Week 16 - Time to say Goodbye - Personal

The past 4 months have been some of the best of my life and so saying goodbye to some absolutely awesome friends has been one of the most difficult things I have had to do! I can genuinely say that Lynsey and I have got to know some of the greatest friends we could have wished to have met – friends which we will keep for life!

Our final day in South Africa started at 5am watching the sun rise over the Indian Ocean with some of our closest friends – I couldn’t have wished for a better way to spend our final morning, despite the early start. Although it was our last day I must say that spirits were high in the morning and we made sure to leave a lasting stamp of our nameson the pier which we can look at again in future visits. The fact that we have now left South Africa still does not feel real! After our friends brought us to the airport we received a pleasant surprise when our South African friend Alex appeared to wave us goodbye. I can’t describe the feeling and atmosphere at the airport as our friends waved us goodbye except it felt as if we were losing not only friends but family.

The International experience has been incredible and I know that despite the difficult goodbyes, we will see each other again soon. Whether it be in Ireland, Minnesota or another part of the world, I know that there are many more adventures for us to share! Over the past 4 months I have discovered so much about myself, who I am, what I stand for, other cultures, customs and traditions, and another education system – no classroom can teach this!

Annie’s Cove, The French Mansion, Balizzas, Captains, Gondwanas, Barneys, Cape Recife, Jeffrey’s Bay, boat trips in Plettenberg, Cape Town, The Garden Route, Coffee Bay, bungee jumping, riding elephants, ostriches and camels – I will never forget any of it! Americans, French, South Africans, Germans, Norwegians, Swedish, Zimbabweans, Boatswains and Swiss – you have made this experience what it was - AWESOME!

So here’s to great friends, great stories, great shared experiences, great road trips, great days, greater nights, and great discoveries – the greatest time of my life!

T.I.A. 2012 I will miss you!

Friends, I will see you soon!

Glenn

Week 16 - Leaving Cape Recife - Professional

Finishing teaching practice is usually something which causes me to breathe a sigh of relief, however I must admit that I was a sad to say goodbye to the staff and pupils of Cape Recife High School this week. I have been touched by the welcome I have received here and I can sincerely say that the send off I received was truly brilliant.

During the past number of weeks I have got to know my school teacher tutor Melanie very well and so I was thrilled to be invited to join her family for a kudu steak braai at her home. Kudu is a wild South African animal, and the meat we were eating was from a recent hunt at Melanie’s parents’ game farm.  Kudu is delicious, tasting similar to steak with a slightly more gamey flavour.

Sitting at the back of the hall during Friday assembly I wasn’t expecting to be called to the front by the Principal to say a few words (I think everyone could probably tell this)! It was even more of a surprise to me when the Principal announced that she had re-arranged the timetable to allow for an extra long lunch so that the staff could have an opportunity to thank me for my work over the past few weeks! Needless to say, both staff and pupils were smiling when they heard this!

The hospitality I have received from the staff here has been outstanding and no more was this obvious than the thank you party they held for me in the staffroom at lunch time. I think everyone left the room a few pounds heavier with the huge spread of food that was made! After receiving a card, money and a gift as a token of the schools appreciation the Principal approached me and said that they would always have a teaching position for me should I wish to return to South Africa – I was flattered by this generous offer and told her that I may indeed return in the future!

Teaching some of my classes for the last time, it was nice to hear pupils ask me why I had to leave, giving me an indication that they have enjoyed my company as much as I have enjoyed theirs. Since finishing teaching practice I have had the opportunity to reflect on what I have learnt during my time teaching in South Africa.  My time in Cape Recife has been very valuable to my professional development and I have learnt a lot from the experience. Teaching in a school with limited resources has certainly made me a more resilient, resourceful and creative teacher. I think that in Northern Ireland, many learners are bored by ‘death by PowerPoint’ – I have had to develop alternative ways to capture and maintain the attention of learners, as technology access is virtually non-existent in the classroom. Special Needs Education has always interested me and so the opportunity to get experience in a Special Needs School with such a wide range of SEN has been fantastic. I believe I am more aware of and better equipped to deal with SEN in the classroom along with the additional pastoral care needs of learners.

