We love Molinga!!

Evening!!!

What a great day... another teacher was ill so today i had to take care and teach the 2nd grade class they where better than the kindergarden kids but very challenging and i was upset i didnt get to see the grade 5 kids again. Bought another camera today so will definately take it to school tomorrow.

Today we had the leaving lunch for my original group and the old leavers it wa sin Langa township at a place called 'Mzoli's meat' it was interesting thats for sure. We sat in an outdoor tent and there where nearly as many flies as us but it turned out to be really fun. All the staff came and their was a local african group playing music and all the organisers and staff where dancing so it was really cool and relaxed a nice change but kind of sad for all the people that are leaving some have been here for up to 12 weeks.. This means new arrivals on Saturday we have a girl joining our room as alex is leaving for home. She is called Kate so will be good to meet her and all the other new people etc..

Went to Cavendish etc this afternoon and then came home just spent tonight relaxing and chatting with the girls at home preparing for tomorrow etc. We love Malinga one of the drivers at CCS hes like everyones grand father but amazing and so much fun ... I am definately growing attached to this place. Time is just passing too quickly...The world is so big yet so small. Love K X

'We all Bleed Red'

Well today was a bit different to what i have experienced so far at placement. The grade r teacher 4-5 yr olds was off ill so myself and another volunteer had to take the class for the day. 45 kids in one small room with very limited resources and they really did not listen. Some where adorable others just naughty and crazy but we survived. I had to send 2 little boys to the principal for fighting and then when we took them out to play i was playing football with one and accidentally smacked a ball into his face which was terrible i felt so bad but luckily he was fine. It was quite weird in the playground with them surrounded by barbed wire and all these dodgy men kept walking by and watching.. didnt really feel very safe.. i was quite relieved when we where collected and the children left for the day. I really am attached to my grade 5 class now and looking forward to hopefully being back with them tomorrow. After lunch we left for a tour of the District Six Museaum in downtown Cape Town. It was very moving and once again we had a great guide who actually used to live there before the coloureds and blacks where forcibly removed during apartheid. He spoke about what happened how the people felt and the concequences... gang crime. Women had to work now to survive till late evenings so kids where fending for themselves growing up in clicks which became gangs and so the onset of the terrible violence that started in the townships and has now spread across the nation...everything is becoming clearer that is for sure. I took some photos before we left for home..Walked to Rondebosch to go to the supermarket and then came home. Its a quiet night this evening with some lesson preparation for tomorrow. Love K x

Busy Busy Busy....

Hollaa all.

Hope everyone is doing well...Just got home and its been a long day so sorry for any spelling errors and all that. Last time i wrote was saturday before the rugby, survived the train ride to Newlands with Annie and 40 Rand secured us the best seats in the house.. equivalent of less than 4 pounds.. to watch Western Province convincingly beat Bolands 50-10. Nick a guy who used to go to Bishops played last 30 mins or so which was cool to see as hes still young so quite a big thing for him to be playing i think.. was a good experience. Went to Long Street that evening to the Dubliner which was a good night... house was quiet as everyone only really came back on Sunday evening. Yesterday it rained alot so we just chilled out and went to see Batman and relaxed before placement again and the next stretch of 6am wake up calls... Was great to go back to the kids today and see everyone again. Teaching them P.E wednesday and thursday weather permitting which is really exciting as they do not normally get P.E classes scheduled into their timetable. After placement today we came straight home for lunch then we went to the waterfront to catch the ferry to Robben island. We went on a walking tour through the prison and saw Mandela's cell and where he spent his time imprisoned on the island. Our guide was an ex prisoner so he really knew his stuff and he was very moving and touching. We then boarded a bus for a tour of the island and had a very amusing guide who had some good brit/us/bush jokes to keep us amused. The ferry back was a bit rough but all in all an amazing thing to do and definately worth it for the understanding and history i gained. Mandela is such a legend and a peoples hero here.. Went around the waterfont and had some dinner with some of the girls and we just came home now. Def ready for bed... time is flying by its crazy... cant believ i left home 2 and a half weeks ago.. so much to go into regarding what i know/learnt/seen but will save that for another time. Love K x

