Kruger National park and more

So it looks like most of my lastr blog did not get published.. ahh the joys of the internet around here. :) at least i have it.

So last weekend the other 8 volunteers and i went to Kruger national park. Much like our national parks except filled with lions, elepahnts and girrafes.. oh my! It really was amazing. I loved every minute of it. African elephants are HUGE... and when you see one right next to your car.. holy cow... massive! we also saw girrafes and antelope on our game drives.
One evening we took a boat ride to see animals and we saw hippos and crocodiles... which made truely believe Steve Irwin was crazy to want to try and man handle those animals. But lucky us we had the 2008\2009 tour guide of the year, literally, on our boat. He is south african and happened to be on holiday so we got a free tour! hooray. this guy knew is stuff. I cant even begin to tell you everythign i learned from him. wow and big bonus he and his wife invited me to stay with them when i am done up north if i wanted to come and see there area more! love these south african people,. so friendly and welcoming.
Overall it was a great weekend to experiance a differnt part of SA

Oh so every morning on my walk to school at 6:30 am... one of my favorite things is the "camp fire" smoke and smell in the air. everyone lights up there fires early in the am and there is always a little haze in the air. the women of the house are out sweeping there drive ways at this time as well... i just found out that sweeping with a broom is symbolic to show they are married and this is their house. As i walk everyone greets me, waves and smiles.
These Venda people truely are very kind and warm people.

But it does get lonely. I am having lots of fun but it is still tough, b/c of the second language barrier... and sometimes i can tell my humor just doesn't quite make it. Sometimes you wish you coudl just explain yourself further but realize you can't or that i am just not making sense.

Oh so when the 20 year olds cant join me for a run.. my 11 year old brothers have quickly jumped in to replace them. :) the other day i was off down the road and a couple minutes in i hear foot steps behind me and low and behold it is Patatshezo... and he caught up to me and 2 others did as well.
Then once home they followed my every move as we stretched.

Which reminds me. Several night ago we were all out around the fire laughing etc. And Zjudo, was "stretching" i look over " Christa! i am training!!" so i came over and we promtly began to do yoga poses... yes Jamie i hope you are reading this b/c then i have 6 boys all lined up next to me in Downward Dog. Ha! next were handstands, back bends, etc. We were all laughing so hard by the end...
Who needs mother tongue when you have yoga!

South africa 5?6?

which ever post this is...

well another day of teaching done. I have been teaching 11 grade math and science. So as of today factoring has been my life. yes i am a nerd b/c i really like factoring. it is exciting b/c the learners are really understanding and retaining how to do it! yahoo. so tomorrow the big quadratic equation here i come.

ZA4

I have officially taugh 2 days of school at Ndaedzo Secondary school in Dzwerani! i have the 11 grade math and science class and they are so much fun.

They do actually listen to me and we are quickly getting to communicate really well. Actually, during our break between classes we always have a good time... lots of questions like "do you know Obama" ... or the list of celebrities... do you know...? it always makes me smile.

I walk to school everyday and on the way in the am the village has a haze from the open fire which almost everyone burns in the morning and at night to cook food. the town often smells of camp fire.

One of the teachers who i have become closest to, Thomas, is an actual chief for one of the tribes around here. He is very well educated and i have learned so much from him about the culture here... one of the things i have learned from others is that when you are a chief you have MANY wifes... which i have mentioned is a common part of the culture here... i am trying to figure out how many... the students laugh and tell me that he has so many too many to count.

Oh one of the things that is left from the apartied is that i am often called Madame, this is b/c i am white and it is a form of formal respect. I have politely asked my teachers to just call me Christa.

za 4

well week 2 is down and i think i am pretty much fully comfortable in Dzwerani. *That is the name of the village i am in)
So last night was very entertaining. there are 3 guys who are technically not apart of the family but work for the family and are at my house everyday... so basically they are family. I love them. They are so much fun... (all three of them run with me now, my running club grows even bigger) so last night they insisted that i take pictures while they killed the 2 chickens for dinner. I have to admit at first i was a little freaked out... but i think eveyone should know where their food somes from. And then they proceeded to teach me how to clean the chicken.... everyday is an experiance. I am telling you there is nothing as good as this chicken, fresh home grown .. can't beat it. The fruit and veggies are the same way, all organic and fresh... so good. Eat your heart out .
My house does have elecricity and a stove, but we still have a open fire out back everynight. most dinners are cooked out there. and then best part is we all sit around together and laugh and act out stories. Even though i can understand everything, i have really enjoyed being apart of it!
more soon.

