Summer Adventure

South Africa

joytranae — Sun, 29 Jun 2014 02:26:00 GMT

It's my last day at the school and I feel very satisfied with the time I've spent here. I loved working with the kids and getting to know them outside of school also. I feel I was a pretty good teacher. It took awhile for me and the kids to get used to each other but towards the end the classes flowed and most of the students in the classes would get 100% on their homework. I was able to talk a lot with the teachers also and I was able to learn a lot about the school system here and how much they value education. For instance in grade 8 (the last grade before high school) there are some students who are 20 and up. One guy is 24 and he attends the night school for extra tutoring which I think is great. After grade 8, most students leave home to attend high schools/boarding schools. So, you can imagine the value of a college education. To graduate from high school is a huge deal alone.

I arrived in South Africa this morning and I'm loving it so far.

I went to the township and was able to visit my old kids and the teachers. I actually ran into Shelly, the teacher who was pregnant, while walking around in the township and she couldn't believe I was back. I was SO happy to see her. I spent time in the class with my old teacher and danced and sang with the kids then went outside to visit with the rest of the children and teachers. I was so happy to see everyone and be able to catch up.

Last Kenya Journal

joytranae — Sat, 14 Jun 2014 02:23:00 GMT

For the past two days I've been on a tour. The first day we went to a slum named KCC. We walked through the slum and then visited with a group of ladies that started a women's group there that promotes women empowerment. The ladies also make jewelry to raise money for their organization and community. We also visited a preschool that a past volunteer initiated. We helped in the kitchen, and we played with the children. We went on to a refugee camp that was caused by the 2008 election upset. We walked through the camp and we were shown the inside of the tents that the families are living in. The conditions were horrible. I'm posting pictures so everyone can see. We were told that the people aren't able to get good jobs because they are so far, and some children die because their parents can't afford to send them to the hospital. So, I'm planning to make a donation I help with medical fees. After the tour of the "houses" and a preschool that was built on the grounds by last volunteers, we handed out flour to all of the families. A common food here is Ungali (that's spelled wrong), which is just hot water and flour. So the amount of flour we handed out will last each family for a couple days. We handed out clothes as well, and then we played with the children for an hour or so. I loved this part of the tour because I was actually doing something productive instead of just taking pictures and documenting everything I experienced. I was able to talk to the head teacher at the school there also which was great. I hurt wanted to know how there greatest need and how I would go about helping with it. She was really nice, and I could tell she was grateful just for the fact that we were there and interested in what they were going through. That night we stayed at a place that was converted from prison to a hotel. So weird I know... But it was actually really nice and I was so glad to take a hot shower and sleep in a soft bed. That was the best sleep I've had since I've been here. The first night we stayed in a volunteer house that the organization in volunteering with sponsors. I didn't like it because there was TV and everyone just sat there watching Bridesmaids. I was like I could do this at home... So that reconfirmed for me that I made the right choice to volunteer in the village.

Today we went to a place called HellsGate and it was hell! The nice part was that it was a nature park. There were gazelles, zebras, giraffes, and warthogs. We rode bikes to a gorge that we hiked, but the bikes were HORRIBLE!!! I lost count of how many times I fell off my bike because it was so tall and heavy and raggedy.

I'm back in Nairobi now so I'm able to post this journal :) I'll post again in 2 weeks :)

June 11

joytranae — Thu, 12 Jun 2014 03:11:00 GMT

I'm starting to catch a cold because the weather changes so much here. It's really cold in the morning and at night and it's really hot during the day. Today, Tuesday, I've been feeling really weak so I'm hoping that I'll get better by the end of the week. I went into school an hour late so I could rest more and that helped a little. I'm going on a tour Thursday so I'm trying to save up as much energy for that as possible. I can't believe I leave in two weeks.

We have a night school that teaches the Maasai men who were not able to attend school as children. I volunteered last night to help tutor and it was so great! The ages of men there last night ranged from 20-25 I believe. There were a lot who showed up so I wasn't able to learn about everyone. I helped one guy named Joseph with English 5 and Math 5. He did really good and was able to keep with the pace I set for him.

I just made it to Nairobi and it feels so surreal to be back in civilization! I saw myself in a mirror for the first time in 2 weeks and I'll just say I look really different... I'm so dark! I get to take a shower tonight and use electricity. I'm SO excited!!!!! This will probably be my last journal until I get to South Africa June 25. I love you guys and I hope everyone is doing great!!!

