WeEk 8- a rElAxInG WeEk///

Week 8- a relaxing week

On Friday Jonny and I had our alternative visit to a local school called Cape Recife high school which is a public school for learners who have special educational needs. It was a good experience to visit a different school for children with special educational needs. This school serves children with a number of learning abilities. They include cerebral palsy and other physical disabilities such as children who have been left disabled because of accidents. We met a young boy, I think he was 16. He told us about how he was hit by a car in 1996. He told us how he doesn’t remember being hit by the car but remembers wakening up and told he would never walk again. Stories like this make me appreciate what I have. This guy has enthusiasm about life, he is a reminder that we should be grateful everyday. The teachers which spoke to us have excellent relationships with the kids. Within the school there is boarding part where some of the children stay as they live far away or their parents don’t have the correct facilities. The room was spacious and are able to look after the children in the best possible way. The teacher who showed us around the school had a child who she is very close too. At the weekends she will take him home to give him a break from the school. She spends five days a week with the kids and still finds the time to take him home and look after him. This school had excellent facilities and the children here are getting an excellent education. They are provided with the correct help. Cape Recife high school is very similar to the schools back home. I really enjoyed this experience and hopefully will get the chance to go back for a couple of days once the term at NMMU finishes.

On Saturday we went on a train called the apple express. We left at 8:30am in the morning and set off on an old steam engine run train. We went through the country side, going past local townships. The children were running to wave at us. The children seemed so friendly and must know that each day the train will be passing. We had a picnic and relaxed at small farming village. We haven’t got to experience rural Africa yet. The people within the small village were very friendly, telling us about the local area. A good day had by all. On Saturday evening I had my first goodbye, first of many I’m sure. Kayla a trainee teacher from America was leaving and heading to Cape Town and then back to America. We went out for dinner at the boardwalk. My favourite restaurant called the news café. I love the food there. It’s sad to think that I won’t see her again but it’s all about the experience here. It makes me grateful that I still have a number of weeks left.

This week with regard to class didn’t get off to a good start. I was woke by my two flat mates who are nurses. They leave every morning at 6:30 as they are here on placement. My class was supposed to start at 11 so I was able to have a lie in. Having got up the girls had told me that the taxi’s which we use to transport us to university were on strike. The reason to this is a man who is up for a murder trail is the boss (not really sure) but the taxi drivers had to show their support. This is a cultural issue which I find hard to think that people can’t go to school or work because their usual method of transport is not available. If he committed the crime he should do the time regardless of who he is. Comparing this to Northern Ireland, we also have gangs etc who can affect the everyday life of people. On Monday I had a day off and loved it. Little did I realise this week wasn’t going to get much better.


Every Tuesday we have observation at our placement school. The three international students have been placed together which I enjoy. It means we can sit beside each other in the staff room. Jason the other international student was away for the week so I missed him greatly. Because of this it was just Jonny and I for school on Tuesday but on Monday night Jonny wasn’t feeling good and wasn’t feeling well enough for school. As a result of this I couldn’t go to school. The reason to this as I wouldn’t feel safe entering a township school by myself. Back home I would never feel unsafe to go to a school but in this case I did. The area where the township is located is a number of different townships surrounding it. Jonny agreed and so did my coordinator from NMMU that it wouldn’t be safe. This was a shock as it is a reminder that although over the weeks I have become more relaxed there is very dangerous parts of South Africa where a white girl just can’t go.

Saint Patricks day arrived finally. I love the fact that there are only two Irish here. Jonny and I are unique here. I really enjoyed celebrating Saint Patrick’s Day. I dressed in green, did some Irish dancing and enjoyed being Northern Irish! I kept telling every one I was Irish and people kept taking photos of me. I loved being centre of attention.


Love
Jayne xx

Wow what a weekend!!!

This weekend has been so much fun! Time is going so quick, I’ve now been away from home for 7 weeks and it only feels like I left the George Best airport. I’ve been so busy with university work. We have had group work, an online test and assignments and of course fun!

