to chase her.

'What's the time Mr Wolf' was very funny. One person plays the wolf and stands facing a wall at the opposite side of the garden from everyone else. Then the group have to shout: WHAT'S THE TIME MR WOLF? and the wolf will answer something like... 5 O'CLOCK, meaning everybody has to take five steps towards the "wolf". This goes on until the wolf decides it's DINNER TIME and turns round and chases them back, trying to catch someone in the process. Whenever one of the kids played the wolf, they'd always turn round to chase everyone but then run away at the same time... So we'd have to explain that no, you're the wolf, nobody is chasing you.

As well as all that excitement I have also discovered the wonderfulness of raw honey straight from the hive. Kathryn and I both bought a jar each and sit on our beds eating it with a spoon. I disgust myself but I'm just channeling my inner Pooh Bear. Next week I'm in Seniors and it's only two and a half weeks until my family arrive. 

Have a good week!

Back to Normal

The last week in Lifeskills has been very enjoyable. By Tuesday we were all back into our normal routine (no swapping classes) which meant we could get back to focusing one one group of children. 

On Wednesday we took the Lifeskills class to their weekly horse riding period and they all loved it. We help them get on and off the horse and then walk two laps of the field with them. Some of the children need to focus on working their core strength - especially the ones who can't walk - so sitting up on a horse is a good exercise for them. 

On Thursday I decided to bring my guitar into class and play a little bit for the children. A couple of the boys are dead keen to learn, so I think I'm going to teach them some basic songs. One of them really needs to work on his listening skills, so getting to play the guitar will be his reward... Hopefully this bribe will work!

Friday is popcorn and pancake day which means we spend half of the morning making, packing and selling. The class love getting involved with this, it really gives them some responsibility and strengthens their sense of independence. And the pancakes taste so good... cinnamon and sugar... mmmmm. After we've taken the produce round the whole school we come back to class and set up a movie in the projector room. We're trying to do this every week now because it's a great way to teach the children about social interaction. This might sound strange, but most of the kids find it difficult  to understand emotions and what they mean. By showing them a film like Finding Nemo, you can tell them things like: "Look, now Nemo's father is sad because he can't find his son." or "They are scared because of that shark." Being able to understand emotions is an extremely important skill that they need to have when they leave school, especially if they're wanting to work.

In other news I am now sharing a room with Kathryn after being evicted from my own room (sob). Another prefect is moving into the hostel and needs a room with a shower, so I packed up all my things and moved for the third time - no, I'm not bitter. It's actually fine, sharing a room with Kathryn is good fun and this year I've had the privilege of sharing with both my partners! Zoe just got told yesterday that she's going to have to move rooms as well, so she's packing up today.

On Monday I'll be back in Juniors, so I'm expecting a week full of running and action. I'm ready!

Juniors, Seniors and Lifeskills

Last week was the first time I've managed to work in all three classes over the course of five days... A new record! There was a lot of movement between Zoe, Kathryn and myself this week because the Junior's class teacher was away, so we all switched between the three classes until Friday. 

For Monday and Tuesday I was working in the Senior class. During those two days I took one of the boys to inclusion science, history and music which he always enjoys a lot. He always travels to inclusion with a motorised wheelchair that he can control using a little joystick and on Tuesday the chair gave us all quite a fright! During history the joystick snagged on the armrest and he went zooming forward into the classroom wall, taking the desk with him. After we realised that he was laughing - not crying - everyone fell into hysterics as well. Never mess with a motorised chair, those things have power...

On Wednesday and Thursday I was working in Lifeskills. Both days consisted of a lot of counting, days of the week and months of the year and all the children are really coming along with them! 

On Friday I was in Juniors but had a half day with no aftercare because I was invited to join the Grade 10s on their geography field trip to the Mokopane Caves. After mentioning that I would be studying geography next year to one of the teachers, she insisted that I should join them - yay! It was a very interesting trip, the caves were all limestone and we had the opportunity to go inside the caves and look at some fossils, including the ancient jawbone of a sabre-toothed tiger.

On Saturday the school held another netball and football tournament meaning that we had to set up the food stall again. This time we only sold drinks and sausage rolls but it all sold fast and it was a fun morning - hopefully we raised a good amount of money for the Enrichment Centre! 

It's definitely starting to get colder now, on Saturday morning I was wearing six layers... So bring jumpers with you when you come to visit Haas family, only four weeks to go!!!

Fossilised hip bone