Week Two

joytranae — Thu, 12 Jun 2014 03:05:00 GMT

I'm only able to journal once a week, because there is no electricity or wifi at the home or school I am at. Because I can only write once a week, my journals will be very long. I'm journaling every night and putting them all together in this journal so you will see how my feelings and views of everything change.

I like being here. I won't say love because it's still growing on me. I get more comfortable with everything each day. Me and my cousin were put in a home about 2 hours from Nairobi. We are staying in a tribe land called Maasai land. We live with a family of about 20-35 people. Men are allowed to have multiple wives and the men stay with their wives and children in villages. Each village is about 5-10 miles from each other. We stay with Joshua who has 3 wives. His wives have between 3 and 5 children, and their children have children so there are a lot of people. Each wife has her own house which is made of pieces of wood, metal, cow hide, mud, and sticks. Each house has multiple rooms. We stay with one wife named Grace. She has a combination of two houses actually. One house has three bedrooms and a sitting room. The other house has a kitchen and two other very small rooms. The kitchen is actually two rooms also where one room contains the fire pit built in the ground and a table for holding cooking tools. The other small room is where the dishes are kept. There are 3 large bowls on the floor that take up the entire room. One for dirty dishes, one for clean dishes, and one for mixing things I do believe. The house with the kitchen is a traditional Maasai house. The walls are made of cow hide, mud, and sticks only. So the kitchen gets VERY hot when someone is cooking. Our rooms are in the other house and they are a good size. Not large but big enough to dress in the mornings. We have our own beds. Nakia shares a room with another volunteer who is here. I have my own room. I have a full size bed in my room with a mattress, but I'm not sure what it is made out of. I have a square cut out of the wall that I can close off with a wooden door at night. It's very cold at night so I use lots of blankets. It's very hot during the day. Like VERY hot!!! I thank God I grew up in Texas, because it's not that bad I think it could be. We use the restroom in washrooms that are outside of the main gate. The washrooms are basically rooms with holes in the ground. That's where we go. There are cows and goats and dogs that live in the village also. Everyday some of the men walk the goats and cows to graze and bring them back in the evening. They trade off each day who will walk them. They start at 9 in the morning until 6 at night.

At the school there are grades 1-8. We teach grades 3-8. We teach all subjects and basically work as substitutes. We try our best to be consistent however and if we see are good at teaching a particular subject the teachers let us take over that class for the time we are here. The kids listen for the most part. They're are just like any other children and need to be reminded every once and while to quiet down and pay attention. The only thing that holds us back from teaching is the language. Because our accents are different from the children's we do not understand some words that are said and they don't understand us. But for the most part we understand each other and we are able to communicate really good. I teach English 5, English 7, and the head master has let me lead his class which is Grade 3. I like them the best of course because they are younger. The head master is really nice. He eats supper at our house during the week and stays at the school since his house is so far away. He goes back home on the weekends. I sometimes find it hard to believe that some of the male teachers at the school are Maasai men because they dress in regular clothing. But everyone who stays in Maasai Land is a Maasai. One of our friends we met dressed in regular clothing and I didn't picture him as Maasai, but when he draped a clothe over his body and did one of the Maasai dances and sang I was like ahhh... Like most cultures, the younger Maasai don't follow all of the traditional Maasai practices that you would read about. Not everyone gets married before they have children, not everyone herds cattle etc. They now focus on going to school. A lot of the students we teach have plans on going to college to become lawyers, pilots, and journalists. I LOVED to hear them tell me this!!! Especially the girls!!! The main religion here is Christianity. My first day one student asked me "Teacha, do you believe in God?" I answered yes and she said "Do you believe in Jesus?" I said yes, and she said "Good." Lol One of the subjects they study is CRE (Christian Religious Education) which I have taught to Grade 3 so far. Their other subjects are math, English, Kiswahili, science, and social studies. They attend church every Sunday from 10-2. I'm going to wait until my last week and then go to church because that's going to be 4 hours of Maasai language. The Maasai speak a separate language from the other Kenyan people. They speak Maasai and other Kenyans (non-tribesmen) speak Kiswahili. My first week has been very..... different. I have definitely been pushed outside of my comfort zone. Going to the toilet in a hole, bathing in a bucket, riding a motor bike (which is actually really comfortable, I dosed off while riding), dangling my legs from the edge of a cliff (which is really relaxing), watching a living goat get slaughtered (horrible... Never again!), getting burned marks, teaching teenagers, walking at night with hyenas a few meters behind me (I was with other Maasai men, not alone and hyenas are scared of humans I have learned), and living in a bug infested home (mainly flies which go away at night). It all sounds horrible and crazy to even think about trying but I've actually LOVED most of it. The hole I will never love and the wash bucket of course. But the people are SO nice and so inviting. The land is beautiful and because we're from the city it is SO peaceful! I could never see myself living here permanently or anything, but for now it's a nice get away.

