A Teacher in Training

Teaching has always been a possible career path for me. I am still not sure whether I can see myself being a teacher in 5 years (when I eventually graduate), but this trip (rather surprisingly) hasn’t discouraged me! Looking through some of the comments I have made in my students’ books, I realise that maybe I am a teacher at heart.

“You seem to be making the same mistakes as your friend. Remember it is better to work independently.”

“I am particularly suspicious of this answer seeing as you didn’t write the question down correctly!”

“Just remember to ask if you don’t know what you are doing”

“Excellent work well done”

“Remember to show your working”

“Where did this answer come from?”

“Very neat working, but try to answer more questions in future”

“We have been doing this work for 2 lessons AND a homework. You simply haven’t done enough of it!”

“We are meant to be dividing!”

“Yes those are the questions I wanted you to do. But where are your answers?”

“Show your working!”

“Very close to the correct answer! But how did you work this out!”

“I said don’t use a calculator!”

“SHOW YOUR WORKING!”

“Keep up the good work!”

“I will go through all this with you in person. Don’t worry about it!”

“NO CALCULATORS”

“You need to work a lot faster in class.”

“I don’t want to see you talking in class again!”

“Where is your work?!”

“See me”

“You can’t just write down the answers from the back of the book! Particularly as that answer in the book is wrong!”

But a particularly common trait of teachers, which I have keenly adopted, is the use of stickers. My students go mad for them -  even the grade 12s!

From Marking to Markets

We were all looking forward to our first free day of the trip last Sunday – the plan was to laze in bed (nursing our sore heads from the night out in Alex) until the last breakfast calls (and some of us were prepared to miss breakfast altogether). The intention was then to fully emerge eventually from our rooms for lunch, when we would just chill, possibly do a bit of marking and planning (if we felt like it) and watch TV.

In the end, we woke up bright and early for breakfast (well most of us did anyway!), went to the mall to do photocopying and returned at lunch, when we decided that a market was an appropriate way to spend our afternoon. So, rather spontaneously, we took taxis to Rosebank Market, a rooftop market about a 20 minute drive away. I must admit that I was in my element amongst the stalls, stands and displays, and walked away with heavy bags and a lighter purse (they were all presents of course). I practised my haggling. I feel my greatest achievement was purchasing two genuine paintings (not prints!) for R120, which is about £7. But what I probably enjoyed most was our lunch out on the terrace, where we enjoyed live music, cocktails and a spectacular rooftop view of Jo’burg.

I wish we had more time and could go back there, but if I ever get the chance to visit Jo’burg again, I will definitely take a trip back to Rosebank.

Gold Reef City

Last Saturday I took a trip to my first theme park in 2 years. I must admit that I am not the biggest thrill seeker, and I found myself wimping out of the two biggest rides (I have never been upside down on a rollercoaster, and wasn't planning on changing that anytime soon!) However, those that went on the Golden Loop and the Anaconda did seem to enjoy it, and it was quite entertaining getting a glimpse of their expressions whilst on the ride – Luke’s face was priceless.

The Anaconda - doesn't it make you feel sick just looking at it?

I've never been to Thorpe Park, Alton Towers or any of the other big English theme parks – I have only visited Legoland and Paultons Park – so I don’t have much to compare it to, but I had a lot of fun. The rides were awesome, although some might argue that the rides I went on were quite tame. I can see why Gold Reef City is listed as one of Jo’burg’s ‘must visit’ tourist attractions.

Mandela - A man with many names

There are thousands of articles, documentaries, films, books and blog posts about this inspirational man. I am not about to write another one. I simply wouldn't do him justice. If you do want to read more about his life and the sufferings he endured, I strongly recommend that, above all other sources, you read his autobiography, ‘Long Walk to Freedom’. Also, if ever you get the chance, make sure you go and visit his house on Vilakazi Street, along with the exhibition dedicated to him at the Apartheid museum.

There are many names used by his admirers to describe Mandela. They each have an interesting story behind them or a significant meaning, which is particularly relevant to this great man’s life. In this post I will simply list some of his more popular names.