This weekend was FANTASTIC! I loved it. We left the bantry at 6:30pm and headed for Mossel Bay which is about four and a half hours away. It was a long journey, I’m not used to travelling for so long. I was the only one which isn’t. The American’s think that four hours is not a long journey. There was 8 of us who went to Mossel Bay. 6 American’s including two trainee teachers from St Cloud, Jason and Kyle. There was also a Californian called Ben and three others who are from different places within the USA. Sometimes I think I’m in America as there are so many here. I love being in a group of people from all over the world. It’s good to hear about where people are from. We arrived in Mossel bay at 12 at night as we had a number of stops to stretch our legs. Our first night we stayed in a train hostel. Although I stayed in a hostel last week, we didn’t have our own dorm this week. This week we had 4 others strangers sleeping with us. It was good to experience. Stine was woke in the middle of the night with a man pulling her foot.

We had an early start on Saturday morning so we all were ready at 6:45am as we were going to shark cage dive. Yes we were going to be in water with sharks swimming past. On Saturday morning it was extremely cold as you can see from the photos. We were given a safety talk about keeping our fingers and toes in the cage. We didn’t want to lose them. To attract the sharks, they use fish guts mixed with water. We only waited 20 minutes to see our first shark. When I saw it I was scared, these are great white sharks. All the sharks which we seen were female and were about 3-4 metres in length. It might seem big but they get bigger.

We got into our wetsuits and I have to admit that I was scared. I was thinking to myself that I was about to put myself into a cage with sharks in the water. Was I mad, YES! :).. There were two groups, Stine and I went in the second group and as soon as I got into the water, I wasn’t scared and it was more excitement. Who can say that they have been swimming with great white sharks? We were in the water about 20 minutes each time and got in twice. We were able to go under the water and see them swimming past. We were about to get out of the cage to head back to the bay when the instructor told us to under as a shark was coming. He had seen a shark coming from the left side but he didn’t realise that there was only coming from the right. The one from the right caught the tuna head. This shark was on mission and we were less than a metre from it. We were under the water watching it trying to get the tuna head. It was hitting the cage and I seen its teeth. A memory I will never forget. Stine told me I looked at her when the shark was hitting the cage with every emotion possible in my eyes. Fear was probably the biggest emotion. I can now say I faced fear and loved it!!

On Saturday we booked into a hotel with a flat screen TV, nice bedding and an amazing view. It only cost 50 rand more than the hotel which is about £5! Was definitely worth it. We went on a boat trip to a small island called Seal island. On the island there was about 300 seals all relaxing, soaking up the sun. They sound like sheep. On Saturday evening we had a ‘braai’ and relaxed getting to know each other. It was a great evening. You may not believe this but we were looking out of balcony on Saturday evening and seen Dolphins swim past. It sounds like a dream and believe me its fantastic here. After only four hours sleep, I was up again to travel an hour in the opposite direction from Port Elizabeth. We were going to an ostrich farm. It may seem dull but we got to sit on an ostrich and wait for it we got to ride on one. It

was a strange feeling to be holding onto an ostrich going around an enclosure. The instructor speeded mine up and of course I closed my eyes. I was scared encase I would fall off and they would stand on me. I’m such a girl about the thing.
On Sunday we travelled back along route 62, the garden route. This has definitely been a highlight of my trip. It was beautiful and over Easter I will explore more. Words can’t describe how beautiful it was. Unbelievable!

Monday was a stressful day for me with lack of sleep and on a low because the weekend was so good. I had to present a lesson in class with three others. It was extremely hard to stand in front of my peers and teach to them like 16 year olds. I am still not used to the curriculum here. Things which we have been taught at home I was told wasn’t acceptable here. For example reading from a handout isn’t not acceptable but back home it is. Teaching practise is going to be difficult as I will have to block out certain aspects which I have been taught. The pupils here are called learners which I find difficult to remember. I find the students from a Xhosa background can’t understand my accent so I have to speak so slow and people from home reading this will agree we speak fast.

