Some of the pretty flowers in 'Grandma's' Garden

Wonderful Weekend, Wonderful Start to the Week

    On Friday evening I attended that Piano Man concert that I had mentioned earlier. It was great! The view from the Monument is spectacular at night and the architecture inside was just beautiful. The ‘Piano Man’ himself was very funny which was nice because he did play quite a few classical pieces in the beginning. The pieces that they played were from different time periods and focused on the piano’s place in music concert since the piano is celebrating 300 years! And yes, he did end with Billy Joel’s Piano Man.



April and I with the lights of Grhamstown in the background

    I woke up very early Saturday morning and walked to Kingswood with Leah and April. We got on the bus (a fifteen passenger van) with a bunch of 5-7th graders and headed to Port Elizabeth for their Swimming Gala. The facility that the pool was in was very nice. The pool was 50 meters and had touch pads so they did not really need too many volunteers. The three of us mainly cheered and kept the girls busy while they waited for their event, reminding them to not eat too many Wine Gummies before they swam! These wine gummies are basically gummie candy that tastes like different adult beverages like vodka, cider, and wine-not something that we would find in the U.S. I don’t think! At Interval (halftime/intermission) Leah’s coordinating teacher took us to a nearby shopping center so that we could experience the South African retail scene. The shopping mall was very similar to that in the U.S. though a whole level was dedicated to banks and a post office. I tried South African cream soda which is called Spar- Letta and it is bright green! Instead of a vanilla taste it kind of tastes like lemon-lime. I’ll be excited to have a Faygo Cream Soda when I get home. We went into several clothing stores which had a lot of the same kind of clothes you would find in Michigan in the summer. Mom and Dad you would be proud, I have not bought one piece of clothing yet:)
    On Sunday evening we went to Rhodes University for the opening night of a conference Jean’s students are having. Jean teaches a research methods class for pre-service teachers like us and they are presenting their big research projects this week. The event was kind of like a “Congratulations, you’re almost there!” type party. We met several of Jean’s students and had a great time talking to them about their teaching programs in comparison to ours in the U.S.

       Play practice has continued and I am very much ready for opening night! Today one of the grade two teachers asked me to choreograph the boys song that they go to center stage for. They were originally just standing in a straight line, and everyone thought that it needed a little something more. The second grade boys are called the Litter Louts and they sing about littering. It was fun to think of different hand gestures and dance moves, as well as hear and consider the boys suggestions. When they got on stage to practice with the rest of the group I was so nervous that they would not remember anything causing me to look like the incompetent American Student Teacher. That was not the case at all, they definitely need some more practice, but I have confidence that they will do great come next week!

     

       This afternoon Leah, April, Lauren and I headed to Grahamstown to explore and get some groceries. We went to a store called Fruit and Veg (I won’t tell you what you can get there) and then we stopped at Wimpy’s for milkshakes and smoothies. No matter where we go Leah always gets a milkshake, and she drinks them down like nobody’s business. Lauren leaves in a week and we discussed what she was going to do for her last weekend in South Africa. It was nice to just sit and talk about our school day and our experiences with teaching thus far. I feel very fortunate that we all get along and enjoy each other’s company. Lauren has been here since the beginning of August and she has been our little information and advice source. I am really going to miss that Southern Bell!

              Tomorrow is a very busy day with School, Sport (swim practice with the Whales, their team name), Grade 5 prep, and working out with some teachers!

                  For those of you wondering how the weather is…tomorrow is supposed to be 81 degrees:)


I got so excited when I saw this Christmas Display!

Beautiful flower we saw on the way into town

Happy Friday!

       Usually on the first day of school I have butterflies in my stomach and thoughts about what the semester might bring, or lately what the placement might be like. For my first day at Kingswood College I was excited, but had no idea what to expect, afterall I am in another country and at a private school. Jean (Prof. Baxen) drove us to school and April and I met with the Headmaster (so offical sounding) to introduce ourselves and get our placements. After discussing what grades we have had experience in, I was assigned Grade 3, which I am very pleased about! We then went up to the staff room where all the teachers congregate in the morning for coffee and tea and met a lot of the staff members. Grades 1-3 have Assembly together every Monday. All the students come into a hall where they sing a few songs, say the Lords Prayer, Happy Birthday's are sung, and announcements are given.

