Cerianne: A quick Gab about Gabs

I'm writing this as quickly as possible in the hope that we do NOT have yet another power cut in the next half hour.  It's pretty unbelievable how many times the power has shut off in the last week, especially considering it didn't happen at all in our first couple of weeks here.  Our Harvard crew made the best of one particular power-out session that occured around 9:30pm when we were all sitting in the staff room.  We were suddenly thrown into absolute darkness and nobody had any desire to attempt to walk blindly back to our boarding houses, so we continued sitting right where we were (conveniently under epicly large blankets) and told riddles and ridiculous stories.  We really couldn't have been luckier in terms of how well we all get along.  What's so nice about our time here is that there is often not much that we absolutely have to do, so we can chat or "gab" (pun on Gaborone's nickname "Gabs" fully intended) for as long as we want most evenings; we even now have two designated Gab sessions - one after dinner before we tutor in the boarding house ("Gabs 1") and the second at 9pm when prep hours finish ("Gabs 2").  Despite spending some busy daytime hours tutoring, in general our time here is pretty slow-paced and relaxed, like the laziness of a normal summer vacation without the summer heat...and in school...
Last weekend was particularly great.  That was despite things getting off to a weird start on Friday night when we were audience members of My Star, Botswana's American Idol equivalent (the show started two hours late and, when it did finally begin, consisted largely of people complaining about the corrupt voting system).  On Saturday, I spent almost the entire day outside; I watched some of the students play tennis at a tournament in the morning and played games with over 100 children aged about 3-8 at the Salvation Army house in Old Naledi, a really poor village in Gabs.  The kids were heartbreakingly adorable.  As soon as we joined in their BIG BIG CIRCLE they vied for the chance to stand next to us and hold our hands.  By the end of our two hours with them, they wouldn't stop hugging and high-fiving us and, to be honest, I didn't really want to stop hugging them either!  Although games like Duck Duck Goose were difficult with such a huge group, the kids seemed to love it when I just sat on the floor with them and made as many different animal noises as I could think of.  We didn't get to see much of the village of Old Naledi, but the fact that many of the kids weren't wearing shoes while they trampled over tiny glass shards behind the S.A. house is a suggestion of their living conditions. 
On Sunday a really nice teacher took us on a short drive in the local game reserve.  The most exciting animals were zebras and warthogs, so it didn't compare so well with my memories of the Kruger Park last year, but it was still fun to watch the rest of the Gabs crew get really excited at the first impala we saw, only to be pretty bored by impala less than two hours later.  It was (hopefully) a great warm-up for this upcoming weekend.  We have Thursday and Friday off so tonight we're taking a ten to eleven hour (!!!) bus overnight journey up to Kasane in the north to go on a serious game drive and to cross the border into Zimbabwe (!!!) to see Victoria Falls.  Should be absolutely amazing.
I'm actually about to go pack right now, so I'll just finish up by saying how great the students are.  We've been able to hang out with them more recently what with a pajama party that we threw in the girls' boarding house and a school-organized braai (bbq) with all the boarders last night.  Whether we're talking to them about college or the US, they're telling us about their lives here, or they're teaching us insulting phrases in Setswana, we always have a ton of good laughs when we're with the students, former students, and other  young staff members.

Bloukrans Bungy Jump

Never, ever in my life did I think I would actually bungy jump, let alone do it for the first time off of the world's highest one. Bloukrans bungy jump is in Tsitsikamma, which is about a 7 hour drive from Cape Town. My host mother's daughter and her husband drove the other volunteers and I, since they had already done it and insisted that we do it too.