Monday night was spent at les’s house. The trainee teachers from Minnesota are going home so it was a goodbye evening from the education department. Their professor from home is here so I enjoyed chatting and telling them about home. People love to here about where I am from, the troubles and of course love to here my accent. On Tuesday evening I also spent it with the trainee teacher, telling other trainee teachers about our school experience. They are a group of students from St Cloud, here for two weeks to witness briefly the educational system here. I enjoyed telling them about my placement school. They were interested to here the difference between a township school and a fee paying school. Although I find the township school hard to be in, I was excited to tell the trainee teachers about it. These experiences will definitely stay with me forever.

Phoned home this week and was glad to hear that people are reading my blog. Thank you Derek for printing it out so people can read it. Also I’m glad that Mollie is doing well. Thinking about you!

Love Jayne xxxx

The first big adventure- It has taken 6 weeks!

I love getting post especially when I know that my mum has sent me tea bags. It was like giving me a new pair of shoes!! Yes tea bags get me excited. It’s a small reminder of home. In the Bantry I have teapot so I can drink as much tea as I want. I still try to have my three o’clock tea. My mum will know exactly what this is about. I also loved the letter as I heard all about the gossip. Mum you defiantly know me inside out.
So now I have written a small paragraph on tea I should and focus on me in South Africa.

Oh also I want to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY MUM…hope everyone is spoiling you, you deserve it!

This weekend seen the first adventure out of Port Elizabeth, it has taken 6 weeks but we were happy to explore PE. So the adventure was a 45 minute drive to a seaside resort called Jeffery’s Bay. We packed out bags and waited on the boys. They take forever to get ready. Guys your beautiful and don’t need to take an hour getting ready every time we want to go out. We hired a car from the airport with Marco driving. Of course Marco forgot his passport so the first stop was back to the airport. We got all the correct documents sorted and headed of to J Bay but we had our first indecent. Macro reversed into a the road used as a entrance, blocked the car park with maybe five cars waiting to get out and maybe 4 waiting to come in and in the middle was a police car! He just gave us dirty looks. I thought to myself this is going to be a long drive……

Then we out drove into a township and past the same building twice. We were still in view of the airport and had been driving 15 minutes. We finally found The N2 and set off. The hostel which we were staying in was beautiful and we had a room to ourselves. The only problem was the owners dog took a liking to Stine and I. We were the only two who didn’t like the dog!
The weekend was jam packed with cycling through a township, shopping the surf shops, eating hot Mexican food (too hot for me), shell collecting and sand boarding which is like snow boarding only on sand. We only had one injury which is surprisingly good. We also had another who got a face full of sand. The area in which we sand boarded was beautiful, South Africa is a beautiful country. We also stopped off at a waterfall which is located in the country, it is a beautiful. People were chilling, jumping into the pool and of course having fun. This weekend was chilled and prepared us for a busy week ahead with tests for some, assignments and group work. The work is starting to come thick and fast!

We had a conversation about if we think we are in Africa. I have to admit I don’t. I forget that I’m in Africa. The sight of townships are becoming normal, I starting to get used to beggars and my personal safety being at risk. There are very poor people here and if you show your nice camera or flash your money people who can’t afford food will steal. They don’t have any other choice. I worry about tourists coming to SA for the world cup. There are also been the issue of safety in SA but people need to understand that people are poor. I hope people who are coming here to the world cup respect the way in which people live and understand that although this is seen as rich Africa there are people who are still poor.

When cycling through the township, I asked Stine if she believed that the people who grew up in a township will they ever have the opportunity to leave. As I said in my last blog, it’s not about what you have but your family and friends. Although I’m sure people are happy but how happy can they be living in some of the areas of a township. For people who haven’t seen a township, they are build on dirt paths, with rubbish everywhere. I don’t know if there is a service available here but I would think that there isn’t. I have to admit the townships here is hard for me to accept. I find it difficult that people are living in these conditions!! Africa has two sides, the rich and the poor. Some areas are just like home and others are definitely not!

I have another busy week ahead so I probably will write my blog later than normal. Exciting times are too come! ..:)..

Written with love, Jayne xxxxx

Hello week 5!

