Chatham Hall in South Africa

Homage to Lynne and Lourence

2010-03-24T10:13:00.000-07:00

Well, we are back. Checking in with kids and adults, I find that we are all at various stages of shaking jet lag, with the exception of one student who simply does not get jet lag!

I really wanted to spend just a couple of paragraphs thanking Lynne and Lourence for doing such a wonderful job with our group during the ten days we were away. When Gary Fountain (head of school) repeatedly said that we would love Lynne, I figured I would love Lynne, but not having been on this trip before, I did not know how much we would love Lynne and count on her, daily, to make sure that we were doing the right thing at the right time in the right place. She really is our feet and voice as the trip is being organized. She understands this age group, seems to love people in general, and, of course, having grown up in the Cape Town area, was able to act as our cultural interpreter at those moments when one was necessary, and did a lot of negociation for the group.

Lynne knew our program and our schedule intimately. She drives out to meet people at all of the sites where the Chatham Hall group will be working, gets to know the people, and makes decisions about which groups would be worthwhile establishing relationships with. All of her prep work made this trip flow. Her level of organization and her ablility to remain calm made her a joy to work with. She also notices just about everything. The morning after our first night at the game reserve, she approached me, looking a bit concerned, and just asked if I were all right as she had not seen be at dinner nor at the activity afterwards. I assured her that I had eaten (but was disguised as a student at that meal) and that I had been wrestling with the blog and Internet connection after dinner. I appreciated the concern and her willingness or professionalism to ask the question.

The girls loved Lynne and I know they were excited about the Wynberg event she made happen. They were tired as they readied for the meal and activities, but were so grateful that that school visit had been arranged. It was such a fun night for the girls and I know that some will keep in touch with girls they met at the occasion.

Lynne maintains a low profile yet accomplishes so much. I just wish to thank her for all of her attention to detail, for her good spirit, sense of humor, and hard work. We recognize that all of those combined to create a very memorable experience for us all.

Now, Lourence. I have been on two hour bus rides from Western Massachusetts to Boston with great bus drivers and bus drivers who have made the trip a challenge...made the two hour trip a challenge. When you are in a foreign country and waking up at 5:00 for an early departure to a site, who that person is greeting you as you get on the bus makes all the difference in the world. Lourence, from Day 1, fit right in. He knows teenage kids, seems to love that age group, treated us all well, and kept us going with his kindness and sense of humor. We could count on him to get us to the right place (Lynne had visited all the sites in order to be able to help Lourence with this), could turn our huge coach bus around in a very small space, pulled over when we wanted to buy grapes, stopped when we saw a beautiful beach, and went to pick up our lunches several times, made sure that we were comfortable, and kept us going with his puns, as with Lynne, his kindness, and his knowledge of the area. Lourence was well-versed in several of the languages of the Cape Town area and could mingle, culturally, with lots of different groups.

Lourence was there when we woke up, helped us prepare meals, gardened with us, accompanied us to restaurants, offered his own unique perspective and knowledge on the area, and was a wonderful complement to Lynne's guide talents. The thing that surprised all of us was that until Lynne and Lourence came to the airport to pick us up when we arrived, they had never met. Their collaboration and ease with which they worked together speaks to the wonderful people they are and certainly made this trip even more enjoyable for all of us!

So, thank you, Lynne and Lourence. Your talents, hard work, humor, and knowledge were most appreciated by all of us. We miss you!

Home

2010-03-22T07:49:00.000-07:00

We arrived, miraculously, pretty much right on time at Dulles after interesting travel experiences on Thursday and Friday.

Thursday began with a reasonably late (8:15 A.M.) departure from the hotel and a stop at the Green Market flea market in Cape Town. Students and adults had a great time bargaining after Lynne had us all repeat, "Are you out of your mind?" in response to the first price any of the vendors quoted. I do believe that we all were convincing in our incredulity as there were some great deals made at the flea market.

At the airport, it was tough for everyone to leave Lynne and Lourence behind. While Lynne works with Alterra, the Washington, D. C.-based group that organizes this trip, and has locked in our South African contact position, we are hopeful that Lourence will be able to request -- or that Lynne will be able to request Lourence for next year, as he was another part of what made this trip so enjoyable. We made our farewells and headed in to check our (heavy!) luggage. At the actual gate, the TSA has its own security procedures that it carries out for all trips to the U. S., so we were all lined up, asked to put our hand luggage on the ground, watched while a dog sniffed it, checking, I assume, for explosives. We were then all frisked and had our hand bags searched.

The flights were uneventful except, of course, for their length. There were some beautiful views of Cape Town as we took off -- we could see Robben Island, Table Mountain, and other sites that had become like home to us.

We did have a plane search in Dakar, where we stopped again to refuel. We arrived at Dulles on time or a little early, went through customs and immigration, jumped in to our Chatham Hall vehicles, and headed home.

We were greeted by members of the Chatham Hall community who were a little more awake than we were. People began dispersing in Washington, so that sense of "Oh, this has come to an end," did not hit as hard as those moments when a whole group realizes at once, that their reason for being, has ended. This was a gentler ending.

For me, the weekend was spent welcoming family to campus and trying not to nod off before 10:00 p.m. each evening. South Africa seems very far away in many ways, yet in the forefront of my mind in others. As I unpack my belongings...things I acquired, things I bought, a thoughtful note from those who cleaned my room at Aquila...I think of the inspiration for those purchases or the two pebbles I picked up (one in the shape of a heart) as I stood on Robben Island with the prison behind me and the freedom of Cape Town across the water.

Today, in Assembly, Rector Gary Fountain told of a book he read over break -- one having to do with the causes of poverty and the two main results for it -- hunger and homelessness. It was moving to hear him relate this book to the work that Chatham Hall students did at a Habitat for Humanity house in Danville -- a house that the School sponsored, as well as the meals that Chatham Hall provided for students at Lawrencia School. The poverty that we saw in South Africa was overwhelming at times, and it was easy to think, "Why bother? There is so much to do, it seems that preparing two meals for three days won't make that much of a difference." And "Will helping a few people make compost make a difference?" Well, the simple answer is yes. When I think back on a massive amount of weeds with which we fought as we cleared land for a future orphanage, or the looks of hope on the faces of the kids who had a meal at lunchtime, and when I see the gardens that Soil for Life has made happen -- some with our help, I realize, that a friend who always asks the question, "How do you eat an elephant?" is right. You eat an elephant a little at a time. You solve these problems a little at a time...and it will take some time. The thing that will keep such work going are the little bites of elephant...a meal here...a garden there. Some "wet, green" and some "dry, brown." A layer here, a layer there. That's how it will get done. Maybe that's the best way -- working closely with small groups so that one can see, at the human level, that every little bit helps. Every little bit makes a difference. Lynne, in a warm farewell to us, made that clear, I hope, to the students on this trip. Their presence made a difference to individuals; they helped eat the elephant.

There will be one more post after this one!

Day Three at Lawrencia and Botanical Garden

2010-03-17T12:05:00.000-07:00

Today was a strange day, because we all knew that after visiting classes, and helping in the Library and Computer Room, that we'd be leaving, saying goodbye to new friends and people who were very appreciative of our visit and time with the kids (or "learners," as students are called here). We were accompanied by several Wynberg (Sorry, Wynberg, for spelling your school's name wrong in the last posting!) students and faculty member. They had never been to Lawrencia, but jumped right in to help prepare food and work with the Lawrencia kids.
But I have gotten ahead of myself -- we stopped at the Diet Coke place again this morning and had a wonderful conversation with a woman who suspected we were not South African. She knew right where Lawrencia was and was happy we were had spent and were going to spend more time there.

After feeding the Diet Coke addiction, we arrived at the school and took up where we had left off yesterday. Shawn (Sean?) was all ready with the food for us to prepare -- cereal for breakfast and hotdogs and "crisps" for lunch. The breakfast went off like clockwork and the lunch was easy to prepare, but the clean up for lunch was made somewhat laborious by the "crisps." They were not potato chips, but rather, a Cheeto-like snack coated in a sweet powder that was bright red. By the end of lunch, the plates had a red cast to them, Katie Jo's arm was red from scooping the crisps out of the bag, water was red, dish rags were red, the floor was red. But the thing I loved about the lunch was when Shawn said he wanted to see the little kids' faces when they saw the food because it was fun food for them. Well, he was right! The kids were very happy with this departure from the norm, demolished the chips, downed the hotdogs, and drank up the fruit drink.