On one side of the bridge is mountains, on the other side you can see the ocean. The guys working there are among the most positive, happy people I have ever seen. They take you in groups of around seven and blast dance music while they prepare people to jump one by one. After securing your feet, they make you hop to the edge, where they tell you to put your hands out and head up. (They had to say "head up" two times before I actually stopped looking down.) To reassure you of course, they ask for any last words. I think mine were somewhere along the lines of "Oh my goshhhh...." Then they count, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, BUNGYYY!!!! and you're just supposed to jump off the edge of a bridge. I knew that if I hesitated, it wouldn't be good, so I actually jumped when they said to. About 2 seconds in you have an OMG I'M FALLING THIS IS THE END OF MY LIFE moment, then the rope catches you two seconds later and all the blood rushes to your head. It's pretty ridiculous. Watching the DVD of it is possibly the funniest thing I've ever seen, although I didn't buy it because it doesn't play in US DVD players. But seriously, google it or find someone jumping it on youtube because it's unbelievable.

I'm just glad I'm still alive.

Cerianne: Africans are better dancers

     I realize my title is a huge generalization, but I promise you it’s completely true.  I have been out to two clubs, taken one zumba class, and witnessed the most incredible impromptu dance session from the boarder girls and can now safely conclude that every individual in Botswana has some serious moves.  The impromptu dancing was the best.  I waited outside the boarding house with the girls for quite some two time nights ago while we impatiently watched the lunar eclipse creep across the face of the moon.  Although the moon did finally turn a beautiful hazy copper colour, the long process was clearly not gripping enough for the girls who started singing songs from Michael Jackson to High School Musical to pass the time.  Before long, they had transitioned into singing and dancing all the games they could remember from their childhood, games with Setswana phrases and specific dance combinations which they had all learned separately in villages across Botswana.  The songs often told stories about going to the supermarket or meeting people.  Obviously I had no chance of picking up many words.  The dancing was a little bit easier – it often involved one person dancing in the middle while the other girls circled around, so there was a little bit of freestyle but also certain required moves.  When I was shoved into the middle I totally fudged the steps that everyone was supposed to do, but I think I regained some dignity when I freestyled with the notorious water sprinkler!  One of the girls, Gorata, told me that they had learned the words and moves to these games by just spending hours and hours playing out on the streets with other children, but she thinks the girls her age may be the last ones to learn them because the young kids now don’t have the same street-based childhoods.  In the small, rural villages that many of the students come from, there are practically no safety concerns.  Everyone knows everyone else and looks out for one another’s kids.  A few of the girls mentioned that, after leaving their villages to attend a prestigious school in the capital city, they often return home only to find that their former playmates are distant, assuming that city-life has changed their old friends.

Time is really flying by here.  I would say we’re now fully into a daily routine for the weekdays, although we are still adding additional students to our schedules.  My favourite academic activities so far have been the writing clinic I teach with Bugsy (Sarah) and Cora and the cultural literacy sessions (of which we’ve only had one so far) that we all run for the ten MaP scholars who will be attending American high schools in September.  Off campus, though, my highlight so far was undoubtedly climbing Kgale Hill, a rocky, hour-long hike up to magnificent views of the surrounding area.  The daytime winter weather here is PERFECT – almost always sunny at around 60 to 70 degrees.  After all that packing stress, if anything I packed too many winter clothes!

Tonight we’re watching the final student performance of all the work they’ve done with the visiting Juilliard students.  And then we’re apparently schmoozing at the principal’s house…with the French ambassador and the British High Commissioner…UMMMWHAT??   

A Hand to Hold

I am now settled down in Mamre, where two other volunteers and I have been volunteering in a Grade R classroom at the only school in town. The students only speak a little bit of English and ask questions like "What is your mother's name?" but they make up for the language barrier with their adorableness. I think they are used to having volunteers in the midst because they have shouted, "Teacher! Teacher!" ever since day one to get our attention.

My host mother is a great woman, who reminds me of my mom in some ways (like how she doesn't want to leave the house when it's too cold). She knows everyone in Mamre, mostly because she grew up here and many generations of her family still live here. Still, it's endearing when we walk down the street and she greets everyone we pass with "Morning!" She is a part of all these committees for the town and is often apologizing for having to run off to a meeting. She showed us around Mamre, which consists of small colorful houses, a school, a church, a few conveniences stories, a library, lots and lots of dogs, and a few horses.