One thing I’ve come to love in South Africa is the sunshine! I love it here! Although as I write this, it’s raining, it’s been raining most of this week so no sunning myself this week. I love the way of life here, people are relaxed although sometimes they are too relaxed. This week has been a very relaxing week and I now feel that I’m living in South Africa rather than being here on a holiday. Yes it has taken a month to realise I’m here to study.

Before I start I want to a section to my beautiful niece Naiv who turned one this week. If only she could read, she would see she has got a special mention. Happy Birthday Niav!

This week’s blog starts of with my first day off since I’ve started university. I had Friday off which was great, a long weekend! Stine and I went to the local mall called Green arches. Since I’ve been here I’ve been to the mall five times, I love to shop. It was such a girly day. Clothes here are cheap so I take full advantage off this. I want to contribute as much money to the South African economy. What an excuse. I purchased clothes here for school

and also bought some essentials. Ok maybe not an essential but a want!

On Saturday we had another surf lesson. I love the surfing but on Saturday it was hard. The waves didn’t have much of a break between. An hour and a half in the cold water with waves crashing against me I thought I have actually paid for this! I still love it and want to purchase my own surf board to take it up as a hobby. My main concern would be how to get it home. I would have a suitcase, a laptop, a handbag, a hand luggage bag and a surf board. Sounds fun! Anyways when I reflected on the surfing experience I realised that it was funny when Stine and I got so cross. It’s fun. Saturday resulted in a cut foot, bruised arm, blisters on my hands and a friction burn on my neck which looks like a love bite. None of the others had injuries. Any one who knows me will understand this is always the story. Saturday night was spent having a meal at the boardwalk and spending a great evening with people from all over the world. The rest of this week has been very quiet.

On Tuesday we had our observation so I was up 5:45am. The area which the school is located is within a township like I’ve said before. When we got off the bus, a security man approached us; he admitted that he was worried to see three white people walking into a township. This is a dangerous area therefore we need to be aware of our surroundings. You give you a better idea of the school the website is www.khwezilomsocomprehensive.co.za/ . The school is provided with funding to be able to run the website. Through looking at the website and being there in reality things are very different. Within South Africa, the better schools are fee paying therefore people who live in the township can’t afford these fees therefore depend on the government and their funding. Comparing this school to Northern Ireland and the excellent facilities which we have, it makes me sad that the pupils are taught in this. Within Northern Ireland we don’t realise how lucky we are with regard to education. We have enough textbooks for all pupils, interactive whiteboards and toilet roll. Yes within this school there isn’t any. How does a government justify this. Children are the future and the government need to invest money into providing an educational system which is fair to all! I am annoyed with the condition of the school as you will see from the photos. These pupils do not deserve this, nor does the teaching staff. The teaching staff are all very friendly within the school. The teacher who I have observed is called Nomsa Sikhunxa. She doesn’t understand me so I write her notes. If the teacher doesn’t understand my thick Northern Irish accent how would the pupils! When I showed a friend pictures of the school, he described is like a prison!

When returning from school we get a taxi bus which drives through the township which is called Zwide. This is interesting to witness although some of the houses are in terrible condition. I thing I noticed is the houses are within a community and being part of the community is important to these people. They have shops, surgery’s and even a grave yard. There is a township tour which I definitely want to see. Coming from a nice house, having anything I want and a loving family I forget that not everyone is as lucky as me. When I think of a township and what I have back home I wonder to myself it’s not about what you have but it’s about your family, friends and your community so to all my family and friends I love you guys. Corny I know but it’s true!

I’m trying to cut on my blog, I don’t think they are supposed to be as long but once I start I can’t stop. Making a proper dinner tonight so I must go!

Love and kisses

Jayne xxx

Surf time..week four..

As I write this, the sun is shinning, I have a cold sprite in my hand and I’m making a good attempt at eating my way through a big bag of cheese supreme Doritos. Yumm.. I can’t believe that I am writing my blog once again and week four is now past. I can’t believe how quickly times goes by. So I will start with great news that I have a visitor coming over 600 miles to visit me. Very excited and all I need to do is persuade my parents to come out. The only problem is they might not want to go home and who would look after Daisy…

This week hasn’t been as busy or maybe it has. It seems more chilled maybe that’s because I’m now learning to surf. I’m a surf babe. On Friday night we had a delicious dinner made by Stine. We decided to chill and relax as we had a big day on Saturday. We had our first surf lesson. At 9:00am, two Norwegians, a German and the Northern Irish set off to catch come waves but on arrival there wasn’t many to catch. We were given a brief introduction on how to catch the waves. Almost immediately we all caught the waves. This was so much fun. Our instructor (a 15 year old boy) then showed us how to stand. I have to admit I thought never after he explained. I could hardy do it on the beach when practising.