When the day was over, all of the students came into the kitchen/eating area, along with the teachers, and they wished us a safe journey home and the hope to see us again. The adults then went to the Staff Room where we said our goodbyes and expressed our hopes for the future of this relationship. This session was begun but an eleven-year old boy who had a lovely voice. He sang a song and then said a prayer -- the teachers called him "Preacher," as he clearly was articulate and voiced a meaningful prayer, and did so with feeling and a wisdom beyond his years.

We made our way back to the bus, walking through the hoards of kids who blocked our way, asking for one more hug or photo. We were finally able to board the bus and were on our way, tired and overwhelmed by the experience.

After a short respite at the hotel (read, "Walk to the gelato place"), we reboarded the bus and made our way to the botanical garden for dinner. On the way, we stopped at a breathtaking pull off overlooking the Atlantic. To say that it was windy was to vastly underestimate the power of wind. Sand whipped against our legs, our faces, and some got in my eyes. It's not as though I haven't had sand in my eyes before, but never at speeds approaching that of these grains of sand. In any case, I did jump down and got as close as I could to the edge and did touch the water. I would say that while it was cold, it was nowhere near as cold as the water in Vinalhaven, ME, where I enjoy swimming. Before the wind blew us all into the water, we got back on the motor coach and finished up the drive to the garden, where Fay met us with our dinner. We sat on benches and the ground on a beautiful section of the garden.

Our tranquility was disturbed by birds (partridges?) who would not take "No!" for an answer and came at us, getting a good running start from up the hill, and, in the end, did snag a hamburger off Margaret's plate, chased Corinna up into a tree (Yeah, except you're not supposed to climb the trees!), and startled Charlotte from two different directions.

I joined a group that walked pretty far up into the garden in order to have a view of the city. Despite the cool wind, the panoramic scene was worth it. As the time approached for us to leave, we headed back down only to find Mr. Merricks and the Merrickettes staging a live performance on the outdoor stage. If they don't join us on the plane tomorrow, it just means they've been held over for more performances.

One more trip to the Waterfront brought the evening to a close. For some, this was one more Hagen Daz. For others, one more visit to a favorite shop. I was of two minds -- the first was how I was going to miss Lynne and Lourence, as they have both made this trip so enjoyable and easy. It was really gone off without a hitch. The other thing I was thinking of was that I could not exactly remember which door we'd come in. As I was thinking about that, along came Lynne and Lourence who directed me to the correct door. See what I mean?

We are now back at the hotel. As it was as we left for this country, many of us had no idea what to expect. As we leave to go home, it will be hard to fathom what leaving will mean -- leaving a place we have grown to love, where we have been warmly welcomed, and which is so gosh darned far away from home.

I am going to finish this up and go to bed, as today was very tiring for all, I think. Part of that is the rigorous schedule we've kept for these 10 days. The other part is the emotional fatigue of processing what we've done and whether we could ever, really, do enough.

If you don't hear from me for a day or so, that just means that I'm flying and moving from plane to plane and not getting Internet. Tomorrow, we leave the hotel at 8:15 a.m., go to a flea market for an hour or so, and then head to the airport.

Lawrencia and Wynberg Schools

2010-03-16T12:23:00.000-07:00

Hello! What a day! We began with what has become or will soon be a tradition for this SA group as we departed the hotel and went to our favorite gas station/convenience store to get Diet Coke. While I had said earlier that I would not divulge the names of these Diet Coke fanatics, there is now photographic proof. Be advised the Lynne is merely there to make sure the students and adults make it across the road safely.

Our day at Lawrencia was pleasant. There seems to be a core crew of people who work in the kitchen, as the adults want the students to have as much contact with the students (and, frankly, that's what the students want!), so we increase the number in the kitchen as we get to the minutes before the Lawrencia students arrive to eat, but other than that, we have a skeleton crew who does the prep work. That group is directed by Shawn (Sean?) who is a caterer who planned the meals (with kids in mind), purchased the food for us, and is taking charge of what is being served when. He is great to work with and understands what these kids need and that they have to have some fun with their meals. Today we served corn flakes and apples for breakfast and Sean (Shawn?) grilled sausages for the younger kids and chicken for the older kids. Both had a tomato-y pasta along with that and a passion fruit beverage. Once again, we raced through the washing of the dishes from the first seating to accommodate the kids who were chomping at the bit to get in for the second seating. This time, because of the addition of a beverage, we had 130 styrofoam cups to wash along with the spoons and dishes. This task was made easier by the dish towels and soap that Cricket purchased for the school.

Kids spent time in classrooms, the computer room, and the library, as yesterday, and were pleased to read to and be read to by the students. Students are learning to read in both English and Afrikaans. In speaking with Mr. Peters, I learned that although the school recognizes that it is very important for the students to read and write English fluently, in order to become literate, they need to be able to read Afrikaans, as well. To that end, we will continue to purchase books in both English and Afrikaans for the library.

After lunch, several students organized a game of Duck, Duck, G00se, because who doesn't like that game. I enjoyed witnessing the vigor with which Lawrencia students chased each other down and, when close enough to tag the other player, how they frequently resorted to the much more fun hard tackle rather than just that gentle tag.

Our photographer in residence, Mr. Wood, brought several digital cameras for the Lawrencia students to use. It was a mad house when he brought the cameras out. The kids love having their pictures taken and love to take pictures apparently. Mr. Wood will make CDs of the photos and send them back to the school.

Our Chatham Hall soccer players held a soccer clinic for the girls of Lawrencia. Many girls played in this spirited game. Mr. Wood shooed off any boy who dared set foot on the field (and there were a few) so that the girls could have this time together. the Lawrencia girls exhibited their skills from one to two o'clock, with classes ending a little bit early to accommodate the clinic. The students are all appreciative of the energy that our students put into their activities at the school. At the end of the day, students come right up and give wonderful hugs as we promise to see them again tomorrow.

As soon as we returned to the hotel (well, after some gelato) we prepared to visit the Wynberg Girls' High School, located about 30 minutes from our hotel. We drove up and out of the city, enjoying beautiful vistas and the calm of the residential areas that overlook the city. We arrived at the school at about 5:30 and were greated by very friendly students who took us on a tour (as I do not have permission to use the names of the faculty and students of the school, I will not) of the large school (mostly day, with 70 boarders from Namibia) beautifully situated near the mountains. The schools flag appears to the right.

A warm welcome from more students, the head of school, deputy head, and several faculty members began a relationship that we hope will continue. From the melodious and full sounds of the chorus that sang two selections to the marimba band (I have been assaulted by students wanted to start a marimba band at Chatham Hall) that wowed us, to the cultural quiz, language puzzle, and the gumboot dance demonstration (Chatham Hallers - remember the African dance group that visited last year did a version of this dance?) and lesson (Go, Akeila!), and a lovely dinner, we all felt at ease and among friends. The Chatham Hall group recited the Pledge of Allegiance, sang the Star-spangled Banner and the Chatham Hall Alma Mater, and answered questions from the students and faculty of Wynberg.

A few moments were taken to recognize the winners of the different contests. Akeila won for her ability at the gumboot dance. Her table tied with the faculty table (Go faculty!) on the cultural quiz. Great thanks were given to those who helped out -- and I would like to offer a special thanks to Lynne and the wonderful Wynberg teacher who organized the evening. She will be in New York this July, so if you see her, make sure to say hello.

Prior to our departure, student exchanged e-mails and had a chance to chat more before Mr. Wood led us all in singing "We are the World." No, that's not right. He organized a group photo about which teachers from both school commented that the girls all looked great together. Chatham Hall students (and faculty) would love to have a visit from these girls!

As we left the school, students were somewhat put out that we were having to leave, but we have another early wake up tomorrow (can't leave too late or we can't stop for the Diet Cokes!) and the Wynberg students probably had homework. It was with heavy heart that we left, but with Facebook and other manners of communication, I'm pretty sure that these kids know how to contact one another. So thank you, Wyneberg, for a very enjoyable evening!