This weekend is my cousin's birthday so we're going to dress up in traditional Maasai clothing and slaughter a goat (which I'm not looking forward to). We'll drink beer and probably dance and stuff and then we're walking to the cliff here to have a Bon fire. I'm looking forward to it. We're lucky because we've been busy the whole time we've been here. The other volunteer, Sarah, tells us it can get really boring because there's nothing to do. Yesterday we walked to the cliff and sat there for an hour just talking and looking over at the land. I'll most likely walk back and read there because it's so quiet and cool because of the breeze that hits the cliff.

Right now I'm at school and we're about slaughter a goat :( I don't think I'll ever get used to this, and they do it ALOT! The staff at the school are really nice. One teacher, Carol, has a baby girl named Joy so she brought her all the way to school one day to meet me :)

One of the other wives, Mary, said she's going to get someone to come to the village to braid me and my cousin's hair, so I'm looking forward to it.

June 1

joytranae — Mon, 2 Jun 2014 04:23:00 GMT

Hi everybody! We (my cousin, Nakia, and I) arrived in Kenya today around 7am Kenya time. The local time here is 8 hours ahead of Texas time.

The flights were good other than being delayed in D.C. and missing our flight in Doha. Our flights were setup DFW--> D.C.-->Doha, Qatar-->Kenya. We left D.C. an hour and 30 minutes late. We had a 1 hour layover in Doha so when we arrived to Doha our flight had already departed. So.... We had to wait until the next flight that left 5 hours later.................. The airline was really nice about it though, and they apologized and quickly set us up on the next flight and arranged for us to have a free meal in the airport during our wait. We ate SO MUCH during our flights! At one point I wanted to tell them no thank you, but anyone who knows me knows I don't turn down food! Haha!

When we got to Kenya the volunteer staff were waiting outside for us. We rode with a guy, Kevin, who was really nice. He dropped us at a University in town where we would stay for the night. We met some of the other volunteers who are staying here as well. Out of 15 of us there are about 5 Americans. We're having our orientation here in the morning where will meet the rest of the volunteers and from there we will drive 2 hours into the Maasai land. Kevin came to get us around noon and drive us to the mall to exchange money. Then we drove around to tour the city and visit with animals. We fed (and kissed) girrafes, petted crocrodiles and tortoises, looked at ostriches, and fed monkeys in a park. It was the holiday of their independence here today so there were people out everywhere. We at lunch a really cute restaurant where we sat outside. The weather was really nice and they played cool jazz music so it was really chill. We ate African food of course, but I have no clue what the name of the foods were. I'll try better next time.

We had a long day but a very good day for our FIRST day here. Tomorrow we head to the Maasai land, which is an actual village, so I'm hoping I will still have a decent signal on my phone and wifi when I go to work at the school. If not I'll be journaling whenever I can.

I'm adding pictures and videos as soon as I can upload them!

I just added everyone's email to this list, so if you'll like to stop receiving these emails let me know! You won't hurt my feelings :)