Surfing is…paddle paddle paddle…until you catch the wave then left leg, arms and jump up all when your have caught the wave. It’s definitely easier said than done. After a few attempts Marco the German was the first to stand therefore winning our bet. Stine stood next and after a strap change over I stood. It might only have been a matter of seconds but I still stood. I think that I get so excited about standing that I forget that I need to steady myself and the surf board. I love it and we planned out next lesson for Sunday. It’s such a great feeling being able to surf. Cruising waves! The rest of Saturday was spent at the local pool, it was too windy for the beach. It was great relaxing and chatting with Marco and Stine. Marco is here to learn English. I taught him to say bless you when someone snizzes. Manners is very important! We had a ‘braai’ on Saturday and of course I was in charge of the potatoes. They were so tasty. Yum. We also had marshmallows for after. They were also yum. Saturday was spend dancing the night away but needed to ensure that I was ready for my surf lesson on Sunday.

Sunday arrived and could hardly get out of bed, my body was so sore. I wondered what had happened but then I realised it probably was the surfing and never using the muscles before. I definitely didn’t feel like a surf babe on Sunday; I couldn’t even cough without pain! The waves were even worse today, it was so calm but we were able to catch a couple. I actually forgot to stand up and surfed on my knees. I think I will buy a surf board but not sure how I would get it home. I can hardly carry my own suitcase let alone a surf board. Sunday was a chilling day with a stroll around the market and a coffee at Tiffanys over looking the sea. On Sunday night I felt my skin burning. I now have a farmer’s tan and two brown/red patches on the back of my legs. My new nickname should be patch. I must remember to apply all over and evenly.

Classes are going good, I’ve now handed in my second assignment. This was based on the philosophy of teaching and learning. I feel within my PGCE class that they discuss racism often. This is similuar to Northern Ireland although the conflict is over people want to express their views on the issue.

Tuesday arrived and I have to admit I’m not sure about the school we have been placed. We have to leave the Bantry at 6:15am to catch a bus 6:45am to the school. This is defiantly a low point for me and anyone who knows me well will tell you that me + early mornings+ teaching practice do not mix well. Within this school, the main language is Xhonsa which I don’t understand. I got to see three teachers teaching all having their own individual way to teach. I asked one teacher why there was no posters and she told me that they steal them. I found this very upsetting as this is a place where the children can come and learn in a colourful classroom. I need to stay motivated as I understand the challenge ahead. I want to learn from this experience. As I’ve said before I’m out of my comfort zone.

Thursday finishes this blog well. After a couple of hours in University, I met Stine at the beach where we had a gossip and caught some sun. It was beautiful, the beaches were white and the water was clear. If Stine and I hadn’t been gossiping we would have noticed dolphins in the water. Yes we missed the Dolphins in the water.. Oh well we are now on the look out.

Love from Jayne xxxxxx

Week three in SA..

Week three has now past and I can’t believe I’m here and having a fabulous time. Before I start I need to ensure that I proof read as my dad has told me off…I’ve so much to say and don’t have the time. I’m a busy woman in South Africa.

On Friday, I was so tired, the 8:30am class everyday is definitely not easy for me but I’m getting used to them. People who know me will understand that I need 12 hours sleep most nights to be able to function!! I’m in class everyday from 8:30am until at least 12 so my days are busy. We actually have so much work to do after class.
I’ve now been here two weeks and yet to do any washing of my clothes so this was a priority. I live across the road from the laundry place and they do everything for you so it’s like having my mum here. I also did some shopping as I’ve said before the food here is great! I seem to eat all the time! So after a busy week of class, doing household chores and socialising what better to relax than head to the pool. There is a pool a five minute walk from the Bantry so of course it’s going to be used by us. After catching some rays, we went out for dinner. There was Hege and Stine the two Norway girls, Marco a German and Ben an American. Was a lovely evening with great food! Of course I’m talking about food again. I couldn’t finish my meal so Marco finished it up for me…I hate to see food go to waste…I had an early night as I had an exciting day on Saturday- Aldo Elephant Park!