Okay, time to see if I have time left in order to add photos, or if Internet time will run out (I am prepared with a new code) and if the code they gave me will actually work. If it does not, I'll be going down to the lobby in my pajamas to ask for a new code. It's okay, the staff are used to it...I did it last night! Twice!

Dishpan hands -- Lawrencia School, Day One

2010-03-15T12:13:00.000-07:00

Well, we had an early wake up call (really, at this point, anything before 9 is early!) and all of the students and teachers and those crazy parents were on the bus by 7:30. The problem is that some of the adults, and I will not mention their names because I just learned that this blog is linked to the school Web site and I do not want to cause undue embarrassment, cannot really start the day until they've had their Diet Cokes. Lourence, our busdriver (but he is soooo much more than a busdriver!), who is THE MAN, said, "Not a worry. I know a place." He drove toward the Lawrencia School and at some point we found ourselves in a somewhat residential community with a gas station and convenience store. He stopped the bus, the adults jumped off, Lynne jumped off, too, to make sure we got across the road okay because in South Africa, people drive on the left, and this is not London which has those arrows that say everything but "Hey, idiot tourist! Look this way or you will die!"Purchases were made, Diet Cokes were consumed, and all was well. We arrived at the school about 15 minutes later than we had anticipated, but we just chalk that up to the all the rush hour traffice. Except the rush hour traffic was going the other way.

Upon our arrival at the school, we were met by a phalanx of students who lined the walk and sang their school song as we passed through. Soon, all of the students lined up and serenaded us with the South African national anthem. After an awkward silence which had us whispering, "Are we supposed to sing now? What shall we sing?" the music teacher got everyone singing "He's Got the Whole World in his Hands." We all left that gathering to meet with the teachers and then head off to our areas. The teachers' lounge was festively decorated with photos of Chatham Hall SA 1-3, signs expressing the students' joy at having us as visitors, and pictures of VA so we would not be homesick. (Sorry, VA, there has been very little, "Oh, if only I were in Virginia right now, I'd...")

CH students and teachers dispersed to the Library, Computer Room, and various classrooms. There was a certain degree of structure, but many teachers were just happy to have English speakers in the classrooms. Several of us went to the cafeteria to help make breakfast (two seatings ) for the 290 or so students at the school. Breakfast was to be Weet-Bix with hot milk and a package of cookies (the gentleman who owns a catering business and who had very nicely cone all the shopping and meal planning for us wanted to have a few things that he knew the kids would rarely have access to). We set up for the first 130 students (first through third graders), and then those who had been working in the kitchen went to visit a first grade class.

First grade classes are, of course, defined by the word "cute." The teacher, who had actually previously worked at the Levana School (Day 2 of Soil for Life, rain, building our own compost piles). She was clearly a dedicated teacher, loved her students, and had developed quite a rapport with them. They counted in Afrikaans and English for us, then we taught them the Alphabet Song. We sang "Old MacDonald," they sang the Afrikaans version, and then the teacher put on some music and the kids danced. Boy, can they dance! I was pulled up front by a boy who felt the same way that I do about the letter "j." It's a letter that must be said frequently and loudly. If you know me, you know that dancing is not one of my favorite things, but when a 6-year old grabs you and wants to dance, there is nothing to do but dance. Taylor and Catherine made a very good attempt at teaching the students the Electric Slide. It was a little tough with a small space and lots of kids, but the kids clearly appreciated the effort.

Pretty soon, it was time for the first breakfast seating at 10:00. Any sense of complacency was wiped out when we realized that we'd have to wash most of the bowls that the first seating used, as well as the spoons (first seating -- 130 kids) and get the second seating's food on the table with a very short turn around time. Cheryl and I washed and washed and washed using scalding water and our hands (no soap). The porridge did rinse out pretty easily, but it still took a while. While we were doing that, students and other teachers were putting the clean dishes out, putting more cereal, milk, and sugar in them and getting them on the table so they could add the milk. Meanwhile, the older kids (grades 4-9) were lining up and were hungry. To say that we were sweating (well, the scalding water did not help), is a mild understatement. The intensity of the meal prep almost had us looking back fondly on "Wet, green."

As soon as we'd cleaned the dishes from the second breakfast seating, we had to gear it up for lunch: polony, (Yeah, okay, if you don't know what this is by now, you have not been reading carefully enough), hot dog, cucumber, tomato, beans, catsup, bread, and a special snack upon departure. Bread had to be buttered (I could not tell you how many loaves of bread we used, but they kept coming). Ron and the caterer opened can after can of beans. Amy and Mary Kathryn sliced cukes and tomatoes, and I am going to miss some names here because some of us were rushing to peel 130 hard boiled eggs before the first lunch seating and were not entirely at one with time and space. One hundred and thirty hard boiled eggs do not just peel themselves. One of the women who usually helped prepare lunch and who was with us, said, under her breath to Lynne, "Lynne, next year, no eggs." I concur! Unless they are scrambled.

We had barely got the food on the table for the first lunch seating when the second seating began to line up. Back it was to washing the dishes and getting them back out on the table in order to put the food out for the older kids. It was hectic and intense and extremely mentally fatiguing. And we persevered with humor and the desire to not look like the 28+ adults could not put together a lunch.

At left, Cricket, Catherine, Jiachen, Kathleen, a Lawrencia staff member, and Lourence prepare the second seating. Please note students lined up outside back door. Please note how we are not even ready.

After lunch, and clean up, we again went to the different areas, but then found out that school actually ended at 2:00. While we had thought we would be at the school until about 4:00, the work in the kitchen had tired everyone out so much that we were happy to board the bus at about 2:30. Several people fell asleep. Back at the hotel, some napped, some showered, and some went for gelato. (It was cold and it was tasty. And it's right near the hotel.)

Cheryl and I took a very fast walk (in the sense that we were moving quickly) along the water to go to the Waterfront for dinner and shopping. It took us about 45 minutes, and, due to our speed and the very warm air, we were overcome by that phenomenon where you don't sweat until you stop your activity and then it just pours off of you. The very kind young woman at the Robben Island Museum Shop grinned appropriately and was probably just as happy when we bought our stuff and got out of the store. At left is just another small purchase I made on the Waterfront at Exotic Imports.

Great dinner by the water followed by gelato (Hey! It's small amounts!) We are now back at the hotel getting ready to go to bed to make sure that we're back at Lawrencia by 8:00 a.m. in order to get that breakfast going.

A bit about the Lawrentia kids. As we left, many of them came up and hugged us. As they brought their plates up after eating, they thanked us for the food. After we ate our meals (not the same food the students were eating, we put our garbage (some of which was uneaten food -- I, for example, did not eat my potato salad) on a box. As school was ending, a woman who helped us with lunch put that box out so the young students could pick through what we had not eaten and some of which we had eaten a part of (unfinished chicken legs, for example). A sad sight, but I am glad they got the extra food. (Dramatic pause...)

Okay, I'll add the photos and get this posted! More tomorrow!

Robben Island and Malay Quarter

2010-03-14T08:27:00.000-07:00

We departed Aquila at the relatively civilized hour of 7:30 a.m. with breakfasts on the bus. Another stunning ride through the mountains. We even saw more baboons in two different locations. Baboons are perhaps not as nice to each other as they could be...we witnessed one booting another down a hill as though he were a soccer ball.

We arrived back in Cape Town a little after 10:00 a.m. Today, there was a huge (at least 39,000 riders) bike race right in the city, so traffic was crazy. Rumor has it that Lance Armstrong was even participating. Shortly after our arrival, we boarded a ferry to visit the prison on Robben Island where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for 18 years. The ride was gorgeous - strange how the ride out to this place could be so beautiful. The sea was a bright blue, the waves broke white on the rocks on the island, and birds raced us to the island.

Chatham Hall was met by a guide who escorted us to several sites on the island. We first walked out to Penguin Boardwalk to see the, um, penguins. Well, they must have heard we were coming, because there was a mass, and I mean mass, exodus off the island. We could see hundreds of penguins swimming out to sea. I could not have been something we said...but I don't gknow.

