Here are photos from our first visit to the village.
https://picasaweb.google.com/112672699381327375115/MmakauFirstVisitSept2011#
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Swearing In Ceremony
Here are photos of the swearing in day.
https://picasaweb.google.com/112672699381327375115/SwearingInCeremony#
https://picasaweb.google.com/112672699381327375115/SwearingInCeremony#
Preservice July-August 2011
Here are pictures of our preservice days July to August 2011.
https://picasaweb.google.com/112672699381327375115/PCPreserviceTrainingJulyAugust2011#
https://picasaweb.google.com/112672699381327375115/PCPreserviceTrainingJulyAugust2011#
Mmakau As Home Photos
Here are photos of our first days in Mmakau.
https://picasaweb.google.com/112672699381327375115/MmakauAsHomeSeptOctober2011#
https://picasaweb.google.com/112672699381327375115/MmakauAsHomeSeptOctober2011#
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Blog Posting #3 on November 6, 2011
Hello again from South Africa. It is early November 2011 and this is the third entry to our blog. Plus we will be adding after this entry links to a bunch of our photos on the Picasa web site.
If you are interested in knowing how to locate our village here, please email me at ggaffney1951@gmail.com and I will send you the name of the village and the Google Earth coordinates so you can zoom into the location of our site. For security reasons we aren’t supposed to name our village in the blogs.
We are about halfway through the second phase of the Peace Corps training where we follow a weekly outline of things to do with our schools as we focus in on what we will be doing once training is over and the new school year starts in January. My thoughts now are that I will work at one primary school and at one high school with Math. Since I have also been getting involved with some water, wastewater, and waste problems at the schools, I expect I will continue with those activities next year. Merideth is thinking that she will be working with small groups of students in three primary schools. During the next few weeks we will be getting a better idea of exactly what our job will come to be in 2012.
Last week we both bought mountain bikes with money given to us by the Peace Corps. Merideth and I went for a morning ride around our village last Saturday and have begun to ride to the schools each day. It’s nice to have a faster way to move than walking. We just have to be careful to lock them because we have been warned they will be stolen if we are careless. One day I got a flat tire which I patched and then the tire went flat again. A seam of the tub had ripped. I took the tube back to the bike shop where they gave me a new one and I got another spare tube just to be safe. The boys at school all marvel over these bikes and it makes us feel guilty because they don’t have any type of bike. We tell them work hard at school and get a good job and you will someday be able to own an even better bike. They want so bad to take them for a ride but we know once we start it will never end so we have resisted.
Two Saturdays ago we went to “Sports Day” with one of our primary schools. It began with a bus ride for about 45minutes on Saturday morning to a nearby school. The bus was crammed full with students many who were standing in the isles and others who were sticking their heads and arms out the windows. No one seemed to mind. The event took all day ending with a very hot and crowded bus ride home. A photo of Merideth on the bus is with the linked photos and on my Facebook page. Merideth was the Girls and Boys Cricket Coach. Her boys’ team won first place and a trophy which she presented to the morning school assembly the next Monday. My girls’ soccer team lost their first game so they were out. It was a madhouse event with about six schools and hundreds of kids attending. There was limited adult supervision of the children throughout the day. However this is not a problem because these children are used to being on their own since at school where they are sometimes left unattended in their classrooms. We were all exhausted when we got home.
Our village has about 5 to 10 thousand people - it’s really hard to estimate. There are two high schools, one trade/secondary school, one middle school, and at least four elementary schools here with each school having about 700 learners. In South Africa students are called “learners”, teachers called ‘educators” and mathematics is “maths.” Although most people speak English, we sometimes struggle with understanding their English and ask people to repeat their words. The learners like the way we speak probably because it’s the English they hear in movies. By the way, we can buy current movie DVD’s for about $1.25 at the street stands but their selection is limited and dominated by shoot-them-up action films. We are often hard pressed to find one we want.
Our village seems pretty typical. It is located at the base of a low east-west mountain range lying just north of the village. The rocks are red weathered sandstone and in many areas the soil is rich black organic silt. The village looks out to the south across a wide valley with another east-west low range of mountains about 10 miles to the south. On the south side of the valley we can see waste dumps from the platinum mining that dominates this region. The mountain sides are covered with low growing thorn trees which have now turned green with the spring. We can hike to the top of the peak just north of this village in about 30 minutes and have a good view of the entire valley. The terrain reminds us of the US southwest in Arizona and New Mexico.