At 8:00am we were picked up by Leslie, his wife and the rest of the trainee teachers. Today was a hot day.!!! Was too hot for me. The entrance fee into the park was only 30 rand, this is about £3 so was a cheap day. The elephant park is a big reserve park so we drove around looking for elephants. If someone thought they seen one, Les would slam on the brakes so we wouldn’t miss anything. We had a few false alarms. We were told that the elephants were at the water hole so we travelled there. There was about 100 elephants here relaxing by the water, cooling themselves down. I would have loved to been able to cool myself down. For lunch we had a ‘Braai’ and caught up on everyone’s week. I really enjoy the American’s company, we all have something in common- teaching! It was definitely an enjoyable day had by all.

Sunday was a relaxing day by the beach, we were able to sunbathe on the beach as today was not windy. Happy days!! Sundays are a day to relax and reflect on the past week. Needed an early night as I had class in the morning, I’m being a good role model!



Class was also good this week, I still meeting new people and getting to know people better. I haven’t got lost this week which I’m happy about. We have our second assignment due on Monday (15th Feb) so we were told how to complete this. They definitely have it hard here with regard to school work.

On Tuesday of each week until Easter we have observation in the school which we are attending for teaching practice after Easter. Patrick, a lecturer from NMMU, picked us up at 7:15am. Schools start at 8am so off I headed with my pack lunch to school. I was excited and nervous as we didn’t know anything about the school which Johnny and I were attending. Jason, one of the student teachers also came with us. Patrick informed us that we were going to a township school near the missonvale campus. I have to admit I didn’t think that we would be going to a township school. A township is the poor of South Africa. We drove up to the school, the building looked nice and was kept well. We attended the staff meeting and were introduced to the teaching staff. They clapped for us which was a really nice gesture and made us feel welcome. We were given a teacher each to observe throughout the day. I followed the teacher to the classroom. All the pupils were staring, they probably thought who is the red head girl with pale skin. All the pupils who attend are black and there is only a small amount of white teachers. When I walked into the classroom I didn’t know what to think. The first thing I noticed was there was no posters on the wall and the classroom looked so boring. Back home we have colourful posters to help in the learning. The second thing I noticed was they used a blackboard, no interactive whiteboards here! The class teacher explained that most classes had 47 pupils in, with not enough textbooks and pupil motivation is low. 47 pupils, the biggest class size I’ve had at home is 25 pupils with enough resources and an interactive whiteboard. I was definitely out of my comfort zone. I went to sit down and the teacher told me to get up as she needed to clean the dirt of the chair. Pupils within the school are nice and I’m sure that I will get to know them by the end of teaching practice. The classroom was so hot I nearly fell asleep a few times. By the end of the day I knew that this is definitely going to be challenge. I don’t have the resources available with big class sizes and English is not their first language but I need to think about this experience as a positive, I will need to be creative, to be able to enhance the pupils learning. I look forward to this as I believe it will help me to think outside the box!

The rest of the week was spent chilling with a visit to the movies for about £1.50 to see Amelia, this is about the first lady to fly around the world. Definitely a bad choice!! The popcorn here comes plain and you put your own choice of flavouring. I love the salt and vinegar! Yummm… Still no roommate, won’t be getting one until March..

I hope that everyone back home is keeping good..

Miss you all!

Lots of love
Jayne

Oh also I passed all my exams from Stranmillis..

Week two in South Africa....