From Capetown with love

Good Morning...
It is about 9 am in CapeTown and the sun is shining!! I desperately wanted a lie in today as 6:30 am wake up calls tire you out but no such luck i think my body clock is set to wake up early now. The house is very quiet as a big group went off to do the Garden route for the weekend and another couple have just left for a wine tour.
Yesterday was the end of another week at Blossom street. Time is flying by..On thursday afternoon we took a tour to the Cape Malay quarter and learnt about the slave trade and also went to the slave house/museum in the city centre. As we learn more about the history of this country it becomes clear why the people living here are living the way they are surrounded by violence and crime.

Last night we decided to go to this local wine bar which is more of a chilled out place with a fire and sofas etc. We called the cab as usual and Annie Leslie and myself got in. The driver had no idea where to go and we ended up in back streets and he was shouting etc. It was a pretty scary situation we are all aware of what is going on but the thing that struck me was driving through a residential area which was only really in an average area, every house had the 'ADT Security' signs outside or posted on their gates and walls. To think everyone has an armed response unit ready to be at their property in 3 minutes is quite a numbing thought. We met some local people and randomly it turns out a girl i went to school with years ago on the island was a really good friend of theirs. Such a small world!!
So i feel like time is flying, im learning , things are starting to make sense...Next Saturday alot of my group are leaving to go back home and the new intake will be here so will be nice to meet some more new people and we have a busy week ahead with placements, talks and on monday we are visiting Robben Island which im really looking forward to...I hope you all enjoy the weekend and those of you at home, the manx sun is shining. I am heading to Newlands today to watch a Western province game and i think Bishops are playing the 'curtain raiser' so will be nice to get some fresh air and do something different although my camera which i bought the day i left London is broken already along with 3 other girls here so im pretty gutted/irritated about that. I will update you all later... Will Love from Capetown :) xx

Comfort comes after a struggle...

Hey Hey Hey...

Its wednesday and i cant believe i am already halfway through another week at my placement. This morning i taught my first lesson to the grade 5 class. The subject was District 6 which was something that came about in an area as a concequence of apartheid so it was quite a delicate subject. It actually went really well so i feel more relaxed now. The teachers at the school are just briallint and i cant say enough good things about the children. Then it was story time so i took my class outside and read them the story about 'Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves' as the sun shone down.
Today we had a special assembly to celebrate Nelson Mandela's birthday. The whole school sat out in their yard and they where so well bahaved it was amazing to watch as the principal along with some grade 7 pupils helped to deliver the story. We heard Mandela's history and everything he has achieved and then everyone sang happy birthday to him. It was very moving to see how he is worshipped and honoured by the community and children that are so young. Estelle one of the other CCS volunteers was asked to go to the front and light a candle for Mandela which was left burning throughout the ceremony. When i went to leave at 12:30 the kids where all running up to say bye. They are just so lovely..today was one of those days where we walked out smiling when we where collected...

We where home for half 1 or so and today we had some perspective programming which prepared us for our tour of the Malay and slave museuams tomorrow afternoon. We had a Cape Malay lunch and talk by Tahira the placement manager at CCS South Africa. It was really informative and we got to hear about her culture and all the different traditions they have..The sun is shining and some of the group have gone to hike table mountain or to Camps Bay beach. Its pretty chilly but really good atmosphere in the house although i am one of the minority who is not battling with an illness at the moment which is a bit rubbish. I think we may be going to venture to a place on Loop Street this evening called 'Bang Bang' interesting name for a place.... Lots of Love , K x

Monday 21st July...

