New Year, new memories

January

Beginning of the new school year

In South Africa the school year runs from January to December which meant new timetables and classes for us after getting back from our travels. Erica is now mainly working in Grade 4 & 6, Chelsea and Olivia are both working in the mastery unit (helping children with learning difficulties etc) and I am now mainly working in Gr 7. I spend my mornings teaching Maths and English to a small group of the Gr 7’s who require extra help and then my afternoon is split between helping out in both the Gr 1 & 3 classes. Also on Wednesday and Thursdays I take the Gr 1 and 2’s for P.E which I absolutely love doing. Erica does pretty much the same as me however just in different grades. She spends her mornings helping in Gr 4 & 6 maths then the afternoon helping various teachers with other lessons – her favourite being helping out in Art. As for Chelsea and Olivia they spend the whole day in the Mastery Unit helping out and taking kids out to do one on one work.

Hostel duties haven’t changed at all apart from now we have our own tutor groups that we mentor and help with homework. This way we are able to keep much better track on homework and the children's progress. Chelsea tutors Gr 1 – 3’s, I tutor Gr 4 & 5 and Erica tutors Gr 6 & 7. Olivia doesn’t have a tutor group so instead she helps any of the kids that are struggling and falling behind of the rest. To make sure my tutor group are always doing their best I set up a reward system. I made a star chart and if their homework is to a high standard, they have received a merit at school or if they have been well behaved then they get a star. Once they have 10 stars they are allowed to spend R10 at Spar on our weekly trip which I pay for. So far it is working really well and everybody is keen to work hard to get the reward.

At the end of last year a few of the hostel children left either moving on to high school or just moving to a different school. It really is sad seeing kids leave especially when we had formed a bond with them over our first 4 months here but there are a couple new kids that have moved into hostel and it is always nice to get to know new kids.

Some of the hostel girls invading Chelsea and Erica's room

Drak Challenge

Drak Challenge is a canoeing race held in Underberg every year and to be quite honest this year it seemed to me that Underberg wasn’t quite sure what had hit it. In the past 4 months of living here I have never seen so many cars and town so busy – you could barely walk around Spar it was that busy. Every teacher at the school had to work at the event, seeing as all the entertainment for the event was on school grounds. On the Saturday night Chelsea, Erica and I had to serve up the food to the canoeist whilst Olivia took money for entry tickets at the gate. After we were finished work joined in on the party in the massive tent where a band were playing live music.

Joburg

Towards the end of January Olivia and I headed up to Joburg to visit Alex after his accident. This was Olivia’s second time visiting him since the crash and she was amazed by his improvement. There were another few vols all visiting him at the same time so we took it in turns to go in and visit. It really was incredible to see how well he was doing such a short time after the accident. On the Saturday afternoon I met up with my cousins who I haven’t seen in over 7 years so it was great to see them again and have a catch up.

February

Interhouse Swimming Gala

The first week in February was host to the annual interhouse swimming gala. The school is split into two houses – Sangwana (red house) and Hlogoma (black house) – and theses houses compete against each other at interhouse sporting events. The gala went on for the whole day and the weather was great for it too which was an added bonus. Erica and I were the third place judges which turned out to be harder than expected especially when it is a really close race. It was great to see all the kids enjoying themselves and all the parents there for support. At the end of all the races there was a
teachers race which Erica and I took part in. (Photo creds go to Erica)

Everyone cheering on their houses

Mali after his swim

Asandile starting backstroke

Post teacher/mum race

Valentines Ball

At hostel we are always trying to come up with ideas to raise money and one idea that we put into play was the Valentines Ball. On the Thursday before Valentine’s Day we held an 80’s themed dance. It was down to the 4 of us to decorate, set up and sell tickets for the dance. We spent hours getting the hall ready and making decorations but it was most definitely worth it to see all the kids enjoy themselves.