Photos: Kenya

joytranae — Sun, 1 Jun 2014 03:37:00 GMT

Volunteering and exploring

September 13

joytranae — Thu, 19 Sep 2013 23:25:00 GMT

My last week was so perfect. I left with no regrets. The assistant teacher took me on a walk through the township. We left school and went to hang clothes on the line at one of the other teacher's house and then we walked to a McDonald's that's right outside of the township. The school is in the middle of the township so it was a pretty long walk. But I got to take in everything as we walked. Because the teacher lives in the township she knows everybody so I felt completely safe. I could tell everyone was looking at me because they didn't normally see me around but I just kept my mouth shut and waved hi to everyone. I learned that if I didn't say anything no one would hear my accent and wouldn't be able to tell if I was a local or not. I bought breakfast for me and the teachers and we walked back to the school. As we walked into the school devotion was starting. Devotion is every Friday where every class sits in the hallway of the school and sings gospel songs. We walked into the school just as the kids started to sing the first song. I went and sat with my class and it was so fun! I learned all of the songs over the weeks so I was able to sing and dance to every song with the kids. Because it was my last day the entire school sang me a goodbye song and the assistant teacher started to tear up which of course made me cry. After devotion we played in the classroom and I cuddled up with my favorite. I bought the kids chips and cookies and gave them that. We went outside afterwards and I was able to tell all of the other kids that I knew from other classes goodbye. At the end of the day I was a mess. As soon as I would stop crying someone else would give me a hug and I'd start all over again. What really got me was when one of the other teachers told me that since I had been there the assistant teacher in my room seemed much happier and treated everyone nicer. I'm still not sure what I did exactly to make her open up but I'm glad I could make that type of impact. The assistant teacher also told me that she hadn't smoked or drank in 1 week. I was so proud of her!

I hugged my kiddos one last time and gave my favorite a lot of kisses. Then the teacher assistant walked with me out to where the volunteers get picked up. We hugged and she started crying again but even more intense. This made me really cry because she's normally so tough. Just to know that I was able to have such a positive impact in her life is enough for me.

I was able to buy things for Lorenzo. I just hope they made it home with him. I'm planning to message the lead teacher and see if they did. I'm also planning to help fix the floor in the classroom. I know they're are hardware stores that I can call and purchase flooring from. I'm hoping I can purchase it online and have it delivered to the school. I also want to help get a door for the classroom because it's located in the main hall and the children are easily distracted by all of the noise outside. Hopefully it'll be done by December.

This trip was amazing and I cannot wait to do something like this again! I really want to go to another part of world next time but I'm so attached to South Africa.

Thank you to everyone who contributed to this trip! Words cannot describe how grateful I am for your sacrifice and donations! You will be receiving a gift from me in the mail soon. I hope it helps better describe my experiences over the last six weeks. :)

September 4

joytranae — Thu, 5 Sep 2013 05:29:00 GMT

We weren't able to take the kids to the aquarium so I'm going to pay Lorenzo's school fees for one year. I was told it's R280 a month which is $28 which comes out to $555 for the entire year.

I have a great relationship with the teachers in my room so when I've been making suggestions about the classroom they've been open to them. On Kristen's last day they were telling us how we were one of their favorite volunteers because some volunteers have been "snooty" in the past. I was actually really happy to hear that because me and Kristen tried really hard to be open to all of the different things that go on and it was really hard. I don't know if I said this earlier but the kids get hit when they don't listen to the teacher, so me and Kristen tried to make it obvious when we would discipline a child but not hit them. The kids still get hit or pinched but I've noticed that the teachers try to talk in a nicer tone with the children so that's a start. I'm just happy to be having some type of impact.

The Lead Teacher in our room is going to college (which I think is awesome because she's studying early childhood education) so she misses every Wednesday for class. In the past me and Kristen would run the class on Wednesdays because the assistant is very impatient and ends up hitting all the kids. But that was because the kids wouldn't listen because she would sit them in a circle and make them sit there quietly until it was time to eat or go outside. No child can sit still for an extended period of time without fidgeting. I started leading circle time and setting up activities for the kids to do and Kristen would help keep all of the children involved. But today Kristen wasn't there to help so I wasn't sure how it was going to work. But the day ended up going really good! The teacher wasn't feeling it at first but then she started to join in on songs and I tried my best to keep the kids under control so she wouldn't get frustrated. She helped set stuff up and stayed in the classroom most of the day too! I felt so accomplished at the end of the day!

I came here knowing that I wasn't going to be able to have a major impact and change the world, so I'm thankful for what I have been able to do. I'm going to miss this place SO much. Every time I think about leaving I get teary eyed, but I know I have to go home, so I'm just going to have to man up when it's time to go to the airport.

I know have so many more adventures waiting for me when I get home.