      Right now Grades 1-3 are rehearsing their play titled "Going Green," which is just the cutest little story about the Grey Gang trying to take over the planet, while the Green Gang made up of Re Cycle, Rene Wable, Con Servation and others,educate the audience about saving the planet and overtaking the Grey Gang. The play is in a week and  half and we have been practicing diligently everday. Oh and it's really cool because they sing a Michael Jackson song....and a song they played a lot during the world cup.

     My two teachers (two Grade 3's) are very nice and are great teachers. They are both busy with play preparations and are allowing me to jump right in and teach. One of the most exciting things is that I have a Smartboard in one of the classrooms! It looks pretty funny with a chalkboard behind it, but the students really like using it, and it is great practice for me!

    The school days are very different here compared to the United States. I leave for school at 7am, we have break at 10:30 when all the teachers head up to the staff room and have tea and grilled cheese and tomato sandwhiches. Then the day ends at 13:00, the students all stand next to their desks and after Mrs. Reynolds says "Good afternoon Grade 3's" they say in unison: "Good afternoon, Mrs. Reynolds and Ms. L"-it makes me crack a smile everytime, I sometimes feel like I'm in Dead Poets Society. Everyone heads home for lunch and then comes back for sport practice at 14:00. Today (Friday) I got to coach swim practice for a lot of my third graders. I had to think back to what the coaches did at Michelle's swim meets and tried to act like I have been coaching swimming for years. The pool is outside of course and because of the cold weather lately, the pool temperature was absolutely frigid. The little boys kept telling me that they couldn't even breathe it was so cold. I couldn't bare watching the kids shiver, so we practiced our strokes on some benches and did some dry land exercises instead.

  This weekend I am going to a school fundraiser at the Monument in Grahamstown, which is a piano performance called the Piano Man (I'm hoping he'll play some Billy Joel) and then tomorrow, myself and the other COST girls volunteered to help at a Swimming Gala (swim meet) in Port Elizabeth...we leave at 6am!!

Since pictures are hard to upload here, this is the website for the Monument:
http://www.foundation.org.za/monument/index.php
And this one is for Kingswood College:
http://www.kingswoodcollege.com/

Hope everyone at home is having a great Fall Friday and Halloween Weekend!
Go State!!

The Weekend

Saturday
 So I really wanted to title this one: Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh my! But the only one we saw of those is....LIONS! See the picture below! I still cannot believe that I was so close to that many REAL lions that were not in captivity or a zoo! On our ride alone to Addo Elephant National Park we (Leah, April, Lauren, and I) saw enough wild animals to make anyone happy.  I got to see a monkey cross the road, not a deer, a monkey! We also saw giraffes just hanging out on the other side of the road and other deer like animals. Lauren who has been here since August had never driven before, but really wanted to experience what it was like to drive on the opposite side of the road in the opposite side of the car-she did great! We rented a really cute automatic car called a Clio! When we were en route to the park we went through a township which are what slums are called here. It opened my eyes to a whole other part of this area that I am definitely interested in and feel fortunate that I get to see that side of South Africa as well. The four of us got a quick lunch at the park and then headed out on our own in the car all afternoon to look for any signs of wildlife that we could find.

     The first animal we encountered was some warthogs like Tamone from The Lion King! They were a lot faster than I would have thought and they looked like they would be singing "Hakuna Matata" all day long. Over an hour had passed and we had yet to see an elephant. The whole energy level in the car was starting to die and we started asking any car we passed where we might see some elephants. All of a sudden when we rounded a corner we saw three huge African Elephants! We were all super excited and took a million pictures. Fast Forwarding a bit, we stopped at a "Picnic" site for a moment and asked a gentleman if he had seen any Lions. He quickly gave us directions to where he spotted some earlier so we bee-lined it to the spot which was hard to miss with all of the other cars looking at the lions as well. There were FIVE of them! Three males and two females. It was just amazing. Then on our way back we were talking about how it is called an Elephant park, yet we saw more lions and warthogs than elephants. Well we had to literally slam on the breaks because we saw an elephant that was standing in the middle of the road and then about five more appeared...and we even got to see a few babies!

