An amazing day in Cape Town

We all get tired sometimes, but there is a "good" tired and a just plain miserable tired. Every night I am feeling the good tired because my days are full and stimulating. Today was my second day at placement, and I couldn't be more excited about what I am doing. The school serves children in grades R (what we call kindergarten--I must ask what "R" stands for) through 7, with about 560 learners (what they say instead of students). They arrive at 8:30 in the morning, have class until 10:30, when they all eat outside in the "yard" (which we would call playground). Someone on staff supervises the children, but I believe it is only one or two people, and all the teachers go to the staff room for tea break.

What is striking is that we are all able to fit into the tiny staff room--there are not more than 16 or 18 people, including the principal, assistant principal, assistant principal, teachers, secretary, and 4 volunteers. That's because the classes are packed, and class size is something that is talked about by the teachers; one of their first questions was what our class sizes are. At Blossom Street, classes average over 50 learners, packed into the rooms like sardines. The school was built in 1962, is very clean and orderly, though there are not the modern conveniences and teaching resources that we have at home. They are rightly proud of a brand new computer lab, but the classrooms don't have any of the technology we are used to.

The 4 CCS volunteers at Blossom Street arrive at 8:30 and stay until 12:30 because most afternoons we have presentations such as yesterday's on HIV/Aids, or language lessons in Afrikaans and Xhosa. I am taking Afrikaans lessons because that is what about 2/3 of our learners, who are called coloured, speak. They live near the school in the suburb of Athlone. Now, it must be understood that suburb isn't what we generally think of but more what I would call neighborhood. Athlone is not strictly a township but rather a neighborhood of what appear to be modern homes. However, many children here live in poverty. Very often, behind the house in the back yard, there is one or more shacks, which house additional families, all extended family members of the modest home facing the street. The other third of our learners speak Xhosa and come from the shanty towns or informal settelements, as they are called here. These are the destitute people who have moved to Cape Town from rural areas of South Africa. The school is taught in English, with all learners attending an Afrikaans class.

I am assisting a 6th grade teacher until break, after which Kara and I are working to set up the library. I will devote a later blog just to that, but the most exciting thing I learned today is that schools here use the Dewey Decimal System--the same as at home.

After lunch at homebase, 12 other volunteers and I took a ferry to Robben Island. Think Alcatraz, but in Table Bay. This is the infamous former leper's colony that housed political prisoners, where Nelson Mandela spent most of his 27 years in prison. Our guide was a fomer political prisoner who spen 11 years years there with Mandela and has so many stories to share. Robben Island was declared a Unesco World Heritage Site in 1999 and is one of the must-see attractions in Cape Town. The visit, including the ferry ride, lasted three and a half hours and was inspirational. You might want to visit the website.

Tired is good, but I am definitely tired tonight. Tomorrow is casual day at school, when learners don't have to wear uniforms (although I am told some will becuase that is all they have to wear), and teachers wear jeans. This is good for me because Kara and I anticipate a lot of cleaning in the library.