Hi Everyone, i hope you all enjoyed the weekend :)

My weekend flew by and i cant believe tomorrow is tuesday. On Saturday i didnt get to the safari as i was not feeling very well so stayed home and chilled out. That evening Dean collected me and i went up to his house in Constantia for a lovely meal and met his family and some family friends who knew Alexander. They where all so friendly and wonderful people so i had a lovely evening...I had an early night as yesterday mroning sunday we left at 8 am for our tour to Cape point. We had a long day and didnt get home much before 7 however we saw so many things. Starting at Camps Bay, then Hout Bay, Chapman's peak, Constantia suburbs, The Ostrich farm, then we arrived at cape point the furthest point south where the atlantic and indian oceans meet. We took a train/cable car to the summit and the views where just unbelievable. We then enjoyed a nice lunch in 'the two oceans' restaurant before heading to The cape of Good hope and our last stop Boulders beach where we got to see the penguins!! - The baby ones where so cute and so much smaller than i ever imagined.

Back to placement this morning which was good. I am going to be taking a couple of lessons this week. P.E and then History to teach my glass about district 6 and what happened there once i have been on a tour of the district 6 museaum where we are going sometime this week as part of our perspectives programming.. We just had lunch and some people are off doing different things, or sleeping as everyone is coughing and sneezing. Am contemplating a run or maybe a nap first its amazing how tiring these little children can be!! :)

One Week Down!

Morning all :)

Irs saturday morning and the sun is shining. I decided not to go to the game reserve this morning with some of the group as i was exhausted and needed some good sleep after a couple of late nights. Im currently working hard to fight off the illnesses that many people in my house are suffering with due to working with sick children all the time. So far so good :)

Yesterday - Friday was my 4th day at my placement, things are going really well. I gave the teacher a break and took my class of 5th graders 10-11 year olds about 45 of them outside. I read them a story and then we did some running races, they where so excitable. The teachers at the school are so friendly and have made us feel really comfortable already.

When we returned home at 1 o'clock we found balloons and a bbq cooking in the garden and the house staff preparing a mini bbq-braai party for us to celebrate thier legend and here Mandela's 90th birthday. He really is the nation's grandfather!!

Afterwards i went to Cavendish Mall in Claremont to meet Dean (Alexander's Bishops Exchange) was very relieved to see him after a stressed out taxi ride their with quite a crazy driver. We drove to Constantia the capetown suburbia which was really nice. Beautiful houses and stopped at this nice restaurant place..then he showed me his house and we quickly drove around the 'Bishop's' campus which was really really nice and only about 5 mins from my home base . We get the weekends free to do side trips and sightseeing so when i got home i went back to Cavendish with some of the girls to get some essentials we needed and look around. Then we went to 'Oblivion' a nice chilled wine bar to meet the other girls as some are leaving today to go back to the states. A couple of them have become locals so we got asked to test their new cocktails which was good fun. It got really busy by the time we where leaving but the Safari bus left at 6 am so it was a resonably early night. Going to watch the rugby match soon SA VS Australia..I hope your all keeping well.. take care. Love K x

Thursday @CCS in Capetown...continued

The little boy who i mentioned who lives alone with an alcoholic mother drew me a picture today and coloured it all in. He came upto me and said 'teacher Katie this is for you' he is just so sweet. They ask alot of questions about the UK and they are intrigued to know everything!!
Today i alspo got to find out a bit more about some of the pupils. One little girl is struggling due to foetal alcohol syndrome and another has a father in prison for murder. These children are so young and i know these situations are all over the globe but since i have started working with these children you become more aware and compassionate...

38 percent of teachers in Southern Africa are HIV positive.. sorry another random thought but that just shows that Aids and Hiv do not only affect those low down on the socio economic scale..

After the workshop i sat and talked to Shirley the house manager about a few things outside in the sun. Mandela's birthday tomorrow he turns 90 so definately going to be a big day!!

