Friday, August 3, 2012
Thursday, July 26, 2012
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Monday, July 23, 2012
Saturday, July 21, 2012
Madiva's Birthday
Went and painted a new school today in a settlement called Diepslot. To describe Diepslot to you think of the ghettos you see in the movie Slumdog Millionair, corrogated metal stuctures stand as one room homes. The "school" for children ages 3-6 was also made the same way a one room metal building with a dirt floor no bigger than a Ford F-350 extendedcab that 30 sweet babies were taught in every... day. Their new school is now three small seperate rooms, still smaller than my current classroom, with carpet on the floor, window that open and close and door that lock. A yard with a new play swingset and fence around all of this to keep people out at night. You should of seen the looks on the faces of these babies when they walked down to their new school. It was a very humbeling experinece to be able to help participate in creating this school and to see the joy it brought to these children today on Mandela Day, Nelson Mandela's Birthday. We cried a lot today and it was a day that really showed me how much our students truly have to be thankful for.
PS. Madiva means father of the nation and is a term of endearment for Nelson Mandela here.
Arriving in Joberg
Landed in Joberg on Tuesday, July 17 at 9:30 in the morning. Thank you Jesus!!! After 10 hours of flying, of which we slept about 3, we were very glad to be off of the plane. Flight was not comfortable, but movie selection was nice. (Am trying to take a when life gives you lemon make lemonade stance) After leaving the plane you must clear customs which took about 45 min., and was uneventful just long and boring. Then onto claim our baggage and out to the main part of the airport termail where Kellie's friend Angelique was waiting for us. We them went through the process of exchanging our American money into South African rand which was quite an experience in and of itself. After that it was on to Ange's house to drop off the luggage and then to Herron Bridge, her sons school, and the school that is sponosering our visit, to pick Adam up. The rest of the day was spent at home. Hope everyone is well
Sunday, July 15, 2012
Day 1 London
After a complicated check-in to the hotel we set out on the
public transportation to the Metro system where we got off at Green Park and
walked to Buckingham Palace. From there we walked to Big Ben then the Eye of
London taking in all the sites along the way. London is a great city, and with London getting
ready for the 2012 Olympics it is quite busy. London is the first City in the modern era to
host the Olympics 3 times. We then boarded our Tour Bus and rode it to Harrods
and many other stores to look at all the amazing items. We had dinner in Soho,
at the Shakespeare Head, for our Fish & Chips experience. We concluded the
evening with a walk around Piccadilly Circus. Amazing day 1….ready for day
2!
Friday, April 27, 2012
What, When, Where, and Why
Can you believe two teachers from Tulsa, Oklahoma get to travel to South Africa July 13 to August 13, 2012? Well thanks to Funds for Teacher we get to do just that. Over the course of 33 days we will travel from our hometown to Johannesburg and Capetown to experience South African academics, arts, culture, and history firsthand. This will give us real world exposure and expand our knowledge of the South African culture beyond what we read about in books or online. Our home stay experiences during portions of our trip will allow us to build personal connections in Johannesburg. When we return from the fellowship, we will prepare a cross curricular unit using our photos and written diaries as tools for comparing and contrasting our city, rural areas and wildlife to those of Johannesburg. As teachers, we endeavor to broaden our student’s horizons both academically and personally. Since we teach in a high poverty area, we know our students rarely are exposed to the world beyond their own neighborhood. It is our goal through this fellowship to teach our children global and social awareness. When we return from South Africa we plan to develop a cross curricular unit based on our experiences to show our students the world outside their own “backyards”. We hope that by fostering relationships with their South African peers through this unit and reading about their lives through our pen-pal exchange it will inspire and encourage them to persevere in spite of obstacles which may arise in their lives. We hope you will follow us.
Monday, April 23, 2012
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