Busy Body

The last week in Lifeskills was the same as usual - learning the days of the weeks, months of the year and numbers. In between the work we managed to find time to teach the children new skills, like how to cook a very delicious chicken dish that I'm going to steal and use back home... We taught them how to fry and seal the chicken pieces and then put them in the oven, they all really seemed to like the finished result!

We've also started working on the end of year Christmas performance. It might seem extremely early but the more time these kids have to practice, the better. As you can imagine it takes them longer to learn dance moves so by starting now, they'll be perfect! It's a shame that we're not going to be here to see the finished result, but I'm sure next year's gaps will do a great job of rounding it up. 

One of the songs is from a film in which Whoopi Goldberg plays a teacher (I think). The song is from a scene where all the children are singing a gospel song in the playground. I - for some odd reason - was put in charge of the dance moves for this particular track, I spent most of the afternoon standing in front of the class going through each move slowly until they got it. I'm proud to think that in December the children will be showing off my sidesteps.

On Thursday we had an excursion to a small waterpark, that turned out to be empty apart from us! We laid out the picnic rugs and had some lunch, followed by some spinning time on the roundabout - a couple of kids had to lie down after that, I think they spun themselves a bit too fast. When recovery time was over we helped the children get changed and took them into the pool. The water was freezing and it was hilarious watching some of the expressions as they got in, especially the non verbal children - they're faces said more than words could, twisting in confused horror at the temperature of the water. Once they got used to the cold they started to enjoy themselves, some even attempting the small flume! It was a great day and lovely to get the kids out of the school environment to experience something new.

I've started taking an extra homework class for the Grade 7s (S2) after work on Wednesdays which I'm enjoying so far. They all behaved very well last week so I bought some sweets to bring in this Wednesday. It's a catch up class for children in the Mainstream school who haven't handed in homework more than five times in a row, so you get a few trouble makers. But I find that positive reinforcement (e.g sweets) seems to work better than negative, it gives them a goal to work towards... Finished homework doesn't seem to be much of a priority for them, but if they learn that when they do finish their homework they're rewarded, something might click. I hope!

This weekend's been very relaxed, I'm reading a terrifying thriller at the moment called Dead Man Walking and I've had to sleep with the bathroom light on for the past few nights. I did my laundry this morning but apart from that nothing much happens at the weekend, which is nice because the week's so hectic.

Birthday Week!

This week I was working with the Senior class, meaning that I got to celebrate my birthday with my 'day twin' - the little boy with cerebral palsy. We've both been looking forward to celebrating the day together for months so when Tuesday finally arrived it was very exciting... We turned out to have two separate parties, one for my day twin on Tuesday and another one on Friday for me - I don't think I've ever eaten so much cake in the space of one week.

As I've mentioned before, this boy is a little obsessed with mermaids. When I opened the birthday parcel that my family sent me, I found lots of mermaid themed items including some napkins, rice paper and a cake topper. I presented him with these things the next day and he nearly collapsed, he wouldn't stop stroking the hair of the plastic Ariel cake topper and carried it around in his blazer pocket for the rest of the week.

The children were also involved in a Lego Workshop this week. Some students from Joburg who are studying engineering travelled up to Polokwane for the week and taught individual year groups about mechanics. All the students were staying with us in the hostel and it was great to have some more company! I went for a run with one of the ladies, Shaz, on Thursday evening and it was great to have a human running partner again - sorry Plato... After we arrived back I got involved in a very competitive game of table tennis with the boys, it reminded me of our France holidays with all the cousins (also very competitive). Now that they've gone I'm going round the hostel asking of anyone wants a game but no one is quite as serious about it as the engineering students, they couldn't handle the fact that they were getting beaten by a girl (I joke).