I definately didnt bring enough clothes so just walked to Rondebosch to get some basics..and get phone credit etc. Its so strange so diverse, i can go running in the day or walk to the shop but as soon as it gets dark we are locked behind gated wired fences..2 nights ago the security alarm went off about 1 am and it was pretty terrifying for all. No one knew what was happening or what we where to do. That is one scary thing that is so contrasting to being back at home. Also when we are collected from our placements we have to wait for the driver to come right into the premises through the security gates and collect us right by the door. We are so lucky we have been told the no go's and what we can safely do etc. Sorry to ramble its just remembereing to get it all out.. Might be seeing Alexander's exchange Dean tonight or tom which will be awesome. The bell just rang for dinner and then were heading to this student place called Tiger Tiger in Claremont :) I cant believe its been a week since i left home. It feels like have been here longer but definately in a good way..Love to all . Katie xx

Thursday @CCS in Capetown...

Hollaaa all,

I feel like there is so much to say i have seen so much in the last two days it is hard to remember everything.. yesterday we had the afternoon off so a bunch of us travelled into the city and went to green point and the pan african market. Then we where home for dinner before going to Claremont for a quick drink before curfew haha...

Today has been busy...

Wake up @ 6:30 am to shower then breakfast at 7
7:45 be ready to board the right minibus to be driven to township placement
8-1 township placement then 1pm collection for lunch at home base.

After lunch Luann the programme dorector gave us a lecture/workshop on hiv and aids... we learnt so much from her, and this helped me to understand more about why there is such a huge crisis and aids epidemic across southern africa. In Capetown a woman is raped every 4 minutes. This is a shocking statistic. There is a huge problem with orphaned children becuase the middle generation who should be economially active is affected so terribly by the virus...

Day 3 at Blossom primary went really well. I was able to take the grade 5's outside to read them a story. they are so well behaved one little boy even carried a chair out for me so cute!! I spent a while talking to the teacher today about the townships, the children and the culture in general.

Load shedding Sa style so no power... will continue ASAP. Love Xx

First Day at Blossom Primary

Afternoon all,

its about 3:15 right now we just had lunch and placement feedback with Luann and now we have an hour or so till we need to get organised for our Afrikaans or isiXHOSA lessons. The lessons are important to help us grasp some basic words which we may need at our placements so very worthwhile. Its pretty darn cold today and the sky is grey so lots of tea and coffee.

This morning at 7am i was up and at breakfast ready to board the buses at 7:45. We have 4 minibuses which all take us on different routes to the township placements. Myself Joanna and Alex where dropped at Blossom Primary which is in Silvertown a coloured township area. I didnt really know what to expect so kept expectations low. On arrival we met the principal and vice principal who where extremely welcoming and friendly. There are about 700 children in the school with only about 10-12 teachers max so things can get pretty hectic. Im going to be working with a grade 5 class who are about 10-11 years old. There 44 children in the one classroom which is pretty cramped. The teacher who was called Mrs.Abrahams was amazing, she has taught there for over 35 years..I quickly realised that this was not what i really had expected... The kids all had uniforms on and were so bright. They asked if i had been to th eLondon bridge and where so keen to know everything. It was a very mixed class some living in basic housing and others in shacks. The kids where all so well disciplined and respectful - completely different to kids in UK schools. The classes are taught in Afrikaans and English so the children are ulimately blingual which is brilliant. I got to talk to Mrs Abrahams a bit before break time which they call 'interval' at half 10. We went to the staffroom and had tea and met the other teachers. There was a big discussion about the food situation becuase the school has a feeding programme for the children whose parents cant afford to feed them - the basics even 2 slices of bread. this was pretty heart wrenching as before break the kids all had to say if they had brought food (which is basically 2 or 3 slices of bread, with butter if they are lucky) the children that hadnt brought anything where kind of forced to stand out and i guess this is where i began to notice the difference in how schools are run over here. parents dont give their kids bread becuase they know if they dont the school can sometimes provide so this becomes a little bit of a tricky situation. One boy Jason was pointed out to me, he lives alone in a township with his alcoholic mother. Jason is 10 years old yet he does everything for himself including walking to and from school through a high risk, dangerous area. He came to school this morning and told his teacher that he was worried becuase his mum was out at a friends till 3am leaving him alone and she got attacked whilst on her way home by men with a bottle. She was drunk and didnt make it to work today, He was worrying because he knew no work meant no money which meant no rent. The thought that this is what a 10 year old boy has on the weight of his shoulders is pretty tough to deal with...
I am so excited for tomorrow already and hope that we can do alot with these kids. They are so bright and eager to hear about the western world....I am lucky i was hesitant about my placement but in feedback sess. today the 25 or so of us sat around and everyone had to say how first day went. There was alot of emotions floating about. Some of the girls are working at an Aids hospice and their are very little resources in these places. Annie my room mate is working at one organisation which helps immigrants and migrants. Today she helped a Zimbabwean refugee find clothing, 3 items - shoes a shirt and pants thats it. She got to talk to him about why he is here and she heard how he is currently living under a bridge... I know this is going to sound so cliched but we really have no idea how lucky we really are....xx