All the hostel kids at the end of the night

Desk Officer Visit

Towards the end of February Peter, our SA desk officer, came to visit. It was great to speak to him and tell him all about how we are getting on over here. On the Friday, Peter arrived on the Thursday, we had a braai with our host Charles. The following day Peter treated us to a meal at the Grind where we got to talk more about our project and also other vols and their projects. We also had our one on one interviews where we could really open up and tell him about the past 6 months. Just before Peter left he gave us our letters that we had written to ourselves at training before coming over here. It was crazy to read them and see what was so important to me at the time doesn’t mean anything now. I have now written another letter to myself to open when I get home so I’ll be able to see if the last 6 months were what I expected.

All of us with Peter

Sister Abigail’s

Down to the fact that I only work Friday mornings and Chelsea doesn’t work at all we decided we would make use of our spare time and spend our Fridays at Sister Abigail’s house. Sister Abigail (Gogo) cares for 17 children that do not have families and lives in a house just at the end of the road. She is by far the most incredible woman I have ever had the pleasure of meeting and for somebody with so little herself she has an amazing amount of love to give. She is grateful for the smallest of things and spends her days caring for others. The house if a safe haven for the children and the work Gogo does is incredible. A lot of the children were terribly sick and neglected when they first arrived at Gogo’s but she has done amazing work to get them fit and healthy again. Her saying we repeatedly hear her say is “All children need is food and love,” and it is true, if you care for a child, give them the attention and love they require then they will grow stronger and become healthier. Chelsea and I mainly help out with the kids playing soccer, netball and reading with them. We have also taken them to the swimming pool at the school a couple times as they wouldn't get the opportunity if it wasn't for us. They are such an amazing bunch of kids with so much energy and love to give. It is incredible how welcome they have made us feel in such a short space of time, inviting us to birthday parties and braais at the weekend.

Bath time

Mbali and Bhoy - the 2 youngest

Taking some of the kids to the swings

March

Progress

March was a quiet month in Underberg with all the kids starting to study for mid year exams next term. The small group I take for maths and English have definitely improved since the beginning of the year which is great and I also feel like my teaching skills have improved. If there are 2 things I have learnt this year it is: to use my initiative and to know when to pick my battles. There is no point telling the kids off for every single thing they do wrong. If you do that you will never stop moaning so knowing when to let something slip and when to give them into trouble is a valuable lesson I've learnt. So when you walk into the senior girls dorm at half past 9 and they are in a line doing sit ups all you can do is laugh.

Gr 5 Hike

I went with the Gr 5's on their day hike to look for Bushman paintings towards the end of March. It was myself, Karie (the Gr 5 teacher) and Ash (another teacher) that took them with 2 mums also helping. It was such a lovely day and the mountains looked incredible, however we were unsuccessful in finding the paintings. We got lost half way through the hike and ended up having to turn back with 20 moaning and tired children behind us.

At the start of the hike

When the kids were still smiling

Crossing a stream

Taking a break with Sibahle

Before we got horrendously lost

Well that's another blog finished. Over and out.

Rachel x

Christmas Travels

After months of attempting to plan our Christmas holidays, the night before we left we accepted defeat and decided to wing it and just book places as we went along. Turns out there is no better way to do it. I could go on for days about everything we did in our month of travelling but instead I'll try and give a quick summary of everywhere we stopped on our way to Cape Town and also on the way back up. We left Underberg and travelled to Durban on Saturday 13th of December...let the 4 weeks of travelling commence.

13th to 14th December - DURBAN - When we arrived in Durban we went to Gateway Shopping Mall for some retail therapy before meeting up with the Swaziland and Botswana vols for a night out. The next again day the 4 of us headed to the beach where Erica and I decided to hire bikes, cycle along the beach front and stop at some markets on the way. Where as Olivia and Chelsea sat at the beach and listened to live music.

Night out in Durban to start the holiday off

Cycle along the beach front

15th December - COFFEE BAY - We spent 8 hours on the BazBus travelling to Mthatha where we then got a shuttle bus to Coffee Bay. There was a massive car crash on our way and we only ended up arriving there at 5pm. We stayed in Sugarloaf backpackers, in mud huts, with bunk beds 3 high. Our tea was included in the price which meant not having to do our own cooking and afterwards we had some drinks and spoke to some of the other people staying in the backpackers. There was also a hammock which we declared ours for the night.