Fundamentally, learners here are the same as learners in Northern Ireland, with similar interests and hobbies. However it is obvious that the challenges young people here face are more wide spread. Broken families, bereavement, drugs, alcohol, abuse and depression are only some of the things most learners here have come in contact with and are willing to speak quite openly about. Addressing and discussing these issues in Life Orientation class has been very rewarding for me personally and has contributed immensely to my professional development.

Cape Recife has been a great learning experience for me and it is one which I will never forget. I hope to apply what I have learned to future teaching positions in Northern Ireland.

Until next week,

Glenn

Week 15 - Professional

Before coming to South Africa I often questioned how relevant subjects like Life Orientation and Learning for Life and Work really were today considering the broad exposure young people have to learn about a range of areas through media such as TV, magazines and the internet. Over the past few weeks, this week in particular I have realised how relevant this subject is for young people today.

If you ask pupils their opinions of Life Orientation, whether they be South African or from Northern Ireland, I am quite sure that the majority of them will comment that it is a ‘handy’ class or a ‘doss’ class. In other words, they consider it to be somewhat pointless, and somewhat of a free period – indeed there are many teachers who will share this opinion. In my opinion the way this subject is generally taught must change and this is something I have tried to take into account while teaching.

After teaching a year 9 Life Orientation lesson on ‘problems and stresses’ a pupil called JP asked to speak to me after the class. After explaining that I would have to share whatever he told me with other teachers he proceeded to tell me about the problems he had been facing at home and how this was effecting his emotions and concentration at school. I was initially taken back by his willingness to speak to me so openly to me about his problems but I was pleased that I had made a breakthrough during the lesson. This was another encounter of the widespread social problems effecting young people here, often ignored and not properly addressed by the school.

Life Orientation is critical in addressing the problems, situations, temptations and challenges young people face in their lives however it is not helpful to approach topics such as sexuality or suicide in rigid, uncomfortable and awkward ways - something I have witnessed many teachers here and at home do. Topics such as these are part of every young person’s growing up and must be approached in an open, frank, sensitive and relevant way – otherwise we are not really addressing the issues. Over the past few months I have been enrolled in Dr. Jordaan’s Life Orientation Method lectures in the University. I can genuinely say that I have learned a great deal from these lectures as we are taught how to address sensitive issues in a way which will encourage real participation and response from learners.

Life Orientation or Learning for Life and Work was never a subject I had any passion to teach – things have changed! I now have a desire to teach this subject when I return to Northern Ireland bringing with me the new and interesting approaches I have learned and practiced while here.

Until next week,

Glenn

Week 14 - Cultural Coffee Bay - Cultural

They say that South Africa is the land of contrast and a trip to Coffee Bay gave us another glimpse of the rich diversity that blankets this nation. A landscape of rolling hills, dotted with small circular straw roofed huts, Coffee Bay is isolated from the outside world and reminds me of something which would feature in the National Geographic.

There is no denying the clear poverty surrounding this community. Even the most basic dirt roads and running water have only reached the area in the past few years. Despite this, tourism has brought considerable opportunities for the locals with the woman (mamas) selling homemade beaded jewellery and the men seemingly selling drugs outside every backpackers!! I have been impressed and somewhat taken back by the efforts of children here to make money for their families. When going to see the ‘hole in the wall’, an unusual feature of coastal erosion, two young boys gave us a guided tour of the area – they were on school holidays and were trying to earn some money. Another young 10 year old boy sold me a wallet made from a juice carton – possibly one of the coolest things I have bought here – a future Richard Branson I reckon!

A guided tour of around the village allowed us to learn about traditional medicines and the locals beliefs about their ancestors. We visited the sacred pools where locals would pour homemade beer as an offering to their ancestors. After we had practiced some traditional mud face painting we visited a family home for a homemade traditional meal prepared by the mamas. While inside, women served the food. Men and women sat at different sides of the room, with the man of the house sitting nearest the door. Needless to say, Lynsey and Shannon were less than impressed to have to hand Ryan and I our food with the phrase ‘I hope you choke on it’ being used! I couldn’t believe it when we learned that a man had to buy his wife. This is done by paying the lady’s parents the value of 7 cows, along with the lady’s consent. Furthermore a man can have as many wives as he pleases provided he is able to provide for them all.