Next, we were driven up to the prison where we were taken on a tour by a gentleman who was an prisoner of Robben Island during the 1970's and '80's. We were able to see many different kinds of cells (solitary, two person cells, four person, and then rooms that would hold up to 52 prisoners. Life was pretty grim for these prisoners. We certainly learned quite a bit. Political prisoners, apparently the worst kind, we made to work in a limestone quarry (very hot in summer, very cold in winter) from eight until four every day. Criminals (not the political prisoners) were taught skills, but the political prisoners were feared, so there was no real attempt made to teach them anything. They were allowed to apply to study, and their ability to do so was based on their behavior.

Food was not copious -- we saw a menu of what types of foods (fats, beverages, starches) the different types of prisoners were allotted each day. It made me think of the school where we'd made lunch for the students. Not much food.

The displays were interesting in that the prison had been left pretty much as it had been, but the museum had political prisoners relate some of their stories which were printed up on the walls of the cells. The cells themselves, were small, featuring, usually, a bed, cupboard, waste can (read "toilet"), and at a later date, a small table.

I asked our prison tour guide if many of the former prisoners were still active politically. He said that maybe a handful continued to be, but that the younger generation was not as concerned because they had not lived through it and saw things as being okay.

After the prison, we visited a house were Sobukwe, a political prisoner who had forwarded the anti-apartheid cause as much as Mandela, had spent his time and were able to view letters that he had written to his wife, recommendations that others wrote as he applied for jobs prior to his imprisonment, and a small unit where his children and wife were allowed to stay when they visited.

We had a great shot of Cape Town from the island. The sky was clear and we could easily see Table Mountain rising up behind the city.

The quarry was stark and featured a pile of stones that Mandela and other political prisoner made when they visited during a reunion of such Robben Island prisoners.

Back at the hotel until 6:30 p.m. (though Lourence says he will not bring the bus back into the city until after 9:00 p.m. tonight because of all the bikers!), when we leave to have dinner in the Malay district which we drove through our first morning on the way to Table Mountain.

Well, I am going to try to get this posted before the Internet conks out! More later or tomorrow!

I lied. The Internet is working now, so I am going to type up our evening, try to download a couple of pictures, and go to bed. We have an early wake up call.

This evening, we ate a delicious dinner at a restaurant in the Malay quarter. This area is striking for many reasons, the most obvious to the eye would be the bright pastel colors that individual houses are painted. Lourence said that the reason for the eye-popping colors was because, initially, the inhabitants could not read, so one could say, "I live in the pink house," and friends would be able to find it.

The food tonight had a distinctly Indian feel to it. We were greeted by a wonderful and welcoming staff in the restaurant, and explanation of the appetizers on the table (Mmmm! My favorite -- samosas!) and then were served a chicken curry, sweet and sour beef, and a vegetable curry. Even the most timid tasted something. The rest of the meal consisted of a very chocolatey ice cream and a refreshing strawberry ice cream that was quite startling in its pinkness!

The highlight of the evening were our two guests -- one, a former political prisoner of Robben Island; the other, a former guard of this prisoner's section. The prisoner (I will have to get his name so that I can spell it correctly in the future) and guard knew each other in the prison. Both knew Nelson Mandela. It was striking to hear the stories from these two points of view. The guard grew up in the country on his father's farm. His playmates were black children and he did not know of apartheid until he went to the city and noticed the segregation. He went to work as a prison guard to avoid having to join the military where a friend had recently been killed. He began working at Robben Island at the age of 18 and met the prisoner who joined us for dinner that same year -- the year of his imprisonment -- 1978. Both men spoke of having an immediate understanding of one another. The guard first addressed the prisoner in Afrikaans, so each understood that they were from the countryside. The guard told a story of Winnie Mandela bringing a baby, her grandchild, to the island to see if she could show the baby to Nelson Mandela. This guard told her no, that it was not allowed. In his heart, though, he wanted Mandela to be able to see the baby. He called his supervisor who told him that they would have to keep it a secret and that Winnie could not keep a secret -- Nelson could, but Winnie could not. So they devised a ploy for the guard to be able to hold the baby, got Winnie out of the room, showed Nelson the baby (Nelson shook and wept as he held the baby), got the baby back, opened up the door and let Winnie back in. Winnie, at that point, offered to pay the guard a month's salary to be able to show Nelson the baby. He told her he could not and he and Nelson never spoke of that again. To this day, the guard has contact with Mandela and even brought photos taken very recently of a visit he had with the former president of South Africa.

The prisoner spoke of reconciliation and the need to forget any anger that may have arisen out of apartheid and needless imprisonments. He is not angry. He did say that he believed that as a young man, he probably had to go through some anger to be able to appreciate the concept of reconciliation and the ability to move forward. He was a student when he was arrested and the guard spoke of the respect that he and other guards had for the political prisoners, as they were educated and could actually help the guards with their studies. As the prisoners studied at night, some guards would ask to work at night in order to receive help with their work from the prisoners.

It is hard to capture the impact of this evening -- being in a room with two people who could, by all rights, hate each other, but who clearly enjoyed each other's company and who clearly respected each other. As our bus pulled away, these two men, both of who live and work on Robben Island, got into the guard's small pick up truck and drove away.

Back at the hotel, as I said, bed time with an early wake up. Tomorrow, we go to the Lawrencia school where we will spend the next three days.

Good night!

Braveheart Home and Gno Gnus is Ggood Gnus

2010-03-13T10:03:00.000-08:00

We began the day with the cheetahs and finished up with more lions. After a quick breakfast, we headed off to Braveheart Home, a future orphanage for HIV-Aids children. The home is located about 30 minutes from the reserve. On the way, we saw real, life baboons along the side of the road. I had never seen real live baboons by the side of the road before. There are a lot of things that I had not seen (or done) before arriving in S. A.

At the Braveheart Home, we heard an impassioned talk (short!) by the woman whose dream it has been to open such a home. She knows what frequently happens to a family when a parent is diagnosed with HIV-Aids and understands exactly what happens to children in the local squatter villages when that diagnosis is received. Children are left to struggle for themselves. She has spent many years pursuing this dream, and it is with great hope that the home will open in June. She has rallied the town (De Doorns) around her and has received much support from local farmers (mostly grape growers) who see the need for such. The locals have given her money to buy the house, time to make renovations, and moral support in the hope that her dream will be realized.

We were a little leery as we arrived and saw the condition of the yard around the house (which has been vacant for some time). As "gardening" is a four-letter word to us now, having done so much of it under, at times, trying conditions, we really had hoped to do other things, such as painting, roofing, sanding, cleaning...pretty much anything but gardening. Well, we were divided up into five groups and were asked to clear the weeds (dense!) for up to a meter from the house on two sides. Another group, mine, was asked to clear the rubble off the patio. Well, there's rubble and then there's rubble. This was rubble of the sort that is cemented to the patio. Well, with shovels and pitchforks, we were able to clear away much cement. Andre, a farmer who is helping Ahmoret (the women opening the home) brought us a pitchfork. Amy and Cricket went to town on the half of the pile that was left. We cleared it out pretty quickly, swept the area, and headed off for other work. The two weed killing groups worked hard throughout the day and accomplished quite a task. There was a rhythm to that work - and as anyone who worked that detail will tell you, the popping sound of the roots snapping is like music to one's ears.

Vancy, Jiachen, Corinna, Amy, Cricket, Margaret, and Catherine after having demolished the large mound of cement.

Christina swings a mad machete as Akeila looks on.

Other groups painted in the house. Doors that were ready for varnish were treated to numerous coats. Cricket and Cheryl scraped walls of one of the bathrooms and were covered in robin's egg blue paint chips for their trouble. Ron and his group moved massive furniture in one room, and cleared weeds from one side of the house. There were also rumors that he was leading his group in some rap songs, but this is largely unsubstantiated.

A path is cleared, and one can see the beautiful, previously rubble-covered, patio.

Don Wood led the charge on one side of the house and ended up, with his group, clearing quite a distance and creating a path to the back of the house. One word about just about all of this work today: dusty. We were absolutely covered in dust and dirt (and had to reapply sun screen over the dust and dirt throughout the day). Yuck.

Lunch. Lunch was delicious, though there were some sausages that left us wondering. Most did not partake of them, but they were the target of many a joke and some uncontrollable laughter during our all-too-short lunch break.