Rolihlahla – this unusual Xhosa name was given to Mandela at birth. Its literal translation is “pulling the branch of a tree” but its more colloquial meaning is “troublemaker”

Nelson – Mandela didn’t adopt his most popularly used name until the age of 9. It was customary for African children to be given Christian names on their first day at school. This custom was brought about by British colonials, who were often unable to pronounce their traditional African names. In the case of Mandela, his name was given to him by his teacher, Miss Mdingane. However, the inspiration for such a name is unknown.

Dalibhunga – Mandela was given this name in his initiation at 16 years of age. It is a Xhosa tradition that every boy should be circumcised as a rite of passage into manhood. In the Xhosa community it is considered that an uncircumcised man is not entitled to his father’s wealth, cannot lead tribal rituals and can’t even marry. In fact an uncircumcised male is not considered a man at all, but is still a boy.

Madiba – next to his English name, this is how Mandela is most widely known. Madiba is the name of the clan to which Mandela belonged. The clan name is in many ways more important than one’s surname, as it holds the stories of one’s ancestors, and is often used as a sign of respect. Madiba is most popularly used in South Africa for this very reason.

Tata – Again this is another Xhosa word, meaning ‘father’, and is again used by admirers (particularly in South Africa) as a sign of respect.

Khulu – This is my particular favourite. Khulu means ‘great’ in Xhosa. It is always a shortened version of the Xhosa word for grandfather, “Tat'omkhulu”. This name came into use later on in Mandela’s life, particularly after he was released.

Of course Mandela has many more names in many more languages, but I simply don’t have the time to list them all. He was a truly inspirational man, paving the way to a better future. Hopefully there will be others that will follow in his footsteps. But one thing is for certain, his names (all of them) will be spoken of for hundreds of years to come.

Students will be students!

I am ashamed to admit that our nights out are few and far between here in Jo’burg. Our school days are exhausting and the weekends are filled with Safaris, Theme parks, markets and museums. Despite this we do somehow find the time to get a few cocktails down us at various bars and clubs in the area.

And why wouldn't we? The alcohol is ridiculously cheap. Cocktails average at around R40 (which translates into sterling at about £2.20). Savana dry can be bought at R18 which is £1, and I managed to buy a bottle of Merlot for R36 (just £2!). So clearly we want to make the most of it – we are students after all!

After our first day of teaching we found ourselves in a pub just by the mall. We were all tired, having never been given the chance to recover from the flight before our 5.30 start the next day. We were all a bit subdued that day, buzzing for the 6 weeks ahead, but also a bit shocked, having discovered what our schools had in store for us.

Margaret, Luke, Ali, Tim and me with our post-work drinks 

When Friday came (our first day eating away from the guesthouse) we discovered Catz Pyjamas, a restaurant and bar only a five minute walk away from the guesthouse. They serve some the best burgers I have ever seen, and their cocktails are amazing – particularly the Mermaid’s Orgasm and A Muthaphukkin Gud Drink. We have made the trip down there several times now, and I am sure we will pay them several more visits before we leave (in fact we are going there again tonight!).

Danielle, Hope, me and Margaret, enjoying our Strawberry Daquiris at Catz

For Joe’s birthday we decided to venture a little further afield, to 7th street, where we found ourselves in a place called Ratz. Really all I can say about this bar is that they had imaginative names for all their cocktails, and it was good fun ordering the “Comfortable Screw”.

I can’t go much further without writing about Saturday night. It was probably one of the best nights of my life. We went out clubbing in Alex with Lewis. I can’t even describe where this place was. It was bizarre. He drove us for a good 20 minutes from the guesthouse along a motorway, which passed through an industrial estate, and then he abruptly pulled up just off the road. Then we noticed that hidden between warehouses stood a bar/club. We clearly stood out as being the minority, but apart from a few funny looks, we felt very much welcome and soon settled into drinks and dancing. It was an experience, and just like any night out in England, it was filled with drunkenness, embarrassing photos and a peculiar (yet hilarious) drive home.

Me and Margaret in the club in Alex

Tonight we are off for a night out in Soweto after Catz. I feel it will be one level up from our Alex experience, but we shall have to wait and see!

FAQs

So as soon as any of my students realise that I am from England, I am bombarded with questions about my life back home, and how I am finding South Africa. Some questions are more common than others. I have noted the most frequently asked and most interesting questions. I thought you might find some of them entertaining, although others are a little bizarre and in some cases worrying!