After placement tomorrow we have our language lessons. I have to go to Afrikaans for my placement the other option was isiXhosa!!! will keep you all updated. 'Dankie' xxx K

2 Days, 2 Worlds One City!! - CAPETOWN

Hi guys,
So i am finally all settled in Capetown at the home base. So far so good. Am rooming with 3 other girls all from the States. Our home base is pretty big housing 30 of us girls and the boys get to sleep in what they call the 'man cave' outside right by the security. On arrival i was given a thorough explanation of the security, bars, gates and where the panic alarms are situated. We have security but they are not armed as the house manager feels that would attract more attention. We have a direct response to a security company which can reach us in 3 minutes with back up. So all seems rather scary at first... Yesterday we had orientation which started with all the rules and guidelines. what to do what not to do etc.. we where welcomed by Luann our Afrikaans programme manager and she is absolutely lovely. However the 'Welcome to Capetown , probably the crime and murder capital of the world' sent a few shock waves out!! However we all know the situation here... So after orientation in the morning we went on a tour of Capetown, We where driven upto Signal hill where we got what was an absolutely amazing view of the city and devils peak i think. The sun was shining as we drove down to Camps bay.. absolutely gorgeous beach area very cosmopolitan and european cafes and all the posers pretty much Puerto Banus without the boats.. We got to paddle in the sea and then we drove back past Clifton and Bantry bay. You could be in Miami, or anywhere in the world!! You could tell this was the upmarket area..We came home and changed then a few of us went to the Waterfront and had dinner and some wine at a pizza place.. lovely to walk around down there and felt very safe our taxis collected and dropped us right by the entrance...Curfew is 11 during the week and is needed due to the early starts.
This morning alrams went off at 7 and so the day began..it was pitch black and kind of chilly. After breakfast we split into our groups and my group was first to head of on a township tour of the communities which we will be working in. We had a great guide who came with us and the CCS driver. We first stopped at District 6 which is an area filled with history from the apartheid era. Then we travlled to Langa a township.. the poverty was hard hitting and it was something which cannot really be explained until you see it. Millions of people literally living in this 'black' township. The people there where so welcoming. We met this 77 year old gentleman who invited us into his room which he shared with 3 other families. He pays the equilavent of one pound a month for his bed and space. Outside there was rubbish littered all around and children playing one thing that struck me was how happy these people appeared. How friendly they where and how relaxed. I feel like they dont really have any idea what is outside their township let alone around the world..and they are unaffected by this. 2000 people arrive in Capetown each day from other countries in Africa trying to find a better life. We went through Athlone and Guguleto 'coloured' townships and the infamous Cape Flats area. Once we returned to the home base for the second part of orientation which was about our placements and what we will be doing. I will be based at Blossom Primary with 2 other volunteers Alex and Joanna which is very exciting. Tomorrow is our first day and our placement manager will accompany us to introduce us to our supervisors etc. We are collected at 7:45 and the CCS drivers will then do the round dropping everyone at their various placements within the townships.. The drivers are local so Luann explained to us that if at any time their was a problem or they felt it was unsafe to go into the areas they wouldnt hesitate and we would never be placed in that position. Only recently when the Xenophobic attacks occured did they have an incident like this. We then had a history of South Africa given to us by Luann who seems amazing, she told us what it was like living in SA as a white south african during apartheid. She has met Nelson mandela twice and his family numerous times. Very interesting lady i think...