August 30

joytranae — Fri, 30 Aug 2013 23:15:00 GMT

Today was Kristen's (the volunteer I work with) last day. Just watching her hugging everyone one last time and crying made me realize this trip has had a major effect on me and it's going to be so hard to leave. I've fallen in love with my kids and I've made some really close friends. I've gotten so comfortable here and I'm so used to the culture here. I try not to think too much about it because I want to spend the next two weeks having fun instead of counting down to my departure.

August 22

joytranae — Thu, 22 Aug 2013 21:52:00 GMT

I wasn't able to get to a place with wifi yesterday so these will be posts from Wednesday and today, Thursday.

Yesterday:

So today I helped with the "soup kitchen" we do here every Wednesday to feed the people in the township. Instead of leaving feeling proud and accomplished I left mad and annoyed. This was my first time doing the soup kitchen and my only expectation was that there would be a line of people with bowls and hunger. When we pulled up there was a group of maybe 30-40 people (adults and children) gathered. There were 5 of us giving out the soup and bread including one of the staff members that helps run our organization. We set up outside in front of one of the day cares that we volunteer at. The township people were fine. They asked for extra soup like any hungry person would and everyone was able to be fed. But the volunteers, including the staff members were very impatient with the people and rushed them along as if we had somewhere else to get to. I was dishing from one pot and one other girl was dishing from another next to me. The other people were giving out the bread at the end of the table. There was no line. Instead people gathered around the table and handed us bowl after bowl. This may make me sound a little self righteous but I am very good at estimating portions and guessing how much can be given until we run out. So I knew how much could be given. Long story short, the girl who was supposed to be dishing from her pot continuously told me to not give soup to certain people and not give as much. And when she ran out of soup BEFORE me, she reached into my pot to give soup to people I had already helped.

I know I can't expect people to be a certain way and think and operate a certain way, but I don't get why someone would volunteer to help people they don't have any respect for...? And then as we were driving home the staff member talked about how the adults choose to live in the situation they are in and should be ashamed and she talked about how stupid they are for having so many children and not being able to support them. I was annoyed by this point.

I totally understand that as an adult you have the choice to change your circumstances. But with that said the people in the townships are products of a corrupt system that dropped then into these "townships" and refused to give any form of assistance. The staff member spoke of the people having the choice to have so many children and not do anything with their lives. I understand that too, but if you were raised by a teen mother, or for some no mother at all, weren't allowed to go to a school because you couldn't afford it and weren't given a chance to grow and develop in a positive environment you would end up doing what you see happening around you? I know I don't know everything about the SA government and the people of the townships but as a teacher in the preschool I'm able to see the children there and compare them to the children that I see walking the streets as we drive through the township.

If someone feels I'm over thinking it or just didn't get what the staff member was saying, by all means comment. Please!

Other than today everything in the classroom has been the same. I was left alone with 28 children two days in a row but it wasn't that bad (the right children's songs can work magic). Today I found out the teacher who I was starting to like smokes and drinks. I don't think I told you guys that she's 7 months pregnant. Yea, that's a whole other blog.

I'm for sure being challenged here and I know I've matured since being here. I missed a few blogs because I've been so sick, but I feel so much better now. I just needed cold medicine and sleep. My 3 day safari was amazing!! I faced so many fears that weekend! Most of my pictures are on Facebook but I'm going to post some on here too. That's about everything so I'll post again some time this weekend.

Today:

Me and Kristen both have favorites in our classroom and today was her favorite's (Dean) birthday! We really want to take Dean and my favorite, Lorenzo to the aquarium one weekend but we'll have to ask the school's principal and the boy's parents of course. I want to take them so bad. Dean is the little brother of 7 children and Lorenzo was adopted by an older lady because his mother abandoned him, so we know they have rarely if ever been able to experience something like that.

August 15

joytranae — Fri, 16 Aug 2013 03:49:00 GMT

Today was the best day I've had in the classroom! The teachers were extra giddy and loved the kids so much! It may have been because we only had half of the class too. It's been raining the entire week but this morning was really bad so a lot of the children stayed home. Remember I said I work in the township. A township is just that. It's a town even though its surrounded by a nicer area. Inside of the township are houses, stores, schools, doctors... Anything you would need to operate a town. The only thing is everything is located inside of a shanty or inside of a trailer type structure. We drive past a barbershop every morning on the way to work that is a trailer with barber chairs lined on one side and on the other side are seats where the customers wait. The barbershop can't be bigger that 20ft long and 6 feet wide. Every business in the township is gated and most of the stores sell things out of a window instead of people being able to walk in. This could be because it's too small or there's too much risk of theft.