At 3:00, we left Braveheart with it looking much better than when we'd arrived. Ahmoret and Andre were most impressed with all of our work. At the beginning, Andre looked at the group and said, "I thought there'd be more men." Well, these girls worked straight through the day with, as always, good humor, a great spirit, and creative thinking in order to get jobs done with the tools at hand. (Opening the can of varnish required four people and several implements which one would probably never associate with this task. You never know when an old towel rack will come in handy.)

Back at the ranch, we had an hour and a half to clean up and relax. I was able, finally, to use the outdoor shower (a stone addition to each bathroom, open to the sky and quite airy). I am going to use it tonight just to view the stars, which are, by the way, spectacular. I could see the Milky Way quite clearly right in the middle of the sky last night.

We began our second safari ride with the same guide in my vehicle as last night. Well, he sure likes to talk and repeat himself, but the trouble is, it is sometimes hard to hear him (what with the motor running and all, and his somewhat soft voice, and his accent). Well, he began quizzing us on last night's information, some of which we remembered and some of which we could have sworn we had never heard before. There was quite a fascination tonight on his part, with the gnus. We sat and looked at the gnus for a very long time, which, combined with fatigue, led to a certain amount of punchiness on the part of the adults in my vehicle. If we could add a "g" to a word and arrive at a barely funny utterance, we added it and we uttered it. Clever sayings such as "Gno gmore gnus!" and "Gno he didn't!" and "Gnight, gnus!" peppered the evening air and left us just breathless at our own ability to think that really dopey things were funny!

The best linguistically-challenging part of the ride, however, occurred when our guide stopped the truck, picked a few leaves off a plant, held it up, and exclaimed, "This is used very much with the enemas." Hmm. This did not really compute, so our internal vocabulary databases began clicking through other possible words that he could have said. "Enemy?" No. We are on a safari ride. "Enema" just does not make sense. Gno, it does gnot." It finally clicked that he was saying "animals," and our realization (and punchiness) had us laughing at that funny misinterpretation to the point where the driver should have left us to fend for ourselves in the lion area.

Ah, the lion area. We went back tonight as were treated to an even closer contact than last night (last night - 10 feet). Tonight, those crazy lions really wanted to get up close and personal with us to the point where they kind of chased us a little. This of course, caused us to basically see the chance for even more interesting photos. Click. Click. There was one parent who thought that maybe we should head for the exit, but cooler (hmmm, crazier?) minds prevailed and we have some fabulous shots of these beautiful (and hungry -- apparently they are not fed again -- by the ranger anyway -- until next week) animals.

A memorable day in many ways (we saw baboons by the side of the road!!!!) -- a fine combination of hard work for an important cause and just plain fun. Tomorrow, we will be given the chance to see the leopard who was hiding this morning and then leave for Cape Town and Robben Island at 7:30 a.m. Several kids have asked me if there will be any gardening at Laurencia, the school where we will spend our last three days (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday). The short answer is "No!"

It is now almost 5:30 p.m. on Sunday. Sorry for the delay. The Internet has been a nightmare!

More tomorrow!

Late Afternoon Safari -- Just a Bunch of Animals

2010-03-12T11:32:00.001-08:00

I think that I will let pictures paint their thousand words, but I should frame this, I guess! After lunch today, we had a little time to relax and get to know Aquila, our home for two days. The place is beautiful with a variety of interesting lodging possibilities. We met at 4:45 to do the late afternoon/early evening safari ride. Chatham Hall took up two of the vehicles and we set off eagerly hoping to come across some animals.

We were not disappointed. Early on, we saw springbok and learned about them from our very knowledgeable interpreter. As we looked to the left, in the distance, we could see black and white stripes. Upon closer inspection, they were, of course, zebras. A whole "desert" of them. In the pool across from the zebras, seven hippos stayed mostly below water, but one very large animal rose up out of the water only to slowly sink back into the pond.

Enough about the animals! This area is absolutely stunning. It is mostly red soil, brush, and what I believe to be granite mountains. Against a blue sky, the red of the soil jumps out. As we approached sunset, the shadows became more dramatic. The sun, however, kept us nice and warm, as it has for the past two days.

Okay, enough about the landscape, let's get back to the animals. We saw two giraffes. The amazing thing is how close we can get the Jeeps to the animals. They are wild animals, clearly, but are used to seeing the vehicles. This did not mean that we did not respect the power and swiftness of these wild animals. When you look at the photos, if there appear to be animals who were only a few feet away, that is absolutely true. Some of the most dangerous animals were photographed from a mere ten feet away.

We saw rhinos, which are just always a marvel to me. Elephants appeared and walked right toward us. Gnus rubbed their faces in mud, zebras rolled in the dirt, giraffes stared us down and, and, and lions sidled right up to the vehicles. Well, not right up, but we photographed several of them from less than ten feet.

The ride, in and of itself, was pretty exciting. And bumpy. I kept hoping that I would not lose a tooth as we were jarred back and forth and up and down, and the bars we held on to seemed to move right up to greet our faces. We were uncertain, at one point, if we'd make it up a rocky and very steep hill, but the big safari vehicle that could, did.

We stopped for a very civilized snack -- more sparkling grape juice and some fruit -- and then packed off and headed for the lion enclosure. I have to say it: Lions are beautiful and strong and fuzzy and, I reiterate, beautiful. There were a few moments of fear as the animals moved near the vehicle, but rather than come and rip our heads off, they would lie down by the side of the road and act super-cool by yawning and turning their heads away from us as we tried to capture it all on film.

Leaving on a high point (we saw all seven lions), we headed back to the lodging area and went our various ways until dinner. I know some of us participated in the African drumming clinic. Others, wisely, might be in bed. I'm going to add the photos and let them do the rest of the talking. More tomorrow.

It's tomorrow and I'll add on this morning's wild animal contact: cheetahs, a tired (it was early) leopard, and some more lions -- all rescue animals that are being cared for at the reserve. As it was early, and as we still had to get breakfast, and as we then had to head to our service project, we spent about an hour with the animals -- all beautiful. It was wonderful to see them in their natural habitat -- the brush -- has see how their coloring worked for them. The high point was when Kathleen took hold of someone's camera to get a better shot leaning over the barrier. She fell forward and the lion who had been lying down for about 30 minutes, jumped up to either see if she were okay or to eat her. Kathleen was never in any danger as there are double barriers, but it was nice to see the lion still had some sort of instinct.

After breakfast, we left for Braveheart Home in De Doorns, about 30 minutes from Aquila.

Touws River and the Reserve

2010-03-12T09:05:00.000-08:00

Hello from the Aquila Private Game Reserve near Touws River. This excruciatingly early wake up call at 5:00 a.m. had us wondering what we'd gotten ourselves into -- on the bus at 6:00 with just enough clothing for two nights. The bus ride was a bit dozy driving out of Cape Town, but I came to at 7:24 and spied before me one of the most striking scenes I had ever laid my eyes on. A huge mountain, golden in color where the early morning sun struck it, rise upright in front of us. Luckily, Lourence followed the highway that curved around the mountain. The entire two hour drive was full of stunning vistas, dramatic angles, and overlook after overlook that could have been the model for "Pride Rock" in the Lion King. As we passed through a wine region, we witnessed the grape-laden vines just waiting to be harvested. We stopped along the road and purchased three boxes of grapes (20 rand a box) from men who had harvested them earlier in the morning.

We arrived at Steenvliet Primary School in Touws River right about 9:00 a.m. I should say that school met us as we turned the corner onto a road that led to a road that led to the school. We were quite moved by the brass band (including a tuba) that serenaded us as school children danced to "Dancing Queen," leading us, with lots of enthusiasm, right up to the school. As we neared the school, people waved at us from their small lawns. Nearing the school, we were greeted by singing, traditional dancing, and shouts of excitement. We could not have felt more welcome.

Prior to breaking into groups to begin our work, we were invited to watch a netball game (old-school girls' basketball) and had a very extended photo opportunity with many students who wanted to have their pictures taken. We finally herded them back to class and were able to go about our duties (making lunch, gardening -- no compost-making -- working with students in the computer lab, in language classrooms, and making a very light dinner for the students).