“Have you met the Queen?”

“Are there black people in England?”

 “Are there townships in England?”

“Do you have Facebook?”

“Do you have black friends in England?”

“Can I have your number?”

“Have you met Beyonce?”

“Do you celebrate Thanksgiving?”

“Have you heard of Nelson Mandela?”

“Have you been inside a shack?”

“Do they have STIs in England?” which, after my response, was shortly followed by “Is it only the black people that have AIDS? Is AIDS racist?” I think (or rather hope) this student was joking!

“Have you tried Pap?” – Pap is a staple food here in South Africa. It is made from maize and is most comparable with porridge.

“Do you have a boyfriend?”

“What sort of music do you listen to?”

“Don’t you want a nice South African boy? They’re strong, big men with big feet.” I really struggled to keep a straight face after this one. My grade 12s sure know how to wind me up!

“Have you heard of 50 Cent?”

“Can I come and visit?”

“How old are you?” This is one question I refuse to answer, and continue to leave them guessing. Some of their answers are particularly interesting; they range from 14 to 29 years of age!

“Can I go back with you to England in your suitcase?”

“Can I touch your hair?”

“What date is it in England?” – which starts a very long explanation of time differences, seasons and the fact that the months are the same everywhere in the world.

“When is Christmas in England?”

“Can I have a look at some English money?”

“How much do things cost in England?”

“Do you have milk in England?” I think this questioned stemmed from that fact that this student didn't appreciate that we have cows in England.

“Can I take a selfie with you?”

“What does Rachel mean?” How can I face telling my students, whose names all translate to words such as “Hope”, “Gift”, “Precious”, “Love” and “Brightness”,  that my  name is simply the word for a ewe in Hebrew?

“Do you have children?”

“Can I have your hair?”

Sun City!

As if a cultural village and two Safari trips wasn't enough for the weekend, after returning to the guest house at 10am from our early morning safari trip, we had breakfast (that was a particularly peculiar experience, considering we had been up for 5 hours!) and then set off for Sun City!

Some of you may have heard of Sun City. It can only be described as one of the biggest resorts imaginable. There are several hotels in this complex along with a theme park, water park, casinos (yes there are two) and much more!

On our arrival at Sun City

So, sporting our bikinis and trunks, we headed for the waterpark, Valley of Waves. We were about 60 miles further north in Pilanesberg, so it was considerably warmer than in Jo'burg. The weather was probably comparable with summer in the south of France, even though it’s winter here. Despite this the water temperature was only 18°C, which was a bit of a shock to the system. But that didn't stop us having fun! We went on flumes (Reema, Hope, Luke and Tim even braved the Temple of Courage, which was a near vertical slide), sunbathed (with cocktails – of course!), and even chilled in the main pool, where we spent most of our time being carried along by the waves. It was probably one of the best waterparks I have been to, and was certainly an amazing break from teaching!

My only concern about such big resort was that we met a lot of people there who fly into South Africa to holiday there, never leaving the complex. How can you visit a country and not see the country? You can lie on a beach far closer to home, and for a far more affordable price. By all means stay in these places, I have nothing against them. Everyone needs a relaxing break from the rat race. But all I ask is that you arrange some time to see these places. Only a small proportion of the world's population will ever have the opportunity to even leave their home country - many of my students have never even left Jo'burg - so please please please make the most of every opportunity. It pains me to hear of people travelling the world without exploring it.

4 out of 5

So I am nearing the end of my third week out here in South Africa, and I am finding it very difficult to accept that tomorrow I will be over halfway through my stay at Phefeni School. I have had the busiest week ever, which is why I have left it so late to write about last weekend. I have barely had any time to myself (I will explain why in a later post), and I really wanted to make sure I did the weekend justice.

Last weekend was one of the best weekends of my life – and this is no exaggeration! After 5.30 starts every weekday, we had a lovely lie in until 7, at which time we got up, had breakfast and packed for our weekend away with Lewis (our weekend driver). We were ready and waiting to meet Lewis at 10, buzzing for the road trip ahead, and following South African time we set off for Pilanesberg just before midday.