The novelty that was bunk beds 3 high

Olivia disturbing Chelsea's hammock time

16th to 18th December - PORT ELIZABETH - We left Coffee Bay (and Olivia) and travelled to Port Elizabeth where we stayed in a very dodgy backpackers...they couldn't have crammed more bunk beds into a single room if they tried. On the bus to P.E we met up with Katharine, Zoe and Anna (vols from Polokwane). The bus was over booked and Katharine had to sit on a plastic chair in the middle of the isle...that is Africa for you. However she did get a free nights stay and a free meal out of it. We spent our first full day in P.E at the beach, buying very "gap yah" jewellery and getting our hair braided...not proper African style, just a little colourful one. At night  we went to a fun fair next to the beach before getting to bed early as we had to be up at 5am the next morning. We were picked up at 5:30am and taken to Addo Elephant Park where we rode, fed and walked with elephants. I couldn't believe quite how massive they were and also how uncomfortable they were to sit on. It really was an amazing experience and after we were finished we got breakfast before heading back to the backpackers. In the afternoon we went down to the beach again and sunbathed for the rest of the day.

Our horrifically cramped backpackers

Elephants at Addo

"Trunk Up"

19th December - JEFFREY'S BAY - We travelled to Jeffrey's Bay from P.E where we arrived early in the morning and had the full day to explore. We stayed in a really cool backpackers called Abuntu which had an amazing view of the sea. In the afternoon Chelsea and I agreed to go on a horse ride along the beach seeing as it was something Erica had wanted to do since she was however old. Oh my, I had no idea what was in store for me. First of all we were given the option whether to wear helmets or not...Mum you'll be so pleased as I said yes straight away without thinking twice about the fact it might cramp my style or not look good in photos. We were then asked if we had ever ridden before, Erica of course said yes but Chelsea and I said we were both inexperienced. Once we were on the horses Chelsea's got caught up behind another family and mine went off following Erica's. When we finally made it to the sand dunes (Chelsea and the other family no where in sight) my horse yet again took off and followed Erica's and before I knew it my helmet was around my neck, my feet were out the stirrups, my legs flying about everywhere and I was holding onto the reigns for dear life as my horse went galloping along the beach. Without exaggerating, at that moment in time I thought I was about to fall off the horse and die. By the time my horse eventually stopped I swore to myself I would never get on a horse again. I truly have been scarred for life.

Blissfully unaware about what was about to happen

20th to 23rd December - HERMANUS - We arrived in Hermanus around 6pm on the Saturday night and after being shown around the backpackers we quickly showered and got ready to go out with some other people staying in the backpackers. The next again morning feeling as fresh as we possibly could we took a walk into town and the view of the beach was amazing! Later in the afternoon Zoe, Anna and Katharine arrived and after having something to eat we headed out again. There was something about Hermanus that really reminded me of Cornwall, I'm not sure what it was maybe all the small roads with shops and restaurants but there was definitely something. On the Monday, Chels and I travelled to Gans Baai to go Cage Shark Diving. The boat trip was horrendous, I was so sea sick I thought I was going to spew my load any second. However I managed to pull myself, towards myself and once I was actually in the cage I was fine. It was so surreal seeing the sharks so close to us and although Chels and I had an underwater camera we hardly got any good photos because every time the sharks came close we got too excited that basically the only photos we took were of mucky sea water. We were absolutely shattered when we got back and Chels went straight to bed. The next again day none of us were feeling great so we just spent the day walking around town and visiting all the little markets before getting ready and heading out for our last night in Hermanus.

The view a mere 2 minute walk from the backpackers

Chelsea all ready to see some sharks

Selfie underwater

The only good photo we got - however it is pretty damn good

24th December to 2nd January - CAPE TOWN - We made it!! After a 2 hour journey singing Christmas songs, wearing our Santa hats and annoying every other person on the BazBus we arrived in Cape Town. As soon as we arrived all the other vols were waiting for us so we quickly dumped our bags and headed out. It was so good to catch up with other vols and hear all about their project and how they're doing etc. On Christmas morning everyone was Skyping and FaceTiming home and after finally getting hold of the family the first thing my dad says is "What time did you get in last night? You look rough as hell." Well there really is no escape, I can be on the other side of the world and still get tuned for going out and feeling it the next morning. A few of us decided to go for a walk down to the waterfront but we couldn't see much because of the mist so turned around and headed back to the backpackers. When we got back we started to get ready to go to Alex and Tim's backpackers for our Christmas braai. I have to give it to the boys, they did a very impressive job with all the food. Although we were all in our Christmas jumpers and what have you it still didn't really feel like Christmas but we made the most with what we had and enjoyed the day.