The village has paved main roads and dirt roads elsewhere. There are a few small grocery stores where one can buy items like milk (in an unrefrigerated box), bread and other basics. There are a number of shibeens (bars) here but we never go there. We hear people playing music throughout the night and have gotten used to hearing the beat of the music when we are falling off to sleep. Once a week we travel by taxi about 5 miles to a supermarket in a shopping mall where we load our groceries into two large clothe bags and carry them in the taxi back home. It costs us 8 rand or about $1.25 each one way for the taxi ride to the supermarket. We catch a taxi as it passes by on the road. The taxis are plentiful and are mostly Toyota vans holding from 8 to 14 riders.
Most people here are poor and live in modest small metal sided homes. It is hard to get work and, if you do have a job, you probably have to commute by either bus or train towards Pretoria. We have found the villagers to be friendly and welcoming. When you pass someone in the street, it is important to greet them using Setswana. Most people get a kick out of us greeting them probably because it is rare for them to have an interaction in their home language with anyone like us. We were introduced to all of the learners at the four schools when we arrived here in September so a lot of the village kids know us. They call out to us whenever we walk by their homes. We often heard the kids shout “Malome” or “Mpho” as we pass by their home to which we reply “Dumela, O kae? (Hello. Are you well?) There are not many cars in the village so there is little traffic. There are more people walking on the roads than cars passing by.
Merideth and I have started to get involved at the schools with some projects. We attended a meeting of the Green School committee at one school where we agreed to work on starting a composting program, trying out a better trash burning system, and helping to begin a recycling program. At this same school the principal has asked me to help them replace their old pit toilets. There is a local businessman willing to fund the work. There is no property tax here so schools are entirely funded by the provincial government. Since income levels here are so low, the village schools qualify for 100% provincial funding which means the government gives each school about 800 rands (or $125) per year per student for operating costs. Teacher salaries and positions are determined and paid directly by the provincial education department. Although 20% of the South African government budget is spent for education, these schools are still struggling to recover from the poor facilities and resources left when the apartheid education system was eliminated in 1996.
During the third quarter holiday break, one of the grade 4 teachers at one of our primary schools was transferred to another school in another village. This is not an uncommon situation. All the teachers in South Africa are hired by the provincial Department of Education. So a teacher is obligated to go or leave a position whenever directed. The principals do not seem to have a say in the matter. The fourth quarter started October 9th. Gary and I became the grade 4 EMS (Economic and Management Systems) and Social Science (Social Studies) on Mondays and Fridays. I plan and lead Social Science and Gary plans and leads EMS. This has been an adjustment and challenge for both of us.
So that is how it was.
Gary and Merideth
Two Saturdays ago we went to “Sports Day” with one of our primary schools. It began with a bus ride for about 45minutes on Saturday morning to a nearby school. The bus was crammed full with students many who were standing in the isles and others who were sticking their heads and arms out the windows. No one seemed to mind. The event took all day ending with a very hot and crowded bus ride home. A photo of Merideth on the bus is with the linked photos and on my Facebook page. Merideth was the Girls and Boys Cricket Coach. Her boys’ team won first place and a trophy which she presented to the morning school assembly the next Monday. My girls’ soccer team lost their first game so they were out. It was a madhouse event with about six schools and hundreds of kids attending. There was limited adult supervision of the children throughout the day. However this is not a problem because these children are used to being on their own since at school where they are sometimes left unattended in their classrooms. We were all exhausted when we got home.
Our village has about 5 to 10 thousand people - it’s really hard to estimate. There are two high schools, one trade/secondary school, one middle school, and at least four elementary schools here with each school having about 700 learners. In South Africa students are called “learners”, teachers called ‘educators” and mathematics is “maths.” Although most people speak English, we sometimes struggle with understanding their English and ask people to repeat their words. The learners like the way we speak probably because it’s the English they hear in movies. By the way, we can buy current movie DVD’s for about $1.25 at the street stands but their selection is limited and dominated by shoot-them-up action films. We are often hard pressed to find one we want.