All of our children live in the township. One in particular is Dean who is the favorite of the volunteer that works with me. He wasn't at school today and she was telling the teacher how she missed him. The teacher told us he lives just a few steps from the school and we could walk to go see him if we want. We thought she was just kidding so we didn't take her serious. But while I was leading the circle time Kristen (the volunteer) and the teacher left. When they came back Kristen told me they had walked to Deans house and saw him. She told me she was so shocked to see how he lived because he always dressed so nice at school. I felt like it was scene from one of those movies like "Lean on Me". She told me she walked up to his house and there were three old men smoking outside of the shanty. She said it was really dark and dirty inside of the shanty and there were 6 other kids other than Dean. Those kids were his older brothers and sisters. When Dean saw her he ran up to her and hugged her really tight saying "Teacha!" I was so jealous of Kristen's story! Especially since she told me my favorite stayed right across the road from Dean. She said she saw his mom and she said he was still sleeping. I'm hoping I'll get a chance to go somewhere with the teacher one day. And this teacher is the one I would get frustrated with. Weirdly now I love her! I just had to get past her tough attitude, but under that she's so funny and it's obvious that she cares for the children. I'm learning that being tough is a defense mechanism here because things are so rough. And the children are bound to learn it because they need that tough layer in a sense to survive in their environment. I just want to show the children that there's more to life than fighting and getting what you want. I feel if I do that I will be playing a part in changing the direction of the future generation.

I'll be going on a 3 day safari this weekend so I'll be posting pictures from that next week! I hope everyone is great!

August 12

joytranae — Mon, 12 Aug 2013 21:50:00 GMT

I'm experiencing so much that journaling once a week isn't possible, so I'll be posting 3 times a week.

This past weekend was great. Here they celebrate Women's Day (which I love) so all of the schools were closed on Friday. Me and my mom went to Robben Island to tour the jail that political prisoners were held in during the civil rights movement. The tour was absolutely amazing. It was about 150-200 people but we were split into 5 groups. Each group took a bus tour around the island with a tour guide. We were able to see every wing of the jail, the houses that are on the island where the tour guides live with their families, and we were taken to the area where Mandela went to visit years after he was released. We saw a pile of rocks that he and some of the other freed prisoners piled up in remembrance of everything that happened. (There's a picture in my photo gallery). We then were dropped off in front of the prison and we were introduced to our tour guide who would walk us around the jail and show us Mandela's cell. Each group had a tour guide that was a former political prisoner (incredible) and we were able to hear first hand how their trials went, the conditions of the jail, and how they were treated in the jail. Our group was led by a man named Jama. He was in high school when he was arrested. He was the leader of a civil rights group at his high school and he was arrested during a protest. He explained that he and his group were all arrested together and trialled and sentenced to 5 years. He explained that they were very lucky because most of the other protesters received 20-25 years. But because they were so young they got a lesser sentence and one guy was let off because he was very young. In the jail there were group cells and single cells. A group cell would have 40-50 people in it. There are pictures in my gallery that shows how crazy that had to be. The prisoners worked all day during the week and on the weekend they were allowed to play sports and work out in the court yard. We ended at Mandela's cell. It was hard to take it all in because there were so many of us and we all wanted a picture so I was more focused on getting a picture than actually reflecting on what I was seeing. The tour in general was awesome and I tell everyone to go see if they haven't already.

We met up with some other volunteers who were actually in the tour too and rode the train back with them. The train let us across from the Friday market where there is food and thrift shopping. It's there every Friday night and it reminds me of LA so much. We went to the same type of market Saturday morning but a while away. It was way bigger and we bought gifts for people back home and ate a lot. We shopped more a the Green Market that's in CapeTown.

I felt like it was a good ending for my mom. She flew out Sunday around 1:30pm. She was sad to leave but she was happy to get back to her warm bed and TV lol. Our TV is broke in the volunteer house and theres no heating system so it's cold ALL of the time. I'm sitting here now under two blankets and i have on twi shirts, a sweater, some leggings and pants and I'm still cold. I left Sunday morning on a wine tour with some of the other volunteers. We went to a town called Stellenbosch and there over 100 vineyards. We went to 5 and tried so many wines by the end we were ready to get in the bus and sleep lol.