Christmas Day

On Boxing day a group of us headed to the beach at Camps Bay. We were told it was a half an hour walk from the backpackers however 2 hours later Camps Bay was still no where in sight. After almost 3 hours of walking we finally arrived. Some of the houses we walked past on our way there were incredible...I'm talking infinity pools, Porsche cars, the lot. Definitely the best way to spend Boxing Day, enjoying the sunshine and the views with not a single Boxing Day sale in sight. Being so close to Long Street was great, as it meant there was always something for us to do at night.

Coming to the end of our 3 hour walk

Camps Bay

After going for a walk on the rocks

The next again morning it was Table Mountain day. You really can't go to Cape Town and not climb Table Mountain however the closer we got to the top the colder and mistier it got. Once we made it to the top and couldn't see 10 metres in front of us we decided to get the cable car back down. However once we were in the cable car it broke down just as we left the top and it took an hour for the "technical difficulty" to get sorted. One of the ladies in the cable car started to have a panic attack because she was feeling claustrophobic and to take the attention off of her one of the engineers started singing to us over the speaker. Quite an experience I must say.  That night we decided to give the karaoke bar a try and it didn't take long before we were all arguing over who's turn it was to sing and giving our best X factor auditions. 

Half way there

The following day was a Sunday and it was the first day almost all of us were together so we decided to do our Secret Santa that Phil and Jake had organised. Some of the presents were hilarious but the Project Trust calendars that Izzie and Erica got were hands down the best. After Secret Santa a group of us went to the Planetarium to listen to a talk on stars. As interesting as it was, the seats were ridiculously comfy and it wasn't long before I was sleeping. After the talk we met up with the Namibian vols who were also in Cape Town and walked around the museum before going to the stalls at the market next to the backpackers. At night we came across a bar called Abuntu and with drinks starting at R5 (20p) it definitely became one of our favourite places.

Planetarium 

On the Monday I spent the day with my family that live in Cape Town and it was great to meet up with them. I had lunch at their house before they gave me a tour of Cape Town which meant I took in a lot more things the next again day when we went on the City Sightseeing bus which went pretty much the same route they had taken me. As all top tourists do, we spent the day hoping on and off the bus visiting Kirstenbosch Gardens, a monkey sanctuary and Groot Constantia for wine tasting. At the wine tasting Chelsea kindly pointed out that there was something on my forehead which Anna proceeded to tell me was ringworm. Great, just what I needed. A nice big circle on my forehead that is highly contagious (luckily it was gone in a couple days when I got cream for it). When we got back to the starting point of the tour we got off one bus and onto another which took us for a night tour up Signal Hill to watch the sun set. 

Day out with the family

Houts Bay

Kirstenbosch Gardens

Groot Constantia

Wine Tasting

Monkey Sanctuary 

Penguins

Sunset up Signal Hill

New Years Eve!! Because we are such a big country group it is so hard to get us altogether to do something so some people went down to the waterfront to listen to Mi Casa whilst the rest of us headed to Long Street where we said our 3, 2, 1's. New Years Day was a bit of a write off and those who didn't go on the Cape Pennisula tour (me) spent the majority of the day chilling out and playing cards in the backpackers. Friday was our last and final day in Cape Town. Chelsea climbed Table Mountain with the New Zealand guys we were sharing a room with whilst I met up with my mum's friend from work to get a parcel my mum had sent over with her. That night we went out and made the most of our last night in Cape Town before leaving everyone for another 8 months.

