Leaving Capetown

I think everyone felt it was bittersweet to leave Capetown... It is beautiful there and the people are wonderful but it will be nice to come back home. Some of the teachers from Heatherdale suprised us by seeing us off at the airport. People here are very thoughtful!

I can't remember if I have already mentioned this but they had a big braai for us, an assembly and some of them came out with us to celebrate all of us graduating. Very thoughtful!

Hello from Amsterdam!

Hello All!

So we are apparently staying in the red light district...which came as a suprise but it provides us with some definite entertainment! Dón't worry it is very safe!

We have done the Heinken Brewery Tour, Van Gogh Museum, Anne Frank House (which was amazing!), a pub crawl last night and we are heading to the Tulip Festival in a couple of hours.

I am having lots of fun but I am super excited to come home!

Lots of love!

Hair Salons

There are so many hair salons in all the townships...it's unreal. They aren't buildings like we would have they are like the back of a transport truck...so the front is all open during the day. I will try to keep a list of the funny hair salon names!

Last Day at Heatherdale

For our last day at Heatherdale they held an assembly for us...the kids sang and danced and a student from each of our classes presented us with a gift, it was very thoughtful. And fairly awkward sitting infront of the whole school on a stage but at least we weren't alone. So now we have more time to ourselves to explore Cape Town. Today we went for lunch at a place called Mzolis...it's a brii (spelling?) a bbq...across the street someone had a dead pig tied down in their trunk...when we left the restaurant it was gone...maybe we ate it!

Love and miss you all...one more week and I am getting excited to come home!

Mama Lumka's Orphanage

Mama Lumka's was a lot of fun... its an orphanage in the center of a township (very low income area with homes made of corguated tin). The kids were so cute! They all have such sad stories...and what is worse is knowing that their are tons of other kids out their stuck in situations like they were with out any help because social workers are so overloaded. There was a really sweet 2 year old who stayed close to me all day... he almost came home with us!

We visited GAPA (Grandmothers Against Poverty and Aids) where grandmothers are caring for their grandchildren. These women sang all day! and of course we joined them it was absolutely amazng to hear their stories and their struggles.

Hello from the backpackers in capetown!!

I just got back from safari at a game reserve. We went to two wineries on our way and everyone was in the bag before 12 am...our driver Anwa made a CD of South African Club Music...a lot of techno and a bit of beyonce. hahaha. So the wineries we went to were Fairview (cheese and wine!) and Solms which has a neat program for their workers (a trust to support them and their familes with their education and living circumstances). This winery clamps the vines so the grapes are really really sweet!

Aquila Safari is amazing....we went out twice in a big jeep all 14 or so of us and we saw elephants, giraffes, rhinos, buffalo, springbok (the national animal), ostritch, zebra, warthog, hippos and a whole bunch more that I can't remember. We got very close! The scariest part was the lions...they are kept in a seperate caged area but the trucks drive into that area. We watched three juvenille lions circle our truck and play with each other...one female ran under the truck right behind me. They watch you so closely, and you have to keep eye contact with them so that they stay back...apparently we were safe because of the size of the vehicle, but at times it didn't feel like that.

We had a bon fire that night and had some of our wine and some roasted marshmellos....which are flavoured here...kind of fruity. Oh and we all got sparkling wine when we arrived and during our break on safari. The cabins had thatched roofs and and plaster walls...with an outdoor shower which is amazing! I had to shower twice to take advantage of it.

Now I am at the backpackers...the nicest hostel it has a pool and beautiful gardens right in capetown...I think we are all exicted to be able to walk around here (in athlone we didn't go out much for safety reasons).

Three more days of teaching and then I am a full fledged teacher!!!

Love and miss you all,

Heather

(Amsterdam hostel is booked...we are staying at the heart of amsterdam)

Heatherdale Public School

My grade 4's are so sweet... yet so rough with each other! Hands off is not the policy here. I love being able to hug the students and encourage them in that way but their fighting overwhelms me. I almost got toppled over at interval (recess/nutrition break) by my kids hugging me. Sometimes I get hugs from kids I don't even know. I am called Miss. Heather here...everymorning the kids say "Good morning Miss. Heather, good morning Sir, good morning all and how are you today?" We say, "good thank you and how are you?" and the children recite back "fine thank you." Most of the kid high five the poster of Madiba (Nelson Mandela) on their way into the classroom. I spotted one girl who shoved a boy who was teasing her out of the door and then smiled and high fived Madiba.

Their dancing is amazing...they are all little Michael Jacksons! I have never seen so many kids do the moon walk.

The kids are fascinated by my hair, I was sitting on the steps and felt something in my hair, some kids I didn't know were petting my hair. Some of the girls in primary classes get their hair braided by the kids every day.

The kids speak Isi-Xhosa (spelling is questionable) it has a clicking sound in it with your tongue...the kids tried to get me to read some Isi-Xhosa and just laughed and laughed and laughed. And afrikanse...which is not fully supported at home since it is seen as the opressors language.

Good news all the treats have coconut in them! (Jeff, you wouldn't like it)

If the kids want to borrow a marker from me they ask for the co-ket which is afrikanse for marker. I think...

Love,

Heather

Tomorrow we are going to a winery...which is well deserved and I will be taking full advantage of!