I never did get out the garden, but I heard that it was not the back-breaking work of yesterday. My group's first job was to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for every student. In the 35 minutes we had (again, the groups rotated), we did make about 300 sandwiches and were able to chat with the women who were working with us (and who were much faster than we were) who all had children at the school. Having had our small breakfast at 5:45, the sandwiches were looking pretty good. We next went to a computer room where students were working one, two, or three to a computer on math problems -- identifying 100's, 10's, and 1's places...in Afrikaans. I know some German, so I could muddle through, except for a couple of numbers. The computer room is three years old and the teacher was very proud of it.

After a refreshing beverage that the school provided for us (um, students receive no beverage with lunch, so it was no surprise that they looked at us longingly as they passed by the room we were in), my group, as well as Cricket's group, returned to the kitchen to prepare a small sandwich "dinner" of polony (bologna) and "medium fat spread" (0r margarine). We learned a lesson about portions, as we ran out of the spread before finishing the sandwiches, so some went without.

Visting an English classroom next, we were just in time to read the 11-year old students a tale of why the dassie (remember him from the top of Table Mountain?) has no tail. (He was lazy, boys and girls, so let that be a lesson!). After finishing the story, we were treated to singing and dancing -- the dancing a la Michael Jackson. These two boys were good! The bell rang to signal the end of the school day and the students ran out to line up for the polony sandwiches and small orange-flavored drink -- the last food some of the students would eat until they were back at school on Monday.

As we regrouped to prepare for our departure, Steenvliet students surrounded CH students for lasts looks at photos, a hug, a Spanish lesson, a game of Patty Cake, and a last look at Jiachen's and Edith's long, straight hair. The principal gathered us together to thank us from his heart, for coming to the school, spending the day, and helping his students. He hopes that today's visit will be the beginning of a long-time friendship and working relationship between the two schools. Despite all that we might think these kids lack, and despite the things that they need and do lack, the kids were happy -- and that was evident in the sparkle in their eyes, their smiles, and the ease with with they laughed.

We climbed aboard the bus, waved goodbye, and Lourence about 15 minutes down the road to the four-star Aquila Private Game Reserve where we were greeted with an invitation to have a "welcome drink" at a bar-like area in front of the main building. Cold, sparkling grape juice was enjoyed by all. (Dramatic pause to think about the students we'd just met who did not have anything to drink with their lunch.)

We were then directed to a very lovely dining room were we partook of a delicious all-you-can-eat buffet. (Dramatic pause to think about the kids who would see no food from Friday afternoon until Monday morning.)

After lunch, we found our quarters, mostly double rooms with outdoor showers (the kind that are outside but which are enclosed by beautiful stone walls, so while showering, one can see the sky), large bath tubs, and a little patio with comfortable chairs from which to admire the landscape.

So, next up will be the late afternoon safari ride we took at 5:00 p.m. We saw some amazing things which deserve their own blog posting. So, more later!

More on Thursday!

2010-03-11T07:28:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to make sure to get the photo of the Soil for Lifers into the blog and fill you in a little on the rest of today and tomorrow. Okay, this blog site will not let me, for the moment, add any photos. I am not sure why. Maybe I'll ask my air conditioner.

Okay, I asked my air conditioner and he said that I was an idiot and that if I looked back through my open windows, I would see that the "Add a Photo" window was already open and I just was not looking. Here's the photo and a few more at the bottom.

Today, we arrived back at the hotel at about 3:15 p.m. Some girls went to the grocery store nearby to pick up some things. Others got right back to the hotel to shower and relax before a 6:30 dinner and a shuttle to the Waterfront. It will be an early night, I hope, for all (kids are in their rooms by 10:00 or so -- it's just a matter of how late they stay up talking or watching horror films!) as the bus pulls out at 6:00 a.m. for a two hour ride to the Aquila Reserve (which reminds me that on the way back from Soil for Life today, we saw some ZEBRAS and a WILDEBEEST!) where will will do, over the next two days, an early evening safari ride and an early morning one, as well. Check out Aquila on the Web! Paris Hilton has stayed there. If that is not a ringing endorsement, I do not know what is. Okay, what is, is Lourence's (our driver's) take on the place. He said that it is not commercialized and that you really get a taste of and respect for the wildlife of South Africa. Lourence has been a wonderful addition to our group. He will be our driver throughout our visit. His knowledge of the people, the area, and his sense of humor have made him invaluable. He will join us at Aquila, as will his wife and 14-year old daughter.

I am not sure about Internet connectivity at the reserve, so if you do not hear from me for the next couple of days, I'll just have loads to say on Sunday. After leaving the reserve on Sunday morning, we'll head to Robben Island to see where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned as well as have a look at the penguins that inhabit the island.

So, more either tomorrow and Saturday or
Sunday.
Left - trenching it. Below, Cheryl tries to escape.
Students in the greenhouse, below left. Slinging manure onto the best compost pile ever, bottom right.

The Chain Gang -- Dirty Again

2010-03-11T05:41:00.001-08:00

Okay, I lied. It is not necessarily possible to turn on the air conditioner by standing in front of it with an expectant look on one's face while randomly hitting the buttons and watching as the vents open, close, open half way, and close again.

But enough about the air conditioner. Today, we worked at Langa, another Soil for Life site about 15 minutes from our hotel. This was our hardest day of work so far -- not the smelliest -- but definitely the hardest. We arrived at about nine in the morning and set right to work in four groups: greenhouse, cleaning up around the fence, trench digging, and, ta da! composting! Our favorite, and something we could probably do in with blindfolds on, as each layer does have its particular qualities that make it identifiable by one of the major senses. "Wet, green" continues to inspire excellent faces, noises (of the gagging sort) and a real desire to speed things up just to get to the trusty manure layer. At least you know what you're dealing with there. As the day progressed, we were able to rotate through a few of the stations, leading my original trench group to move to compost and to create the most perfect compost bed ever seen. And that is not hyperbole talking! Edward gave a 100% and gave the other group's an 85% "or so." Ours was perfection!

But more about our pile later. In the above left photo, you will see one of the chain gang groups, called that due to the fence (keeping them in or out...I don't know). Please note the barbed wire at the top -- this crew truly appeared to be on work release with their implements of destruction: shovels, spades, pitch forks, and even a pick axe. The people who worked on the fence clearing it of dead grass and debris, filled ten (at least) large (huge) garbage bags with weeds, bottles, and other exciting trash finds: a pair of flip flops, shoe inserts, and an old CD.

The first seedling group, to the left, planted many seeds and worked very quickly. While it looks as though this group had it easy...they are sitting after all, trust me, this is the first day where we've experienced the true South African sun -- direct and no shade to be found anywhere at this site. So they may be sitting, but I guarantee they are sweating!

The third group in the morning was the composting group. As I have said, they put in a valiant effort, and I am sure that the compost will, um, taste the same as the compost that my group put together later in the morning, but their compost pile was a bit lacking in square corners -- a necessity when it comes to measuring and assessing how much compost is in the pile and how many bags it will fill. All that said, this group did have to put up with the most offensive of the "wet, green" of the day and deserve a round of applause for that. Margaret, below, has
met the first of the "wet, green" of the day, and has quite a reaction to it. Seriously, compost is so important to this region. When you see the mostly sandy composition of the soil as well as the complete lack of moisture, you can see that the compost is really what makes gardening possible at all. I have been amazed at what these hard-working people create from such a barren land. The vegetables that they sell are absolutely beautiful -- all the more for the labor that goes into them.

Those of us who started the day in the trenches, or rather, who began the day making a trench, know the meaning of hard work -- work so hard that when it was time to move on to something else, the group did not want to because they wanted to see the whole project through...until they realized that they had done the hard labor and that the next step would involve the particularly virulent "wet, green," so movin' on was okay. The trench was to be knee deep, 3 meters long, and 1 meter wide. We had to remove the topsoil (a pretty sandy mix) and then also take out the subsoil (I think we'd all refer to this as "beach sand.") We dug and dug and dug some more. Then we dug again. When we had arrived at knee deep, we lined the entire hole with cardboard and then had to move on to the next station.