The only semi-decent photo I have at New Years

3rd to 4th January - PLETTENBERG BAY - We left Cape Town at 5am and had what felt like a never ending bus journey to Plettenberg. When we eventually arrived, all any of us wanted to do was sleep so as soon as we were checked in at our backpackers - African Array - we went straight to bed. I managed to sleep from 5pm to 9am the next again morning. It is fair to say Cape Town had well and truly taken it out of me. Phil and Jake arrived at the backpackers whilst I was asleep and I didn't see them until the next again morning. The 6 of us headed into town where we went to a Pizza place where we paid R60 (£3.50) for a large pizza with an unlimited amount of toppings. It was amazingggg. After our pizza we headed down to the beach and although none of us had taken bikinis with us the temptation to get into the sea was too high and we went in with our clothes on...not thinking about what we were going to do once we got out.

Beach Babes strike again

5th January - PORT ELIZABETH - 3, 2, 1...Bungee! Another thing ticked off the Wish List...World's Highest Bridge Bungee at Bloukrans Bridge. Easily the best thing I have ever done in my life. The adrenaline you get in indescribable, I recommend everyone to do it. Once we had done the bungee we travelled to P.E where we spent the night in such a nice backpackers and went for a swim at midnight because we were the only ones staying there. A game of Marco Polo was of course crucial.

Andddd JUMP

I'd love to remember what I was thinking right then

Post bungee jump

Our certificates just in case the photos didn't prove it

6th January - CHINSTA - When arriving in Chinsta we met up with Amy, Linsey, Melissa and Erin who were also staying in the backpackers. The views from Bucanneers backpackers really were something else. Our room looked right on to the beach and I could have sat on the balcony all day just staring at the view. Seeing as we only had one night in Chinsta we wanted to make the most of it so we all headed down to the beach which was less than a 5 minute walk away. When we arrived we realised that although it looked absolutely stunning from afar, close up the wind was so strong that the sand stung us when it hit us. Not to mention the freezing cold temperature of the water. So as you can imagine after half an hour down at the beach we decided enough was enough and headed back to the backpackers. Luckily we arrived back just in time for volleyball and free wine. Of course, volleyball was taken very seriously and we all got rather competitive before having curry for tea and drinks at the bar.

The view from our balcony

7th to 8th January - UMZUMBE - Once leaving Chinsta early in the morning, our bus broke down which meant spending 3 hours sitting waiting for a replacement bus to come get us. The inside of the bus was all pimped out with speakers and a mini tv that came down. Before we knew it, the Westlife 2001 tour video was being played and we were all getting very carried away singing much to the annoyance of the Germans on the bus who just wanted to sleep. Es tut mir leid!! (I'm sorry in German) If any member of Westlife happens to stumble across this blog post I would just like to say congratulations, you can now say you have well and truly made it. Your 2001 tour video was playing in the middle of the Transkei, South Africa and even the driver was singing along at one point. After the excitement that was Westlife and some crazy crazy thunder and lightening we finally arrived in Umzumbe at 1am to be told that we were getting a free nights stay because of the delay with the bus - winning! Once we were checked into the backpackers - Mantis and Moon - we were also given the comforting news that there was a Black Mamba in the kitchen and under no circumstances were we to go in. I don't know much about snakes so for me to know how dangerous a Black Mamba was without anyone needing to tell me I knew it was serious. However, I tried to put it to the back of my mind and myself, Chelsea, Erica and Olivia got settled in our tipi tent for the night. The next again day was Phil's birthday so myself, Amy, Linsey and Jake headed into town to buy him a cake and get food for the birthday braai. By far Umzumbe was the coolest backpackers we stayed in, it has everything from a pool and Jacuzzi to monkeys swinging from the trees.

The pool at Mantis and Moon

Phil's birthday braai

Jacuzzi

One man band

9th to 10th January - DURBAN - Before leaving Umzumbe we watched a really cool one man band and I was gutted when we were told our bus had arrived because I could have sat and listened to him for ages. We arrived in Durban at 11pm and once we were checked in we all went to the garage next door to get food before going straight to sleep. The next again morning I chummed Olivia to the bus station where she got the bus up to Jo'burg to go and visit Alex after his accident. At 1pm the NUD Express then came to fetch myself and Chelsea and it wasn't long before we were playing "Whoever spots the first Underberg number plate gets a free drink" and we were home.

Well that is my Christmas holidays summed up as best I can manage. Now just another 5 months to catch up on. Over and out.

Rachel x