Today we went back to school and I got to spend time with my kiddos. I love them so much already and I've only been here a week! Today was much more calm and there was more order. We keep the day moving and when there is a dull moment I pull out a book or sing songs. The kids are IN LOVE with two songs that I taught them last week. They're called Slippery Fish and Baby Shark. When I walked in this morning they ran to me saying "Teacha, fish. Teacha, fish" So we sang those two songs a lot today lol. We only work 8-12:30 so we have to get in as many activities as possible in the morning. Today we worked on shapes. Over the weekend the lead teacher created worksheets for the older children to do and the other children drew shapes on paper. The lead teacher is very good at her job but the second teacher is not as helpful. I know she means well but she either yells at the children or she's yelling at someone in the hallway and interrupts the circle time.

The school in general needs a lot of repairs. We learned that the school is made of shanties that were connected together. There are holes in the wall of our classroom and we're next to the 1 year old room so when they change diapers we smell it. The babies like to stick their hands through the holes also and I'm nervous a child will bite or the baby will get stuck in the wall. I'm trying to find something that can cover the hole but the wall is so thin that I think nails will just create another whole. I want to find a piece if wood that can be glued maybe that way we don't have to worry about nails.

That's all for now :)

Week One

joytranae — Thu, 8 Aug 2013 07:58:00 GMT

This trip has been amazing so far. I'm volunteering with an organization called Dreams to Reality. The organization benefits children and families who live in the local townships. The township is a very poor area that consists of shanties. Shanties are house type structures that are built out of large sheets of metal. The township looks exactly as the media portrays it. But the people are very much like the people in poor areas in the U.S. (Oak Cliff, Third Ward, Compton, Chicago, etc.) There is major crime, drugs, and violence just like any other poor community.

I'm staying in a volunteer house that's in the "nice" part of Muizenberg and it's about a 5 minute drive from the township. It's safe for the most part but walking somewhere alone is not the smartest thing to do. There's three houses of volunteers (about 50 people total), and we all live in the same neighborhood. There are volunteers from every part of the world (U.S., Canada, Australia, Austria, China, Japan, Indonesia, England, France, and so many more.)

Our volunteers are split up at different schools. Two of the schools are elementary and three are day care centers. They are all located in the township. Of course I'm working at one of the day care centers. So far I have been working in a preschool classroom that has 30 children ages 1 to 3 years. It's CRAZY.... Before we got here, there were only two teachers in the classroom. The teachers are very stern and don't allow the children freedom to explore their environment. This is because there are so many children and they can easily get out of control and the teachers will be out numbered.

I've been in the classroom since Tuesday. The first day was very hectic because it is winter here so it's cold and rainy most of the day so the children are not allowed to go outside and burn off energy. Also, the children wanted to test me and the other volunteer since we were new. But today, Wednesday, was much better. I feel like I've been in the classroom for forever already. I've already chosen favorites which happens to be the "naughtiest" boys in the class. I was drawn to them because they get so much negative attention from the teachers. They only get attention when they misbehave so I try my best to notice their good actions and verbally praise them in front of everyone so they understand there are other ways to get attention. As a result they listened to my directions most of the day. The teacher noticed that I hugged on them a lot and praised them when they did something right and she asked that I not do that. So I'm hoping to build a relationship with the teacher so when I suggest things she won't be offended... Hopefully.

South Africa is a BEAUTIFUL, I mean GORGEOUS country. Most of the locals are extremely friendly and sort of feel like long lost family when we interact. So far I've visited main town, CapeTown. It's very hipster to my surprise. Since it's my mom's last few days this weekend we're going to Robben Island to tour Mandela's prison cell. We're going shopping in the main town, and we're going on a city tour/wine tasting.

I'm adding pictures and videos of some things I've seen so far. Let me know if I'm writing too much and I'll attempt to scale it down next week lol. There's so much I want to share but I don't want my posts to be overwhelming. I miss everyone and I hope you guys' weeks having been going great!

Photos: South Africa and Dubai

joytranae — Fri, 2 Aug 2013 23:09:00 GMT

Volunteering and exploring