The Xhosa culture is very different to the culture of Northern Ireland. Nevertheless, I felt very welcome here and the locals were very friendly. Locals recognise that tourism is crucial to their community which is economically isolated and so the feeling towards travellers is very positive. I think experiencing different cultures and comparing them to our own is important in developing understanding, appreciation and respect for difference. Our culture helps shape who we are, how others see us and how we interact with others. Experiencing new and contrasting cultures helps challenge how we develop as individuals. I have enjoyed my time in Coffee Bay very much, it has been awesome!

Glenn

Week 13 - Travelling East - Personal

Our weekend trip took off to a slow start when we had to tie the exhaust of our 1980’s citi golf to the frame of the car to avoid it rattling and falling off – something which at home would normally cause me to reconsider the 12 hour journey ahead of us, but then again I am well adjusted to life here now and simply tell myself T.I.A. – This Is Africa! With a torn piece of cloth our car, Bruce, was ready to hit the road and it brought us safe and sound to our first stop, Hogsback.

Hogsback gets its name from the 3 mountains overlooking the area which apparently look like hogs’ backs, although I still don’t see it! It is one of the only places in South Africa where it can snow during winter – a strange concept to be building a snowman in Africa! From the roadside shroom (magic-mushroom) dealers to the constantly travelling hippies, there is no doubt that the people here are certainly strange. Although I can’t help but think that if they were to look at the people in a small town like where I am from they would probably come to the same conclusion – everyone is different I guess!

Hiking through Hogsback it’s easy to understand how this mystic place is the inspiration behind the Lord of the Rings. Miles of mad trails through the dense forest led to magnificent gushing waterfalls, some of them bigger than I have ever seen before – It’s no wonder that our 11km hike took us over 5 hours with the continuous stops! As we were leaving the forest onto the main road we met a young lady and her grandmother walking to see the huge Madonna and Childs Falls. Sadly the lady’s grandmother had to stop before getting there as the path was too rough and slippery and she was afraid of falling. It made me realise that I must make the most of my youth!

On Saturday we travelled a few hours further along the East coast to our friend Yanga’s home in East London for his 24^th birthday party. There we were re-united with many of our international friends again, taking advantage of the free food and drink supplied by Yanga. Unfortunately our friend Matti had to leave us on Sunday morning for PE as her ear reacted badly to a piercing she got last week, leaving Lynsey, Ryan, Shannon and I to continue our journey. Although we have driven through East London before we had never had a chance to explore it and so Sunday was a great opportunity to see the town. The art work for sale at almost every market here is stunning. I often have to stop myself from buying more ornaments, reminding myself of the baggage weight limit. Nevertheless I couldn’t resist one painting!

With Ryan as pilot we headed on that afternoon towards Coffee Bay. Lynsey and I have both been very impressed with how his manual (stick) driving has come along, although we were all a slightly worried when a policeman stopped us for being a little over the speed limit. As Ryan spoken to the officer at the other side of the road we soon realised that we were fine when the policeman started laughing and asking about America – and they say luck of the Irish! We have heard a lot about Coffee Bay from other international students and travellers and are excited to find out what adventures lie in store!

 

 

Glenn

Week 12 - The arrival of Teaching Practice - Professional

After an amazing two weeks of travelling the coast between Cape Town and Port Elizabeth, Lynsey and I were pulled back to reality with our first week of teaching practice. I can generally say that my first week of teaching practice here has been less stressful than at home with less emphasis on long wordy lesson plans and rather a more logical abridged lesson plan approach – something which makes much more sense to me.

The subject which I am teaching is Life Orientation which is similar to Learning for Life and Work in Northern Ireland. The South African Curriculum states that Life Orientation is…

‘the study of the self in relation to others and society. It addresses skills, knowledge and values about the self, the environment, responsible citizenship, a healthy and productive life, social engagement, recreation and physical activity, careers and career choices’

Life Orientation is one of the four fundamental subjects required for the National Senior Certificate, meaning that it is compulsory for all grades. I have been given full responsibility of all grade 8 and 9 English speaking classes, while taking both English and Afrikaans speaking grade 11 and 12 for their physical activity aspect. I have already realised the great volume of responsibility which has been placed on me and with almost 20 hours of teaching per week I have a hectic schedule! Despite the 7:45am start, Lynsey and I are both appreciating the 2:00pm finish.