Hey everyone, another week has now pasted. Time certainly goes fast when you are in a new and exciting place! I love it here. I have to admit I am more settled this week and starting to feel like part of society, I’am getting used to the taxis and the wind. Like the first week I have had a busy week where I am still meeting lots of new people. This week started on Friday 29th January, the international office had organised a city tour of Port Elizabeth so I charged the batteries and got my camera at the ready. The bus was leaving at 8:30am so I had an early start. The tour took us to exciting places around Port Elizabeth. We were first taken to the port. This is where the name Port Elizabeth comes from. Although Port Elizabeth is also know as the Nelson Mandela Bay. We were lucky on Friday as it wasn’t windy too windy, thankfully as I was wearing a skirt. The captain explained that there are two areas within the port, one for ships to export vehicles and the other was for fruit etc. The next time you eat a piece of fruit it may have been exported from South Africa so you can think of me! We also went to the Ford. This ford has never shot a canning. We could see the port in the distance. It was a beautiful day as you can see from the photos. It was nice to travel around areas of Port Elizabeth which we haven’t got to see yet. The best part of the tour was visiting a local township called New Brighton. When I first seen this I have to admit it was shocking that people live in the circumstances. If you looked out the left side of the bus, the houses were build with concrete bricks. These houses looked liveable and were brightly coloured. On the other hand if you looked out the right side of the bus, the houses were made a tin sheets and looked unliveable. In the middle of the township was a museum telling stories about the history of the township and what people suffered. These stories were heart breaking but I was glad to experience this as it makes me appreciate what I have. Although the living conditions seem unliveable these are small communities. People were selling items at the side of the road. Children were waving at us and there seemed to friendly atmosphere. Although these people do not have money or big houses they seem to be happy. We finished the tour with a shopping trip to Green arches. I didn’t spend too much money. I promise Mum and Dad!!



We had another busy day on Saturday as the international office had also organised a beach day with fun games and food. I had to call into University on Saturday. Yes I know being in university on Saturday is not cool. The beach day was very good as it allowed us the opportunity to meet other international students. There are students from all other the world, I love asking where people are from because you never know!... The games looked fun, I was too busy sunbathing. We finished the afternoon with a couple of hours sunbathing at the local swimming pool. This is located beside the beach and the waves crash over the wall. Yes I did get soaked. This was freshening as it was very warm. The pool area over looks the sea and should be in a holiday brochure. I enjoy the pool more than the beach, no sand, yipppeee…

On Saturday evening, we were invited to Les’s house from a traditional South African ‘Braai’. This is a barbeque to everyone back home. We were meeting the student teachers from America which I mentioned in my first blog. They’re a great group of people. It was a lovely evening with great company. I tasted new foods, I have now eaten Liver. Don’t think it’s for me!

After a few busy days I decided to enjoy a relaxing Sunday. A lazy day is a good remedy to being tired. I went to a Chinese which was the best meal which I have had since my arrival. I went out with three Germans. I had to ban them specking German as most of the international students want to improve their English.

Classes were starting on Monday so I needed to be organised but knowing me this was not the case. I firstly didn’t know what time my class was so I made a phone call. I was told that class started at 8:30am. This meant I had 20 minutes to get ready and travel to class. We are taking two education modules and a method class. My method class is business studies. I am in everyday at 8:30am which is not what I am used too. On Tuesdays were have observation which I am very excited for. We are also given the opportunity to experience alternative placements. I want to widen my school experiences and this will give me the opportunity too. Within my class there are around 90 students and only three international students. This is Jason from America and Johnny and I. I am studying on the PGCE program. Most of the students within this class have not come straight from College but have gained experience in various jobs. I was given an assignment on Monday which was due for Tuesday. I had not planned for this but the topic area is interesting to me.

I enjoyed class this week and I have not yet got lost. I think that because of the diverse range of people in the class that our class will be interesting. During one class the topic came up of the split in society between the coloured, black and white people. This is very similar to Northern Ireland where society was divided but with new generations this is now history. I believe from the conversation that South Africa is moving forward and for the better. I want to learn move about this and how people feel about this topic.

So this has been a busy week with sun burned feet, making two Norway girls, Stine and Hege 3 o’clock tea brought from home and in a teapot. This is a tradition for me and my mum. I also made proper dinner this week for the girls. We had potatoes of course.

Love and kisses from South Africa
xxxxxxx