Yesterday we travelled out of Polokwane to see the Sunland Baobab tree that has a bar built within the trunk! The tree itself is 6,000 years old and the hollow trunk can fit fifteen people inside it. The tree was so big that when Kathryn and I climbed one of the branches, it was like we were scrambling up a bumpy road. After having some lunch we drove on to a crocodile ranch which is the equivalent to a fish farm in the UK - they breed crocodiles for their meat and skin. Some people might not agree with the idea, but it doesn't reduce the species numbers and it was actually very interesting... We decided to buy some crocodile meat and cook it later. Jenny invited us over to her parents' house that evening to cook the meat and we flavoured it with mango, chutney and rosemary. Thirty minutes later it was ready and we sat down to eat it with some potatoes and rice - it was delicious! A sort of mix between fish and chicken.

Next week I'm in Lifeskills and we'll probably be doing the usual stuff. I have to start looking into things to do during the upcoming Easter holiday, it's only three weeks away. How the time has flown.

Birthday dinner with the girlies 

Sunland Baobab

Baobab Bar

The climbing branch

Picnic area

dinner (don't worry, it wasn't the one I was holding)

Prepping the meat

oven time!

finished result - yumyumyum

Junior Inclusion

I was back in the Juniors this week so it was another busy few days. Since Christmas we've increased the amount of inclusion that the EC children take part in, so for a large part of this week I was accompanying one of the Junior boys to inclusion maths with Grade 3 - which was great because we all know maths is one of the subjects I excel in.

Despite my sarcasm it was actually quite enjoyable. But because this boy is autistic he finds it difficult to concentrate for long periods of time. A two hour maths inclusion is very challenging for him, so we usually ended up leaving when he started to lose concentration because after that point he wouldn't be taking anything else in. The last day we went one of the other boys in the Grade 3 class brought in Stuart, his pet chameleon which was very exciting. The boy from the Junior class was convinced it was a dragon, "like the one from Harry Potter."

On Friday, the Junior and Senior classes both went out into the Enrichment Centre garden and picked up fallen Marulas from the ground to give to the Lifeskills class. Lifeskills are now taking on the challenge of making Marula jam, so I'll probably be helping with that in a couple of weeks! It was difficult trying to get the fruit in the baskets without them getting eaten, but eventually we filled about four containers - they're going to have a lot of peeling to do.

On Saturday Kathryn and I surprised  a little girl from Aftercare by visiting her during her birthday party in Spur (a restaurant). Earlier that week at Aftercare she mentioned that she was having a party there and how cool it would be if we could come, so we decided to pay a surprise visit. We bought her a little necklace and played with the kids a little bit in the soft play area - no, I can't believe I'm almost 19 either... She seemed to love it though and told us that she's going to wear the necklace all of next week.

In other news I wrote up a new half marathon training schedule because I'm planning to run another one in May. Hopefully I'll be able to raise some money for the EC medical funds! Some family back home are running the Tiree half marathon on the same day, so good luck - we'll compare times if I make it to the end alive...

Next week I'm back in Seniors, a breather after being in Juniors for a week. Unfortunately I didn't get round to taking any pictures over the last few days but I saw this and found it amusing.

Long Weekend

Sorry for the unusual Monday post, but the internet was down when I arrived back yesterday so I had to postpone the publishing until today. As I mentioned last time, I decided to do something special to celebrate the half way point of my year. But before I share that I'd like to tell you a bit about my weekend in Durban with 50 sixth year Gillespie's students and my very lovely aunt.

Instead of catching the bus to and from Durban I caught a flight - it was seven hours quicker and ended up costing about the same amount of money! Somehow everything went incredibly smoothly and I arrived at the hotel bang on my estimated time... Very unusual, especially in South Africa. Then I went to reception and asked for my room key which was on the 11th floor, one floor beneath Ann who'd asked them to inform her of my arrival. I went upstairs (lots of them) to my room and dumped my bag on the bed - after travelling for almost a month you learn how to travel light. Once I'd eaten the welcome chocolate on my pillow (priorities), I headed upstairs to see Ann. She opened the door and we shared a good, long hug and then proceeded to talk for the next couple of hours.