ZA 3

Hi everyone,
So i have been in northern South africa for one week now. And suprisingly comfortable. You pick up on how things work rather quickly.
Things are very different but so far so good. My family is very wonderful and welcoming. Suprisingly i have hot running water, which most people dont!
I have been trying lots of different foods, but have found that the fried chicken is the best... and this is true free range organic chicken
as in that i see it killed and cleaned before it eat it. In the evening we sit outside , my "mother" here builds a fire and we sit around and chat. Well i listen more b/c my Tshivende is not very good, but i get better by the day.
I am actually not allowed to do much for my self. All my washing is done for me and all clothes are ironed. I have managed to allow them to let me cook for myself on some evenings.

I am getting used to ALWAYS being starred at, white people are few... as in myself and the 2 other volunteers. So we will here children yell out in Vende "White person!"
But it is all good. The town is actually very safe. One of my neighbor kids has become my running buddy, so he and i run down the main road almost every evening... i can only imagine what everyone driving past thinks...this kid can run for days and i think will make a runner out of me after all.

My school is good too. I am at a highschool and actually one of the "wealthier" schools in the area, but not by much. This week was there final week, and then we start winter school. I taught two science labs and really enjoyed helping the students/ learners as they are called here. The kids all like to come up and ask me "how are you?..." or will just yell out " I'm fine!" ... not all of them are able to speak english so communication can be interesting. But all of them think it is very weird that i am 26... not married and without children! un heard of...
I also had the opportunity to join some of the male teachers the other day outside for lunch. We piled all of our lunches together and enjoyed eating. This is when i became versed in all of thier multiple wives... very common.

So all and all things are good. Everyday is something different to learn or see. BUt the people are very nice and welcoming.

Cheers... hope all is well on "the other side."

SA 2

Quick side note:
Since the drive to Durban is 5 hours or so i saw a few fun things.

- The drivers here are actually really good, better than most american and really curtious. For example, if driving on a 2 lane road and you come apon a car driving slowly... the car will pull into the shoulder so you can over take without a problem.
- Also, there are lots of toll roads, actaully really brilliant b/c the main roads are really well maintained.
- you will see people pack into cars and vans here... i mean sardine style. While we were pulling into one of the toll booths, there is a buckie (truck) in front of us... keep in mind these are small trucks, which i dont know if anyone in the US even could get b/c they are small. 4 people up front, and easily 8-10 all sitting in the back, facing each other. They had a couple of drums and were singing and clapping traditional songs. and having such a wonderful time. As my friends said... "African people are very happy people despite of eveything " It really is true.

ZA 1

Hello all. So I have arrived safely to South Africa and was very kindly greeted off the plane in Joburg but a friend of mine's Aunt. His family has been so generous and welcoming to me i can't even begin to explain!
I have spent a few days in Joburg. Keep in mind it is winter here... southern Hem. So things are rather dry and brown at the moment. Joburg is a big busy city. Even though you can see the poverty all around, venders at the stop lights ( or robots) as they call them, joburg also has a very poshe side as well. Lots of BMW and Mercedes driving around. I spent a few nights, wide awake here... jet lag was brutal...
Then is was off to the South, Durban. Durban is a port city on the coast of the indian ocean. Really a quite beautiful town. They have the ocean front area which is really well designed. Lots of people were out walking on the beach, kite surfing, swimming... all in the winter, b/c it is really mild, even though all the Saffers think is it "freezing" cold. Ha. We even managed to get some fresh.. out of the ocean sushi. It was so cheap. well to me at least. sushi and half a bottle of wine cost me $15 with tip.
The Durban area is much more moutainous and rolling hills compared to the central portion. While i was there i also stayed on my friends Dairy farm outside of the city. The view from my bed room was so brilliant.
Saturday I will meet up with my program coordinator and head off to the Limpopo Provence.
Cheers!