About 5 ' o clock orientation was over so i decided to walk to Rondebosch which is ten mins away with some of the others.Rondebosch is a student area right by the University of Capetown. Its nothing like Leeds AT ALL!! To be honest you do feel rather uncomfortable walking around and its so different to what i am used to. We cant bring our bags with us or display and phones, jewellery or the like. We also have to be back by 6 the time it starts getting dark. If we want to go out after this time we have to take a taxi. Everything is really cheap here compared to at home so far..the americans are all loving the exchange rate too. Its so hard to undestand the great divide in this city. Aprtheid is over but their is still this vibe looming overhead. On the way to langa the black township we passed a ferrari and Maserati dealership...such a huge divide its unexplainable. I am so excited to start my placement tomorrow. No matter what my thoughts and expectations where before i arrived , today i realised that the children definately steal your hearts!! Love K xx

TouchDown!!

Hi All,

So i am finally in Capetown, it seems pretty surreal. Currently sitting in the home base lounge whilst everyone is arriving and settling in. I arrived at about half 11 this morning and was collected at the airport by the CCS driver and brough to the home base. passed through the townships - Langa being one on the way here but will be seeing more tomorrow on the guided tour. The flight was actually alright i didnt sleep for the whole 12 hours but randomly met some dutch students at heathrow who wanted to swap seats with me but ended up sitting with them and some unaccompanied minors so passed the time.

I was shown around the home base on arrival and the staff here are all lovely. The train runs right past our back garden and Rondebosch is only 5 mins away. Will explore more tomorrow. had an amazing view of Table Mountain as we landed in CapeTown and some of the mountains where even covered in snow. Its pretty chilly here but at least theres no rain. Orientation starts at 9am tomorrow so we will have everything explained to us then before placements begin on Tuesday!! All very exciting...!! Love K xx

Placement Description

My last night at home...still not completely packed as saving that for the morning. Thanks for all the cards and wishes and the girls presents to entertain me on my long flight. Tis is a description of my placement. K x


Description
Blossom Street Primary a primary (junior) school for approx 600 - 1000 children from the age of 5 and 14yrs. The school has 30:1 student teacher ratio and classes are over-crowded. Blossom Street Primary is a public school and lacks resources and manpower. The children are a mixture of Coloured and Black and come from the surrounding areas and the nearby townships. They are all from previously disadvantaged areas and are all living in crime infested, violent communities. Many of their parents are unemployed and live below the breadline. They generally speak Afrikaans and Xhosa but English and is widely understood.

3 days to go!!

I only have two more days on the Isle of Man before i leave for London and then on Friday night i will be boarding South African Airlines for the 12 hour flight into Capetown international. I found out there is another volunteer travelling on my flight so i think we are going to meet in Heathrow before which will be good.

Stephen my programme co-ordinator sent me my volunteer placement profile yesterday. I will be working at Blossom Street Primary which is in Silvertown. A township in the infamous Cape Flats area from what i know. I am starting to get nervous as i reall have no idea what to expect but i know it will be amazing and until i arrive there is only so much i can do to prepare myself. Ill be volunteering with children aged 5-15 who live way below the bread line , teaching Physical Ed and assisting in a classroom environment.

I still ont know which volunteering house i will be in yet as there are two. One in Rosebank and one in Rondebosch so excited to find out where and who i will be living with during my programme. Really looking forward to meeting everyone will be a welcome relief after the long journey!! Lots of Love, K x