Right at about lunch time, the second seedling group had planted everything that could be planted and even ran out of pots. The chain gangs had dug, and clawed, and raked, and hacked at, and at least established a sense of dominion over the fence area. The group that had moved to the trench had filled in the hole (What???? We just dug it!!!) with compost fixin's and then covered that over with all the soil that we had removed. The bed looks to be ready for planting. The compost group ("Chatham Hall Number 1 Composting Group") that finished things off, labored long after everyone else had gotten on the bus to grab their lunches (leaving us with the an abundance of "Polony" sandwiches, and some egg salad ones); apparently the chicken ones were the hot commodity and went early. That is just the cross we have to bear for making the most beautiful and squared off compost pile known to mankind. And that's still not hyperbole talkin'!

We were supposed to work until 1:30 p.m. and then go to an outdoor market featuring African crafts. We found out as we ate lunch that the schedule had changed and that we were going to stay at Soil for Life until 3:00 p.m. We paid Mr. Merricks to inform the girls of that, but they all got off the bus and set to work under the hot African sun. In the hour and a half that we worked after lunch, we divested the garden area of many weeds, garbage, and broken glass. The chain gang (most of the group) worked along the fence, clearing the long side. It was wonderful to see how everyone's hard work paid off in an area that was much neater and much more organized. By the time we broke at a little before 3:00, people were tired (and, I'm just going to get this out on the table: MOM! I forgot to put sunscreen on the back of my neck!), thirsty (everyone had taken frequent water breaks, but you really cannot drink enough under that sun!), and a little red. I don't want to say too much, but lots of people did leave the area with various body parts a little redder than when they arrived -- I don't want to divulge too much, but a frequently burned body part rhymes with "flacks of the fleas."

Just so there is no question about water breaks, here are several students breaking for a drink of water in the only shade available...so it was good that we brought a really big bus with us.

So, a very, very tiring day. This was a day that required much more physical work than the previous two days, and our students stuck with it and completed a very challenging job. I admire their ability to find the humor in situations and to keep perspective in the face of painful blisters, fatigue, thirst, heat, sweat, annoying suntan lines, and grime. They have done us proud.

The final photo is one of the Soil for Life workers with whom we spent the day. We have found, to a person, that these people have a deep understanding of what they do, why it is so important to teach people how to garden, and that they convey an appreciation for the help they receive. I think that we have all been edified by our time with them. I know there are several students who would like to start a tire garden on the sun deck. This would involve making compost, so watch out! Okay, so Mr. Blog will not allow me to add another photo! I'll put that into another posting. More later!

Thursday Morning

2010-03-10T22:14:00.000-08:00

Off to another Soil for Life project this morning, then on to a market this afternoon. Tomorrow, we leave bright and early for the game reserve! Six o'clock departure (that's 6:00 a.m.!). Can't wait to tell the kids! Hey kids! We're leaving at 6:00 a.m. tomorrow!

More later!

Levana and Soil for Life

2010-03-10T12:03:00.000-08:00

What a pleasure to have slept a full night (well, there's still a little jet lag) and to have finally figured out the air conditioner's remote control, which, while being very conveniently located -- tethered to the night stand -- has a minimum of symbols, words, and buttons, making the actual use of it more difficult than I had the patience for last night. That is not to say that I did not stick with it and make the thing work but I was losing patience fast with a clock symbol (I get it...timer) and an arrow and a circle which kept blinking at me while alternately opening and closing the AC vents. As rivulets of sweat ran down my face, the machine suddenly went on. I have not idea how, but feel pretty confident that if I randomly hit the buttons tonight, eventually I'll recapture the moment.

So we had another delicious breakfast of fruits, yogurt, muffins, cereals, juices, and eggs. By 8:30 a.m., we were on the bus and on our way to the Levana School in Lavender Hill. This particular section fo the city is famous for its gangs -- not dangerous for us at all -- just dangerous for the gangs. We were met by several Soil for Life workers who maintained the gardens that are located on school land that was otherwise not being used. We were split into three groups: greenhouse, garden, and composting, and immediately set to work in our areas. The greenhouse people (and we did rotate through all jobs) started seed trays which would later be sold or used in the garden on site. The gardening crew pulled back mulch on several garden patches, added compost, covered that with mulch and made sure to square up the edges of the garden plots. The composters, well, they assured us that the "wet, green" did not smell as bad as yesterday's batch, and, as Mary Kathryn said many times, "We've already smelled the worst of it." She also said, "You kind of get used to it, " but judging by some of the faces of the compost makers, one does not every really get used to "wet, green." Bu lunchtime, two groups had completed two beautiful new compost piles, the gardeners had tended to all of the Soil for Life garden plots, and many new seedling trays lined the greenhouse. It was with great regret that we broke for lunch before my group was to head for the composting area, and due to an (un) fortunate rainstorm, my group never did get to make compost today.

What made this day a joy for everyone was the close proximity to school children. As soon as bells rang releasing students for recess (which seemed to happen quite often), students would stream over to us and engaged us in conversation. One work group began a garden on school land (featuring three plots in the shape of the school's initials, "L.P. S.") and these workers were joined by several young boys who gardened along side the Chatham Hall crew. Now -- about the garden -- as the CH group pretty much started these plots from scratch, they had to dig through a hard crust to loosen the soil to prepare it for the seedlings and seed. Needless to say, this took quite a bit of effort and hard work. They were tenacious, though, and at the end of the day, all the new plants had to do was go about the business of growing.

After lunch, due to the rain, gardening was not an option (it was actually quite cool once the rain and wind began). The group was invited into the school to visit various classrooms and answer questions. Two adults remained to garden as we wanted to make sure that the new gardens were completed -- Kathelen Amos and I continued in the school garden. The girls and other adults who visited classrooms were charmed by the students (one of whom demonstrated a tribal dance in response to Taylor's ballet dmonstration) and were able to sing "Happy Birthday" to a young girl who was celebrating today. That, however, was not the only singing to take place. Mr. Merricks, in response to a request of a Levana student wishing to hear the national anthem, gave a lively rendition of the "Star-spangled Banner." I am just waiting to get the video! After classes ended and the girls and adults returned to the gardening area, we worked until four finishing the student garden and then helping Lavana (a Soil for Life worker) compost her garden. Mr. Wood also took a photo (he is documenting this trip quite well with his fine photography skill!) of the whole group as well as the Levana kids and the Soil for Life workers.

As we boarded the bus to leave, we were joined by several boys who had worked with us (hard workers!) climbed onto the bus with four of the Soil for Life people. Each woman expressed her appreciation for the work the Chatham Hall group had done. The boys thanked the girls and then sang their school song. The Chatham Hallers responded by singing the CH Alma Mater. I know that it was tough for us to leave Levana, but it was equally tough for the boys who had never been on a bus, let alone on one with a TV, toilet, and a Ron Merricks! Ron appreciates a hard worker and these boys sure appreciated Ron!

Back at the hotel having had dinner, and for some girls, another trip to the Waterfront. Time for bed after lots of technical difficulties getting this post finished. More tomorrow! Sorry for the delay! This would not publish last night!

Chatham Hall Elephant Women

2010-03-10T11:07:00.000-08:00

Yesterday (Tuesday) at Soil for Life, the gentlemen with whom we were working referred to some of the girls, several times, as "elephant women." When requesting a certain student to do a specific job (pushing a heavy wheel barrow, for example), they would say, "I need an elephant woman for this job." We later learned that "elephant woman" is how some South Africans refer to a strong woman. Margaret's mom, Kathelen, did explain to them that that specific term would not be well received by all women in the United States. The men, however, were quite happy with the work that these girls did and felt it was an honor to be called "elephant woman."

Today's blog will be up in the next hour or so, if I encounter no technical difficulties.

Victoria and Albert Waterfront

2010-03-09T11:32:00.000-08:00

After a dinner of lasagne, sausage rolls, salad, watermelon, and ice cream, we headed over to the Waterfront. Lynne had arranged for a shuttle to take us back and forth, so in two trips, everyone had been dropped off. The Waterfront is a haven of activity which would appeal to just about anyone who likes to shop, or eat, or listen to live music outside while sitting near the ocean, or just mill around and see what's going on.

There were numerous restaurants, shops featuring South African crafts, and the ubiquitous World Cup Soccer t-shirts, caps, flags, soccer balls, stickers, water bottles, dog outfits...you name and it has "World Cup Soccer 2010" embroidered, or printed, or stuck, or glued to it.