     Saturday night we went into Grahamstown and experienced a bit of the night life in which is a bit of a college town because of the nearby Rhodes University. The place we went to was called Rat & Parrot which is the must see restaurant/bar in the area. We celebrated Misty's last night in Grahamstown and I had the opportunity to meet some of her friends and a lot of other people from around the town.  I was shocked how quickly people realized that we were from America-and how they loved how we say zebra and giraffe due to the long 'a' sound we stick in there.



ELEPHANTS!







Mufasa



    



Lauren, April, Me, and Leah stopped at a lookout point for
a quick picture, to our left was a  "Beware of Lions" Sign





Sunday
       Despite the dreary weather it did not stop Leah, Lauren and I to head to Port Elizabeth for a day of adventure. The whole purpose behind  the trip was to go to the market they have right on the beach on the weekends, but because of the weather they did not have the market! It was quite a shame, which people say here instead of "darn-it" or "fiddly-dee." We met up with one of Lauren's friends, Andale, who is originally from P.E. and he showed us an alternative market to go to! We all bought some souvenirs and enjoyed an afternoon of walking around the Boardwalk. When first seeing Andale (On-doll-ay) I had to do a double-take because he was wearing an MSU track jacket! Andale was in E. Lansing this summer for an Athletes in Action program and he listed off all the athletes and coaches he met. I just couldn't believe that I would run into someone in S.A. that knew who Tom Izzo and Mark Dantonio are! One of the souvenirs I bought is a piece of artwork of the township that was done for the World Cup. While at this little vendor/kiosk the artist had asked us if we had been to the township in P.E. yet and after telling him no, Andale offered to give us a tour of it because that is where he is from (and it is much safer to go with someone who is from there). It is hard for me to put into words my experience of viewing the township in P.E.. It is humongous first of all, thousands of people live in these tiny train car like houses, trash is built up on the side of the road, people walking around all over the place...it is very surreal. Townships are a result of the apartheid and it is not looked at as sad or depressing, it is just normal. The whole concept of townships is very hard for me to wrap my head around, I just have so many questions about them!

  On our way home we stopped at a Farm Stall which is similar to a country store back home. I got some grapefruit marmalade and some real pineapple juice, the pineapple is delicious here! We had a huge family dinner for Misty who leaves Monday. It was a lovely Family Sunday Dinner:)

Port Elizabeth on a Cold, Windy, Rainy Day...
try to picture it as Hot, Humid, and Sunny.

      

Tomorrow is my first day of school and I cannot wait to see what a private school in South Africa is like!

Cheers!

First 24 Hours in Grahamstown...and Loving it!

          When I went to bed last night, I was afraid that I would not be able to fall asleep in a new place and a new country, but boy was I wrong. I zonked out. I slept from 1 am to around 7 am that was when Leah (another COST student) was getting ready for school. I did not wake up again until 10 when I woke up at the same time as April and we had breakfast with "Grandma" who is Professor Baxen's mother who is also at the house.  Grandma gave us a tour of the house and the cottage (an adjoining aparment that Leah and I will be staying in) and gave us a tour of the amazing garden in the backyard. The garden is just beautiful. It's green and then bursts of color all over the place. They have a lemon and peach tree, carrots, beans, a pumpkin, butternut squash, and mint (Mom you would just love it). After that April and I spent some time resting and then Misty (a COST student that is leaving on Monday) got home from her last day of school and we met her and talked with her for awhile. This afternoon everyone was home that I will be living with for the next two weeks until things change a little bit: April, Me, Professor Baxen, Professor Baxens' son Agean, Grandma, Misty, Lauren (she is leaving in 2 weeks) and then Leah. So we definitely have a house full, but the house is very accomadating for so many people!
          This afternoon, April, Misty, Leah and I walked into Grahamstown to get groceries and other necessities. The city is really pretty, even on a cloudy day. We walked past Kingswood College and I got so excited to start student teaching on Monday. The grocery store that we went into was called Checkers and is similar to a Kroger or Family Fare back home. Shopping was a little difficult because everything is obviously in Rand and looks so much different. I was trying to pick out some orange juice and the first one I picked up had skim milk in it-so that was a little different:) Tonight we went out to dinner at a place called The Yellow House with everyone besides Grandma. It was nice to sit down and visit with so many people! I got a pizza along with everyone else.
           Tomorrow we are planning on renting a car and traveling to Addo Elephant Park which is close to Grahamstown so that Lauren can get used to driving on the opposite side of the road, on the opposite side of the car so that when we travel to Port Elizabeth on Sunday we'll be all set!