So far my days have consisted of goign to the school in the morning and reading/watching tv in the afternoons. I've already gone through 1.5 of the two books that I brought, but I can at least exchange with the other volunteers. This past weekend we went to Simon's Town to see the penguins and hiked Table Mountain, which has incredible views from the top. Future weekends include a safari and possibly a bungy jump (world's highest = to jump or not to jump?).

Since there are three of us volunteering in one classroom with a student teacher and a teacher, I'm not sure how much of an impact I've had so far. (One volunteer in our program we met had an entire 7th grade class to himself, so the experience with the program varies a lot.) However, during recess, two kids will immediately grab my hand and won't let go the entire time while we run around the playground. Sometimes I haven't even met the kids who grab my hand, but that doesn't really matter. Even though these kids all come from different backgrounds, there's something universal about just wanting attention. So, even if I can't speak any sentences in Afrikaans, I can certainly hold their hands and be here for them.

Cerianne: Arriving in G-City

What I was told by a South African woman as I checked in to my Botswana Airlines flight: "I am NEVER flying this airline again.  They've canceled my flight because of some technical problem with the engine.  Probably the whole plane fell apart." ...Thanks.

But anyway, the filght was totally uneventful and only about half an hour long, just enough time to down a few pieces of biltong, dried meat that doesn't look at all tasty but somehow is.  I was met at the airport by TG (nickname: Porky or, as we first thought due to some confusion with the accents, Pokey) of the Maru-a-Pula staff so I didn't have to stress at all about getting safely to the school.  It was pretty weird knowing that all the other Harvard students had already been on campus for at least a day, but I had nothing to worry about because everyone has been very welcoming.  The students all say hi, regardless of whether I've met them, and the teachers seem like a really cool, and potentially pretty rowdy bunch.  A lot of the staff members are around my age, so the staff room is usually filled with loud banter.  I've already heard a wide variety of accents from teachers and there are students from all over, including China and Serbia.

Maru-a-Pula is a really interesting place.  It's obviously a top school full of opportunities to which only a small percent of students in this country have access.  Homeroom starts at 7am (with the daily staff meeting at 6:50am, GASP!) and there are six class periods until lunch at 12:45, when school is already over!  So early!  The other Harvard students and I spend a lot of this time in the library, either tutoring kids who we've scheduled to meet or helping out any students who approach us.  So far, all the kids I've interacted with are really motivated to learn but also enjoy just chatting with us, which is great for us because we're learning so much about Botswana from hearing about their individual lives.  After lunch the kids choose between various sports, enrichment (like art, music, newspaper, etc.), or service, and we're allowed to join in any activitiy that interests us.  On my first day I went to zumba with Athena Lao and Sarah Akhtar ("Bugsy," as opposed to "Rugby" Sarah!) which was hilariously fun and I've since tried out Spanish class and tennis practice as well.  In the evenings, we girls chill in the common room of the girls' boarding house and do some more homework help, another great way to get to know the students.

That's all practical infostuffs though - the most fascinating part of my stay here so far was listening to the MaP Scholars (top students who will attend American high schools for senior year in fall) have a debate on the current strike in Botswana, which is actually quite scary in terms of how it seems to be escalating into violence.  Basically, doctors and teachers are among the workers who have been on strike now for over two weeks (aka, past the legal strike allowance) to demand wage increases, leaving hospitals and schools unstaffed.  President Ian Khama insists that there is no money to increase wages, but people are furious because he recently bought himself a new private jet.  The students were so engaged in the debate and their assigned roles to an extent that I don't think I ever saw or experienced at my high school - I was beyond impressed.  They all spoke eloquently and passionately, remaining totally in character when they started yelling at each other, much to our entertainment.  When the moderator made some comments that seemed biased in favour of the strikers, the student playing President Khama simply said, "I could fire you!"