The Waterfront was a nice diversion from the hard work of the afternoon. Everyone seemed to have enjoyed their showers and a chance to put on clothing that a) they had not worn for the 28 hours of travel or b) that was not covered in compost in various stages of decomposition.

Now, I was sad to realize that I had left out one crucial aspect of of compost work at Soil for Life, which I must address now. And that would be our up close and personal contact with more indigenous wildlife. As we were covering our huge mound (again, 3 meters long by 1.5 meters wide by 1 meter high) of compost in order to let it bake with a very large blanket, screams erupted as a mouse jumped out of the first blanket that we used. The mouse got away and someone made the agreed upon by all statement that "At least it was not a rat." A little while later, we encountered a few cute little frogs and several extra-large grubs. The great thing about grubs is that they do not jump or spring or run. They just kind of lie there looking grubby. After lunch, as we unblanketed the compost to turn it, a rat ran out of the pile, right at me and then turned and ran between Charlotte and me. The rat did get away and we were okay with that, and I was just as glad that no one made any more "Well, at least it wasn't a ..." as when we began to sift the ready compost, a green snake (variously described as "cute," "green," and "icky," and met with sounds such as "Aaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh!" and "Eeeeewwwww," as well as the sound of feet hitting the ground really quickly and moving in the opposite direction) slithered out of the pile, and after transferring my gloves to Tony, he picked up the snake and tossed it over the fence.

Tomorrow, we leave the hotel at 8:30 to head to a town nearby to make compost. I'll attach a few more photos from today for your viewing pleasure! More tomorrow!

Kathleen and Charlotte enjoy the view. Lunch at Soil for Life - black tubs in left rear are worm beds.

Akeila and Prince cover the new compost pile with "wet, green." "Wet, green" is the smelly stuff.

On right, Emily, Christina, Arlene, Stephanie, and Akeila enjoy Table Mountain.

Table Mountain and Soil for Life

2010-03-09T07:07:00.000-08:00

Well, I guess you could divide today's adventures into "Didn't get dirty" and "Got dirty."

Didn't Get Dirty:

We had a magnificent "Didn't Get Dirty" trip to Table Mountain, leaving the hotel at the very early hour of 7:30 a.m. (especially since most of us did not get to sleep until after 2:00 a.m. and several of us did not have air conditioning last night while at the same time leaving on the towel warmer in the bathroom which kept things nice and toasty). We had heard from previous groups that if it were too windy, the cable car going up the mountain would not run, so the visit would be scrubbed. Well, the weather cooperated - though it was quite foggy initially. Despite the fog, which cleared, making for a somewhat warm visit toward the end, the views were breathtaking as we looked down toward the ocean, across to Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned, and across to other mountains (Lion's Head, among others). While we had plenty of sun up top, beautiful, white fog (oh, let's call it a cloud...that's a little more positive) blanketed portions of our view -- in and of itself jaw-droppingly beautiful.

The girls and all the adults had quite a bit of fun watching a mammal, the dassie, that lives atop Table Mountian - these rodents are about the size of a ground hog and the animal to which they are most closely related is, surprisingly, the elephant. We observed respectfully, saw Mom-dassie and some babies. We watched them staring at us until one suddenly appeared on the wall next to which we were standing. Let's just say that the Chatham Hall girls were not in any way fazed by this creature, and some chose to try to make a new South African friend, as chaperones and parents on the trip shouted, "Don't touch it...it might have rabies!" Needless to say, while nobody actually touched a dassie, students cozied right up to them. Things were going well until our furry friend tried to chase Charlotte. I fear that I do not have a photo of that pursuit as I was laughing too hard.

Table Mountain is a very biodiverse area, with 8,500 different plant species. We were treated to trees, flowers, and grasses that we had never seen before. After an hour and a half visit, we took the cable car back down. The floor of the cable car rotates so everyone inside can enjoy a 360 degree view of the Cape Town region.

Got Dirty:

Once at the bottom, we climbed back into the bus (coach and very comfortable) with Lourence, our driver, and Lynne, our guide for our time in South Africa. Lynne's preparations for our arrival and time in South Africa have been very much appreciated. Lourence took us the long way to our next stop, so we had a chance to get the lay of this beautiful land. Our first service experience was Soil for Life. The non-profit organization is a little oasis of small gardens whose mission is to teach people how to raise food in the dry soil of South Africa. The fruits and vegetables grown at that facility are sold to raise money to fund the organization. They also make and package compost, which is in high demand. This is the part of the blog where, if I have not already demonstrated my high degree of maturity, it will, hopefully soon be very apparent. After an initial welcome by Pat, the director, we headed over to work with three very patient employees of Soil for Life. We spent the rest of the morning making compost, which involves staking out a 3 meter by 1.5 meter area, putting down a base of corn stalks to allow for aeration, and then layering "brown, dry" (dry leaves), then "wet, green" (rotting vegetables, mowed grass, basically things that smell very, very bad, but which will help make plants grow!), and manure (or, "the icing on the cake," as the folks at Soil for Life called it). All layers were hosed down, and each bed of compost had 3 layers of each of the above. I think I can speak for the group when I say that the "brown, dry" layer was our favorite. We were okay with "wet, green" when "wet, green" was mowings, but after the first layer of it, we were directed to a pile of rotting vegetables that was about as awful a smell as any of us had ever encountered, and pretty much had us hoping that lunch would not involve organic materials.

Notice in the photo on the right that Tony is shoveling the "wet, green," because it lost its appeal pretty quickly. Tony also knows that the girls will have a chance to shovel this same stuff tomorrow when we go to a site that is beginning to make compost.

After lunch (just a little lettuce and tomato in the sandwiches), we set about the "turn" compost piles that had been started just a couple of weeks ago. Ask your daughter or family member who went on this trip to tell you just how hot the center of the piles get. Each group of students/faculty/parents and one Soil for Life employee turned two piles of compost - remember, each is 3 meters by 1.5 meters and is pretty dense. I'm not sure at what point of the day we became aware of just how dirty we were, covered in compost and its makin's, but no one left unscathed as compost was flying fast and furiously. We took a five minute break and then came back to sift and bag compost that was ready for sale. Apparently, they cannot make enough to meet the demand of people who wish to grow their own vegetables in the sandy soil of the region.

At four o'clock, we boarded the bus for the trip back to the hotel. With the hot afternoon sun beating down on the bus, combined with our late arrival last night and our early departure this morning, I think that Don, Lynne, Cricket, and probably Lourence (the driver!) were the only ones awake for most of that ride.

We are now back at the hotel resting until we have dinner at 6:30 and then head off to the Waterfront.

More later!

2010-03-08T21:09:00.000-08:00

Good morning from Cape Town! We arrived at the hotel at about midnight with a very great desire to not fly for a long, long time. Or at least a week and a half or so. The flights were measured by the amount of food served. Several people turned away the final plane meals and were probably happy they had, as there was a nice snack at the hotel of chicken, samosas, cold cuts, and a salad.

Many are learning that just because one wants something, one can't always get it right away. I dealt with that last night when I wanted to start this blog and could not get the Internet to cooperate. Others need sunscreen this morning, but this is a pretty civilized place and it will be hard to find such thing prior to our 7:30 bus departure for Table Mountain.

Our hotel looks to be in a fun little neighborhood - gelato right near by, and we are right across the street from the Cape Town (soccer) World Cup Stadium (93 days till kick off!). The people have been lovely. Several people (ahem) did not sleep that well, mostly because 1) we didn't know we had an air conditioner, and 2) if we had known, we would not have known how to turn it on. All set on that now.

We had a wonderful breakfast of fresh fruit (guava, pineapple, watermelon, other melons, toast, cereal, and yogurt), so I was very happy.

Last night, we needed to stop at the main terminal at the airport to purchase the cell phones that we can use to communicate here. Well, that took longer than anticipated, but those of us who stayed on the bus were treated to the hijinks of one of the porters who had put our bags into the bus. He was pretty funny and had the kids laughing for about 15 minutes or so. He taught them a little Afrikaans until we got on our way (with cell phones that apparently still need to be activated - our driver will take them to a store today to get that taken care of.

Well, I have to run. Later, I'll have pictures and perhaps more of greater interest to say...but so far, so good!

Arrived!safe! trouble with Internet! More tomorrow!

2010-03-08T14:37:00.000-08:00