Have a great night, I'm off to bed:)
Pictures will come soon!

Car Ride to Detroit, Flight to Atlanta, LONG Flight to Johannesburg, Flight to Port Elizabeth, "Cab" ride to Grahamstown, FINALLY HERE!

         I am finally here! What a long day and a half it has been! The flights went very smoothly. The long trip from Atlanta to Johannesburg, South Africa was 14 hours and 45 minutes, I only got up once the whole flight (mainly due to having a window seat and two men sleeping next to me). The time went by prety quickly due to great movies avaliable right on the screen in front of me, The Back Up Plan, Valentine's Day, Invictus, Leap Year, etc.. When we (April, Kelly, and me) got to Johannesburg we were very much ready for our journey to be over, especially because we were in South Africa but stuck in an airport with out very many windows!
           When we got to Port Elizabeth our cab driver had a sign that said April/Nicole, so that was nice to not have to look for a shuttle or our own cab. He took our bags for us and we hesitantly followed him, looking at all the vans and cars lined up with commerical names on the sides wondering which one he would lead us to. Well it was just a regular car, some sort of trusty Mercedes. Turns out the mans wife came along for the ride as well. This guy (he said his name so fast I can't remember it) was hilarious, yet frustrating. You couldn't ask him a question with out a humorous answer. "How many people live in Grahamstown," he replied with "Four" referring to the four of us in the car. I was somewhat surprised when the wife turned on the radio and it was "Eenie Meenie" or whatever that one song is called. It was followed by "Like a Prayer" by Madonna, and something by Michael Jackson. It was great, we all sang along like the Partridge Family..until April fell fast asleep and it was just me and this husband and wife singing away. I happened to ask them if transportation from the airport was both of their jobs and the husband said "No, me and my wife actually write children's books too!" I quickly got the 411 on the book and asked them where I could get a copy..you know thinking like a teacher. Well he just jumped right on it and said "We'll just stop by our house (in Grahamstown) and pick you up a copy!" April looked at me like 'oh great Nichole, way to add another jaunt to the journey' This book is about a brave little donkey, it's in black and white so children can color it, and it is in both English and Afrikaans. I haven't read it yet.

It is 12:52 am here and I need to get some sleep. The Professor we are staying with is wonderful. So welcoming and friendly all ready!

It's Time to Check-In

        After a long day of Professional Development in Grand Rapids, I received an e-mail from Delta Airlines saying that it was "time to check-in" for my flight! I looked at it in disbelief.  The long awaited trip is finally here. Even better, when my dad got home from work he created a handy currency converter for me! It has all started feeling very real today, though I don't think I will believe it completely until I am sitting on the plane!
        I finally finished packing my bags, thanks to some friends advice and firm directions:), now I am just hoping that I can get some sleep. A lot of people have been asking me if I'm scared or nervous. Well yes I am definitely a little aprehensive about going on this trip-after all I am going to Africa! There are a lot of unknowns such as what grade I'll be student teaching in, how the whole living situation will pan out, etc. I am not freaking out though by any means, even my mom says, its not like I'm going to the moon, and two months will go by very quickly.

Thanks to everyone who gave me a call today/wrote me on facebook wishing me safe travels!
The next time you hear from me, I'll be either in an airport or in SOUTH AFRICA!