I have been back almost a week and thought I would update everyone on what is new here. First of all, the worst of winter is finally over and I think I missed the worst of it anyway while I was in the US. Winter is the dry season and now with the August winds blowing all you need to do for a little facial micro-dermabrasion is stand outside facing the wind. Who needs an expensive spa? Seriously, the skies are clouded with blowing sand. You can taste it on your lips, you wipe it from your eyes, it blows in through the cracks in our doors and windows at home. The spring rains will begin in October/November but until then I guess we will be dry (but at least we are warm!).
Sunday we went to St. Michael's Anglican Church for the first time. It was our first church visit since we arrived in Jo'burg. It is a very traditional church from the outside-a small red brick church with stained glass windows. The inside is very Tudor-styled with the arched and beamed ceilings. It was lovely. The congregation was racially mixed and a further mix of young and old. The service is very similar to the Episcopal Church with which we are very familiar so it seemed to go fairly well at first. When it came time to sing the traditional parts of the service, the Sanctus (Holy, Holy, Holy) and others, they were all sung in an African language, Zulu I am guessing. Jon and I were quite lost needless to say but it was certainly another reminder we are in Africa!
Today for the first time I joined several other volunteers from the American Society who go weekly to Diepsloot (one of the settlements near us) and work with elementary age students who are struggling with their English skills. South African education is all English-based. Everything is taught in English and all books and other resources are printed in English. For most children in Diepsloot, their native language is Sepedi, a northern South African and Zimbabwean language.
We met with 15 4th graders who were recommended by their teachers as needing more one on one help. I sat with 4 students, 3 boys and one girl, all wearing their gold and blue school uniforms. They were all polite, eager, and surprisingly clean (considering how hard the wind was blowing and how dusty their school grounds were). But upon closer inspection you could see the tatters in their uniforms, the unraveling of cuffs and hems, the holes and worn spots. Some of the women who were there today also volunteer to go in and mend uniforms for the students. We worked for 90 minutes on pronouns and silent "e" words and like any other children in the world got antsy and bored at different times. But it was so wonderful to be back with kids and in a school. I am going to start going in on Mondays as well and perhaps will put in some extra days to help in the library.
The title photo is of a group of boys from Diepsloot Combined Schools that was taken on a field trip to the Jo'burg Zoo 2 years ago. The group I am volunteering with (called Edu-Fun) is planning another trip in October this year. It should be a blast!
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Diepsloot Combined School Grounds |