About an hour and a half into our journey we reached Lesedi Cultural Village, which we visited as it was en route. We were taken on a tour around various huts and were treated to a very impressive show where we were shown various different tribal dances along with different tribal costumes. One particular tribal outfit took me by surprise. There were men wearing kilts (just as you would see in Scotland). I found the story behind this particularly entertaining. Several hundred years ago, this particular tribe were attacked by the Scots. Unfortunately the tribe didn't prepare themselves for battle because from the distance the Scottish army, with their long hair and skirts, looked like women, and the tribe didn't agree with attacking women. By the time the tribe realised they were in fact men, it was too late and they were defeated, thus adopting the kilt as a sign of respect to the Scots and to remember their clever disguise.

Following this, we then continued our journey to Pilanesberg Safari Park. The plan was to drive through in the minibus with Lewis that evening and then also go again with the ranger the next day. We only found out on arrival in Pilanesberg that we would in fact have to be back at the Safari Park at 6.30am on the Sunday to increase our chances of seeing the animals. So we had another early start to look forward too! However, as soon as we started driving through, we realised the early morning would definitely be worth it. We saw giraffes, zebras, elephants, impala to name but a few, but little did we know just how amazing the next morning would be.

This brings me to the title. Many of you will have heard of South Africa’s “Big Five”, but let me just refresh your memory. The big five animals to see in South Africa are not only named so because they are big, but because they are hard to find and therefore spotting one of them is particularly exhilarating. They consist of the lion, leopard, elephant, rhino and buffalo. And we saw four of them!

I have thousands of photos I wish to share with you – no doubt on my return they will all end up on facebook! But unfortunately I have to limit the number of photos I upload, otherwise I won’t have enough data to last me the six weeks.

So here are just a few of my favourites!

The stag impala standing proud

This baby leopard didn't seem too impressed to see us!

A line of zebra seemed to be heading somewhere...

A Chacma Baboon just chilling with the birds

The elephants even walked past the back of our ranger car!

I just couldn't resist an elephant selfie! Excuse my appearance, it was early in the morning!

Even the lions came to say hello.

The rhinos weren't quite so friendly, but we did manage to catch a few photos

This giraffe is just destined to be a model

And finally, an added bonus when getting up so early! 

COSAS

I had a rather unusual day on Wednesday. I was teaching my fourth lesson of the day (the last lesson before lunch). The class was settled and were quietly getting on with their classwork and religiously making notes whenever I drew their attention to the blackboard. About halfway through the lesson, a student from another class burst in, saying something in one of the home languages – probably Zulu. Suddenly all my students stood up, grabbed their bags and stormed out of my class. Bewildered, I followed shortly, having packed together all the teaching resources, and soon found the entire student body congregated in the quad where they usually have assemblies. The teachers were scattered around the edge of the crowd, seemingly concerned. Then I spotted someone too young to be a teacher, yet was clearly not a student. He was addressing the kids, and everything he proclaimed (again in Zulu) was followed by a cheer from the masses. After a couple of minutes, he led all the students out of school.

An emergency staff meeting followed where everything was explained. COSAS (Congress of South African Students) had visited to persuade the children to join them on a march to campaign for free University Education, cheaper transport fares and to raise the drinking age to 21 amongst other things. They were apparently visiting all the schools in the vicinity to build up numbers for their march.

This got me thinking. Where is the union for school students in England? Is it needed? There are plenty of Teachers’ Unions, why can’t the students have the same kind of protection? Would they abuse it? Or would it be a good way for keen students to get a clear message across about how their local schools could be more successfully managed? I am still undecided.

So all the learners had left by 11.30 in the morning and Hope and I had established that the other schools, in which our Warwick in Africa friends were working, were still running as normal. We decided it wasn’t worth just hanging around at school for over 3 hours until Vincent (our driver) came to collect us in the minibus with everybody else, so we became tourists for the afternoon.

I don’t think I can stress enough how much history there is on the road in which Phefeni lies. Vilakazi Street is one of the most famous streets in Soweto. Desmond Tutu, Hector Pieterson and Nelson Mandela all have very close connections with it.

Me outside Nelson Mandela's house!

So we spent our Wednesday afternoon looking round Mandela’s house (which is literally opposite our school) followed by a few drinks in the tourist-filled tavern at the bottom of the street. We did feel a bit guilty when returning to the minibus, but what else could we do? We had nobody to teach!

Me and Hope at the tavern with a few drinks!