At the NGO in the Valley of a Thousand Hills
At the Rugby Game
Giant Sea Turtle at Ushaka
Botanic GardernsOkay so I've done about a million things in the last week or so but I will try and summarize the most exciting things!
2/21/08 My class spent the afternoon and evening at an informal settlement at Kennedy Road which is located on a landfill. There is an organization called the Abahlali Informal Settlement Movement run by young men who live at Kennedy Road who came to speak to us about the organizations goals. They are constantly battling the city of Durban who want to move them to a more rural area...actually a few days before our visit the city dug up their power lines and disconnected everyones electricity. .We spent about an hour walking through the area then, were served dinner, and had a performance by a male acapella group which was one of the most amazing performances I have ever seen/heard.
The Weekend of 2/23-2/24 I visited the Durban Bontanical Gardens which were unbelievably beautiful (see picture). There was a wedding going on while I was there as well! I also went to a rugby game...The Durban Sharks vs The Capetown Stormers and the Sharks won which was exciting! On Suday I went to a place called UShaka with my friend Morgan and her little sister (her homestay sister). Ushaka is a waterpark and aquarium.
On 2/2708 we went to visit an NGO in a place called the Valley of a Thousand Hills. It is about 20 min outside of Durban and it had the most amazing scenery! My picture above does not caputre it at all!
Today 2/29/08 we went to visit Durban North College. The school used to be exclusively Afrikaaner but now all different students attend, with Afrikaaner and Indian being the majority. The school is split into "mother tounges" so half the kids learn in Afrikaans and the half learn in english. We were broken into groups of three and assigned to a class. There is one Afrikaans class and one English class for every grade and they stay together all day rotating through their various subjects. My class was English and 10th grade. It seemed like an average high school class to me and I felt like I was back in high school again and all the kids were sitting together and hanging out. Its funny...I got asked about 25 times if I know 50 cent and Beyonce as soon as I tell them I'm from New York! Some of my friends were in Afrikaans speaking classes where they had a much different expereince...and were shocked by the blatent racism. Although others in English and Afrikaaner classes experienced similar and much different points of view. So it was interesting when all our mini groups of three came together and we all heard how everyone else's day went.
Well tomorrow morning 3/1/08 I leave for my rural homestay! I will be there through 3/10/08 and then we go to a game reserve. Our teachers set up the program in this way because they want to experience the drastic transition from living with a Zulu family with no electricity and running water straight into a wealthy primarily white setting.
On 2/2708 we went to visit an NGO in a place called the Valley of a Thousand Hills. It is about 20 min outside of Durban and it had the most amazing scenery! My picture above does not caputre it at all!
Today 2/29/08 we went to visit Durban North College. The school used to be exclusively Afrikaaner but now all different students attend, with Afrikaaner and Indian being the majority. The school is split into "mother tounges" so half the kids learn in Afrikaans and the half learn in english. We were broken into groups of three and assigned to a class. There is one Afrikaans class and one English class for every grade and they stay together all day rotating through their various subjects. My class was English and 10th grade. It seemed like an average high school class to me and I felt like I was back in high school again and all the kids were sitting together and hanging out. Its funny...I got asked about 25 times if I know 50 cent and Beyonce as soon as I tell them I'm from New York! Some of my friends were in Afrikaans speaking classes where they had a much different expereince...and were shocked by the blatent racism. Although others in English and Afrikaaner classes experienced similar and much different points of view. So it was interesting when all our mini groups of three came together and we all heard how everyone else's day went.
Well tomorrow morning 3/1/08 I leave for my rural homestay! I will be there through 3/10/08 and then we go to a game reserve. Our teachers set up the program in this way because they want to experience the drastic transition from living with a Zulu family with no electricity and running water straight into a wealthy primarily white setting.
1 comment:
Al,
I am really enjoying looking at your pictures. I don't know when you'll be able to read this as you are away from computers for a while. It was great to talk to you this morning too. I can wait to see the pictures of where you've been staying for the last week and some of the people you've met / the family. And I hope you get some great shots at the park you're going to, the safari. Love you, Dad.
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