While I was there we went out to a township called Umbazi and played football with the local school children, we went out for dinner and lunch at really nice restaurants and just had chill time in the hotel. The Gillespie's kids were so welcoming and I managed to make some good friends in the couple of days I stayed with them. A lot of them are considering gap years when they leave, so it was great that I was able to offer them some advice like: "don't worry, it's not as scary as you think it's going to be."

It was very nice spending some time with British people - I missed the Scottish banter a lot. Thanks Ann for the great weekend away, I really enjoyed my time in Durban! The next crowd from home that will be visiting are the one and only Haas Family in June, so I'd better prepare myself.

Finally, as a celebration for surviving six months, I decided to create a video showing my journey right from the start. The link is below so I hope you enjoy!

Six Months In

Football match in the township

View from my bedroom!

Having a dance with some lunch

A Good Week

This week in the Senior class the children took part in a lot of inclusion - this is when the more mentally able take part in some of the mainstream classes. For a couple of days I wheeled one of the little boys over to Natural Science, Music and History which was really enjoyable! I sat next to him in class helping him with work and taking down notes on his performance, I even learnt a few things myself... What touched me the most about those inclusion periods was how thoughtful all of the mainstream kids were towards this little boy. They'd constantly offer to carry his crutches, push his chair, get him water, offer him sweets and at break he played a very slow game of tag. It was so lovely to watch him being included - okay, all the other children would walk instead of run so that he could catch them, but you could tell he was loving it.

This little boy also shares the same birthday as me so I'm planning on making him a mermaid tail. It might seem like a strange thing for a nine year old boy to want... but mermaids are his favourite thing, ever. I told him that all mermaids receive their 'grown-up' tail on their tenth birthday - to which he squeeled with delight and asked if that meant he could "now swim to Atlantis".

On Thursday are Project Trust desk officer, Peter, came to visit us at our project to see how we're getting on. He spent an hour interviewing each of us, asking us questions about everything - homesickness, safety, work. It was very enjoyable to talk about the project in-depth. That evening he took us out for dinner (the best part of the day) at a place called Mike's Kitchen where they do fantastic burgers. I ordered a Mexican burger with chips and then a slice of cheesecake for dessert - it was all paid for by Peter so we took advantage...

Yesterday we went on a hostel outing to the Heinertsberg Berry Festival. Part of the outing was blueberry picking and we each got given a small punnet to fill - the blueberries tasted amazing so it was hard to resist popping a couple into your mouth instead of the punnet. Then we went to visit the market that sold little hand-made crafts and food. I bought a chocolate brownie which was delicious but not on par with yours, Mum! After about an hour of looking around and trying some free samples, we got the bus back to the hostel and had a Braai. It was definitely a Saturday well spent, it was nice to get out of the Mitchell House grounds for a bit.

Next weekend is a long one because it's the Mid Term break. I'm going to be travelling down to Durban by myself to meet up with my auntie Ann - the first family member I will have seen since arrival! Next Sunday's blog post is going to be a special one to celebrate the six month mark, we're half way there already and the time has flown.

Zoe getting in the berry-picking zone

#1 berry picking team

Mmmmm yum

The Market

Hostel Braai

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Almost Six Months In!

Working in Lifeskills this week was enjoyable. We focused on learning the alphabet with the children and introducing the letter sounds - this will hopefully help them when we move onto reading. It was a pretty normal week in terms of schedule; on Wednesday we went horse riding, on Friday we went swimming and every day we had to prepare 40 bags of popcorn to sell around the school. Like last week it was very busy, but we managed to get everything done.

The new boy who joined Lifeskills last week seems to be settling in very well. He's got the same attitude as a lot of thirteen year old boys - what's the point in school - but I think he secretly enjoys it. I don't think his love for school will ever overtake his passion for Star Wars and football, he's even started calling one of the classroom assistants "coach".