Much more to come on the strike I'm sure...things are really heating up on the streets!

Sitting on my suitcase...

My strategy for packing: 1) stuff the suitcase until you can't possibly fit anything else in, 2) zip it up, 3) sit on said suitcase for about half an hour while you blog to your friends and family about how exciting it is to sit on a pile of clothes in a bag, and 4) Et voila!  More space is available and you can repeat steps 1-3! 
Packing for about nine weeks is always going to be hard, but it's particularly difficult because I have to squeeze in the coats and sweatshirts that will probably be necessary in the nippy Botswana evenings, things one should never have to pack in June.  The temperature right now in Gaborone is 45 degrees Fahrenheit and I've been told to expect colder...brrrr.  That said, the forecast for the next week has daytime temperatures in the seventies!  Basically, I'm fairly confused as to what clothes I should be bringing.  Last year in Johannesburg, which is only about 200 miles to the southeast of Gaborone, I had to deal with significant temperature swings too, but it seems like the difference from day to night might be even more extreme in Gabs!
Anyway, nothing can stress me out too much right now because I am SO SO SO excited for the summer ahead!  My journey begins bright and early tomorrow (Monday) morning but it will be Tuesday afternoon when I finally reach my destination of Gaborone, the capital city of Botswana.  There, I will spend eight weeks working in Maru-a-Pula High School with five other Harvard students in a range of activities like SAT prep tutoring, mentoring students through their college application process, and participating and assisting in the student activities that most interest us, from sports (tennis!) to music and to community service.  It sounds like a pretty amazing school with a huge amount of opportunity available to its students and I'm really looking forward to seeing what education at its best is like in Botswana.  I have very little idea of what to expect in terms of how the school will compare to my high school or my conceptions of the typical American school.  From what kind of perspective do students in Botswana learn about the rest of the world?  What do they think of their own country's place in the world?  Botswana is currently one of Africa's rare success stories and, although it still faces a lot of poverty, its economic growth since independence has been unparalleled by any other country over the last 40 years, so it should be really interesting to get to know the students who could define the country's future!
 
To do immediately upon arrival in Botswana: Find out whether the seventh Harry Potter movie will be coming out in this country anytime this summer or whether I will have to cross national borders to see it!

It's Time for (South) Africa!

Hi everyone! This time tomorrow I will already be on my journey to South Africa and wanted to write to everyone before I took off. After a 16-hour flight to Dubai, an 8-hour layover (unfortunately not at a prime venturing-out-of-the-airport time), and another 10-hour flight, I will finally arrive in Cape Town on Sunday morning, where I will be for the next two months.

I'm volunteering with an organization called International Volunteer Headquarters (IVHQ), which has volunteer programs all over the world and partners with a local organization in each country. In South Africa, the organization is the South African Student Travel Services (SASTS).

I originally wanted to volunteer in a school the entire summer, but since it's their winter vacation, I will be working on two different projects. For the first three weeks, I will be volunteering at a Pre-Primary School that caters to students around ages 2-6 before they enter Primary School. For the next three weeks, I will be at a crèche (daycare center), working with kids of the same ages. After that, I will return to the school for my last two weeks. The whole two months I will be staying about 45 minutes outside of Cape Town in a small town called Mamre with a host family. The pre-primary school and crèche are both in Mamre, but I will be free to traipse around Cape Town on the weekends with other volunteers in the area.

Since this is my first international trip (quite the opposite of Cerianne), I’m not sure what to expect, but there’s one thing I know for sure: HP 7 Pt. 2 premiers TWO DAYS before it does in the US and doesn’t premier in Botswana at all, so I already have one step up on Cerianne.

I’ll post more describing what I’m doing/where I’m staying once I get there and know more. For now, if you happen to have any suggestions for what to do on a plane for 26 hours (besides read the only two books I’m bringing with me), let me know!