The classroom in which I have been teaching is somewhat different to my previous classrooms in Northern Ireland. With no access to technology, internet or even a white board, it consists of tables, chairs and a blackboard. I have had to learn to master the technique of avoiding the painful screech of chalk against the blackboard! Lessons here last 50 minutes, much longer than I had expected, particularly for a school with many ADHD and ADD learners – this week I have found that the attentions of learners drop if activities are not constantly changing.

Learners here have been in general very polite and respectful towards me and have accepted me as a member of staff. The support from both the staff and Principal has been great and I have been made feel at home in the staffroom. I have already been asked to take part in staff meetings which are held on a daily basis discussing topics such as behaviour, assessment, school events and school policies. There is a considerably higher percentage of male learners in the school in comparison to their female counterparts, perhaps reflecting statistics regarding SEN. The number of male teachers however does not reflect the pupil population and I think that many of the boys would benefit from more male role models - I hope that I can help fulfil this role.

After a number of days observation over the past few weeks it has been great to finally have the opportunity to teach. Learners have responded very well to my teaching approaches which are new to them. I hope that I can continue to benefit learners as I continue to teach here.

Glenn

Week 11 - Discovering the Garden Route - Personal

This week has been packed with action with everything from diving with sharks, climbing through caves, riding ostriches and camels to cliff jumping and jumping off the world’s highest bungee bridge!

I have barely ever travelled in a train never mind sleep in one, and our backpackers in Mossel Bay gave us that experience. The area is famous for great white sharks so John, Ian and I decided to get up close and personal with a shark cage diving experience. Despite John’s fear of losing a limb, the three of us equipped in our wetsuits and goggles jumped into the water and after a long wait a two metre great white was within about a metre from us. Seeing a shark on TV and seeing one up close are completely different and definitely worth the wait!

After a six hour drive in our jeep (SUV for the Americans) we arrived in Oudshoorn. Our backpackers was more like a hotel and we immediately decided to stay another night after we were upgraded to first class rooms! On Tuesday morning we went on an adventure tour of the Cango Caves requiring us to squeeze through small openings between the cave formations. Some of the chambers were huge and one was once used as a national concert hall. In many ways it reminded me of the Marble Arch Caves. Later in the afternoon we went to an ostrich farm where we got the chance to ride ostriches – one of the coolest things I have ever done! After sitting on the ostrich and holding on to its wings it ran at a ridiculous speed through the pen before we fell off as it turned sharply! The chance to ride a camel was also fun but not quite the same speed!

After a day showing our friends around our favourite town Plettenburg (Plett to the locals) and relaxing on the beach we drove to Bloukrans Bridge to do the world’s highest bungee. We arranged to meet some of our American friends there and everyone showed a mix of nerves and excitement. There are no words to describe the adrenaline rush as you fall through the air trusting your life with a rope – all I will say is that it is something you have to do! I decided to do things a little differently and tied a South African flag around my shoulders as I jumped! Having survived the jump it was time to travel on to Jeffrey’s Bay, well so we thought until the American’s 1980’s Volkswagen Fox decided it wanted to stay! After a late night sitting by the edge of the road watching a movie on Lynsey’s laptop and a local mechanic taking the gear box apart a man cycling past offered that they could stay in his backpackers nearby. It just goes to show that plans can change very quickly.

After a late night drive to Jeffrey’s and a good nights sleep, Lynsey, Emily, Ian, John and I, still buzzing with adrenaline from the bungee decided it would be a good time to go cliff jumping at a local quarry. Gradually as we got braver we moved to higher jumps until Ian and I were at the highest point at about 30m. My jump went well and was actually scarier than the bungee, however Ian hurt his back. Thankfully after a few days rest and a few tablets he was fine!

Our adventure was finally over when we travelled back to PE that day but it was nice to be back in our own rooms again. It was also a chance to introduce our Irish and international friends. I have realised that there is so much attractions in Ireland that I have never seen and I will be making weekend trips a regular occurrence when I get home! Next week we start teaching practice and needless an extra workload will soon follow!

Hope all is well at home!

Glenn