Monday, August 20, 2012

mosaics, gardens, hiking

after laura left my training group attended our close of service conference in pretoria. we talked about everything from goodbye strategies, closing up projects, getting jobs back home, traveling, re-adjusting/reverse culture shock, and did lots of reflecting over our 2 years of service.

i continued teaching grades 6-7 and 12 english with my counterparts and the library officially made it into the primary school time table of classes! each week for one hour grades 4-7 hold their english classes in the library and do dictionary work or focus on reading. let's hope it helps! the girls club also continued and we spent lots of time talking about goals and future planning.


 term 2 winded down with another mural, this time a map of south africa at my primary school. after the teachers and principal saw the photos from the one we did at danny's school they loved it and wanted to start right away. we painted it in 4 days with the whole staff and about 20 learners. teachers now use the map as a teaching aid. 

over the winter holidays (june-july) danny and i spent our time at each others sites and visiting nearby volunteers. we finally got around to two mosaic projects we started in january. oh time.


located on my front stoop it celebrates the gecko family that i've lived with. i love the way the full moon reflects on the uneven angles of the mosaic.


this one was inspired by van gogh's starry night but mostly the ingwavuma (danny's home in the mountains) scenery. danny built a table from free wood scrapes we found in town and we put the mosaic on top. we also learned that not staining the wood first was a bad idea as it absorbed the water from the cement and warped/cracked. oops!


 we visited the community garden in my village and got to hang out with my host mama #1 and all her hard working lady friends. they gave us so much food!

after spending about a week in my village we went to visit some nearby pcvs. together we went to check out lake sibaya, south africa's largest fresh water lake. we were so kindly hosted by a family who lives right next to the lake on an organic WOOFing farm. their house was amazing and is powered by wind and solar energy. they are very involved in the local communities and have started many developmental initiatives- check out their website here http://barefootcommunityworks.wordpress.com/. we went hiking for the day around the lake, saw hippos and tons of birds, and cooked dinner with the family and the full moon.

we also did some more hiking with friends around danny's village. the infamous 'swazi pass' was our goal for the day. many swazis hike up and down this mountain trail everyday or weekly to attend school in south africa or go to the hospital. after getting a late start and a little lost we found our way down to swaziland, hitched some rides to the closest gas station and had lunch under a tree by some cows. then we got arrested for not using a cross walk. we told the cops we didn't have those in south africa, which is very true, and after talking with them a while and letting them know we were teachers and one was a doctor they let us go. thank goodness! we hitched back to the pass and made it up the mountain in time to catch the sun setting over endless sugar cane fields.


Sunday, August 19, 2012

i'm tired of swimming in circles

one of my best friends and faithful blog/fb photo updater, laura buns zak, came to visit for a month in april! i felt so lucky and thankful. it was amazing to show her the places and people i've been emailing her about for 1 year and a half. so much happened and it's hard to really explain so i'll go with some photo highlights from her visit!
to start we visited hluhluwe game reserve and went on a safari with a game ranger! we drove around for hours spotting animals and hanging out with some other volunteers that joined us. this elephant got really close and was in a pissy mood, we were all a little scared.
to both of our surprise my primary school greeted laura with a huge procession of the entire school and preformed songs and traditional dance to welcome her. we stayed in and around the village for about 2 weeks and went to school everyday.
an english assignment was to write 5 sentences welcoming laura by telling her something about south africa or asking her questions. just go ahead and read this learner'scomments. haha, he was for sure copying from somewhere. another favorite wrote, 'laura, i'm tired of swimming in circles.' we all are mabika, we all are!
at school laura participated in my primary and secondary projects by teaching english, joining the girl's club, helping in the library, and working on a mural. it was so incredible to be able to share all the little hilarity's that happen during the day and have someone to discuss the challenges of the school with first hand.
during weekends we visited the indian ocean and went hiking through the estuary/lake system of kosi bay with a groups of other volunteers and friends. power in numbers! we inquired from local fishermen the where abouts of the hippos and made it safely through the mangrove mazes.
for 5 days laura, danny and i went on a hike through the drakensberg mountains. each day we hiked between 12-15kms and ended in huts for the night. the trails were simply gorgeous and we had great weather every day. slack-packing at it's finest.

and there are many more pictures and stories to share. at times we drove each other crazy but that's what being together everyday for a month does to you! i think because we drove each other crazy it only made our friendship stronger and deeper. all in all, it was wonderful to have such a great friend visit and have the opportunity to share my south african life and experiences with. we had so much fun! it's a time we will both cherish and never forget. love you buns!

Monday, August 6, 2012

down in mozam

mozambique(A!) during the two week school holiday between terms danny and i went to mozambique! the trip was all together enlightening, really enjoyable, and it was exciting to be out of south africa. it felt like the racial tension just melted away. but, everything is more romantic if you're just passing through. while south africa can feel heavy i'm thankful to spend enough time here to experience the good and the bad as more than just a tourist. however, being a tourist in mozambique was kick ass.
coconut groves near inhambane/tofu. basking. we camped off the beach for $6 a night, read in hammocks, got stung by baby jelly fish, went to a manta ray lecture, delighted in fresh fruits, veggies, cashews and bread, and woke with the sunrise over the indian ocean.
market in vilankulos locals were set up in a weaving labyrinth of stalls selling fruits, veggies, crafts, home items, clothing, cooking ware, fabric, etc. the gorgeous fabric is a practical and integral part of life used for skirts, baby harnesses, bags, head wraps, blankets, and more. love the patterns.
dhow sailing to the bazaruto archipelago near vilunkulos we met our temporary mom, a portuguese woman, and her two kids in town. on a grey unpromising sailing day the 5 of us agreed to take our chances and go snorkeling. the rain held off and we saw an abundance of aquatic life on the reef! and then it came. the 45 minute trip back took about 2 hours. we all hid under tarps yet were drenched by waves. it was cold and rocky but kind of awesome. the next morning we travelled to maputo with the family sharing taxis and food.
natural history museum in maputo imagine similar dioramas in a room the size of a basketball court. in other rooms were huge glass cylinders of formaldehyde with various creatures, a world renowned elephant fetus display, insects, but mostly more fearsome dioramas.
maputo street sides i fell in love with the art, architecture, and expression pouring out of mozambique's surface. typical plastic coca cola store signs were replaced with hand painted murals, paintings and gaping holes on buildings and roads spoke of the remnants of civil war, portuguese colonial remains crafted romantic city scapes, everyone spoke portuguese, street side cafes were on every corner, and espresso was less than $1.