We were very glad when Zoe arrived back on Thursday from her brief trip home. She somehow managed to catch a cold during her first couple of days because of the minus two degree temperature... Luckily we'll be arriving back in August (the 13th), so the temperature difference won't be too drastic. Zoe also brought back some very Scottish gifts, one being a tartan Jimmy hat and the other a t-shirt that says "Pure Dead Brilliant" accompanied by a little Scottish flag. It was lovely to receive something very Scottish as a reminder of home!

My ongoing battle with the mosquito population seems to be going well... I haven't seen one in my room for almost two days - a positive sign. They probably know not to enter room W1 now after seeing all their little friends squished against the wall. A few nights ago my mosquito killing skills were required in Kathryn's room, so I headed along with a flip-flop and managed to squash about three... They like to hide in dark places, to match their evil little souls.

Last night we experienced the biggest storm yet and it was terrifying! The storm arrived when all of us were down at the pool, cooling off after a very hot day. It started to rain very heavily so we lay by the side of the pool to keep warm - the stone tiles were like a warm blanket after soaking up the sun all day. Then lightening started to flash and we decided that it might be a good idea to head back inside...When the storm passed right above our heads the thunder was deafening and the lightening lit up the hostel as if it were daytime. Kathryn, Zoe and myself grouped in the hall to watch the storm from the windows. I managed to get some pretty good footage of the thunder and lightening. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMt-pqONFWc

Next week I'm in Seniors, it's been a while since I've been in that class so I'm really looking forward to spending time with the children again. Until next Sunday!

Welcome Back!

Bye-Bye Mosquito

Hello Mosquito

A Busy Week

It's been a tough week with only Kathryn and myself working in the Enrichment Centre, the work accumulated over the last few days meaning that we had to spend four hours yesterday sorting through office work. A difficult week, but a good one. The Junior class was very enjoyable - I almost managed to make it to the weekend without any scratches, but then in the last hour on Friday I wasn't paying attention and got bitten... damn! We always compare war wounds after a week in the Junior class.

On Monday it was photo day which gave us quite a shock, we thought we escaped that dreaded day after leaving school but apparently not. The camera man then came to the Enrichment Centre to take individual photos of the children - definitely the highlight of my week. It seemed that all the autistic kids couldn't smile naturally when told to, it came out as a kind of forced grimace. This meant that one of us had to hide out of view behind them and tickle them so that they started laughing, while another person danced about like a lunatic behind the cameraman. One of the girls in the Junior class refused to smile until we brought in the boy she fancies, as soon as he entered the room she was beaming.

As summer comes to an end here it's gradually getting cooler which means fewer mosquitoes! A few times I've been on the verge of sleep when I'm suddenly woken up by the familiar 'eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep' sound. After hearing that I can't get back to sleep until I've found it and squashed it - I can't deal with the thought of it sucking my blood when I'm asleep. A couple of nights ago I think I spent a good half hour looking for a mosquito in my room, I finally found it hiding on the bookshelf and squashed it with a triumphant "HA-HA!". Along with the diminishing number of mosquitoes, the storms are becoming more frequent which I love (watch: Today's Storm). The heat here gets very tiring so it's great to have the occasional thunderstorm - everything feels fresh afterwards. The increased rain also means that it's almost amarula season (a very tasty fruit that grows on the trees around school). They're about the size of an apricot and turn yellow when ripe, you have to remove the skin and avoid swallowing the nut inside, maybe leave it for the squirrels to enjoy instead. The Lifeskills class are thinking of making amarula jam later this month which I'm sure will taste delicious!

Kathryn and I also purchased some Prickly Pears, it was very exciting to learn that they don't only exist in the Jungle Book. They have an interesting texture and taste that will hopefully grow on me... Baloo the bear made them look so appealing.

Prickly Pears

Evening run with Plato