Our village seems pretty typical. It is located at the base of a low east-west mountain range lying just north of the village. The rocks are red weathered sandstone and in many areas the soil is rich black organic silt. The village looks out to the south across a wide valley with another east-west low range of mountains about 10 miles to the south. On the south side of the valley we can see waste dumps from the platinum mining that dominates this region. The mountain sides are covered with low growing thorn trees which have now turned green with the spring. We can hike to the top of the peak just north of this village in about 30 minutes and have a good view of the entire valley. The terrain reminds us of the US southwest in Arizona and New Mexico.
Most people here are poor and live in modest small metal sided homes. It is hard to get work and, if you do have a job, you probably have to commute by either bus or train towards Pretoria. We have found the villagers to be friendly and welcoming. When you pass someone in the street, it is important to greet them using Setswana. Most people get a kick out of us greeting them probably because it is rare for them to have an interaction in their home language with anyone like us. We were introduced to all of the learners at the four schools when we arrived here in September so a lot of the village kids know us. They call out to us whenever we walk by their homes. We often heard the kids shout “Malome” or “Mpho” as we pass by their home to which we reply “Dumela, O kae? (Hello. Are you well?) There are not many cars in the village so there is little traffic. There are more people walking on the roads than cars passing by.
Except for the other Peace Corps (PC) couple here who are from Boston, I think Merideth and I are the only foreign people in this village. In December the other PC couple is done with their service so we will move from our house here in the village into their place about a ½ mile away. They live on the north side of the village at a Catholic mission facility that backs up to mountains. This mission was established by Italian priests in the 1920s and now houses the local Catholic Church (called the Roman Church here), five priests (four work in nearby churches and stay here), an alternate-type public high school, a health clinic, a convent for nuns, a trade school (teaching computers, bricklaying, woodworking, cane works, and metal working), a high school, and a primary school. The last two are two of our assigned schools. The four or five sisters currently here are leaving in November to consolidate their services nearby because there are not enough younger nuns coming to staff their facilities. They will be replaced by sisters from another order coming here from Zambia. We will be sad to see the current sisters leave because it has been fun getting to know them. One is from the US with the others from Ireland. They are leaving behind their two dogs in the care of the new sisters and we told them we would take the dogs on walks once we move.
Recently I spotted some young guys playing pickup basketball outdoors at the mission and was able to play with them. It was my first time to play basketball in three months. The court was very uneven and the rim had no net but I was happy to find this game. Since they said they play there most afternoons, I am looking forward joining them in the future because the court is close to where we’re going to move to in December.
By the way, I have become a rugby fan since the Rugby World Cup began in New Zealand. Since the South African Springbok teams were the 1995 and 2007 World Cup champs, rugby is popular here. In case you don’t know, the All Blacks (New Zealand) just played the French for the World Championship with the All Blacks winning 8-7. Rugby, soccer, and cricket are big sports in SA.
In December we will be moving into a three room apartment up at the mission. The apartment has a reliable water supply and a ‘geezer’ which an electric hot water heater. Unfortunately, down here in the village our water supply has been marginal. The quality is fine but the quantity is poor. There is only pressure some nights so we have three large barrels in our house that we fill at night and then use water from the barrels as needed during the day. We had one stretch of six days with no water. When we need water throughout the house we use buckets. In an emergency I think Merideth and I can live on less than ten gallons of water per day. We take bucket baths (4 gallons/day) and dump the bath and dishwashing water (4 gallons/day) to flush the toilet. I have become expert at using a minimal amount of water to wash the dishes. We heat the kitchen water using an electric kettle and use an immersion heater in a pail to heat our bath water. The house itself is nice. It has a refrigerator, an indoor bathroom, and a regular kitchen with faucets and drains just no water coming in through the taps. We have electricity - it is 220 volts but all of our electronic stuff can run on 220 so we didn’t need a transformer just a plug converter. We live here with a young man who is a policeman in a nearby town. He works four twelve hour shifts and has four days off during which he usually goes home to Rustenburg about 100 km west.
Our diet is not much different than that we were used to having in the US. We don’t have a TV so we have been reading a lot of books and usually get to bed before 9 pm. Some afternoons the local kids come by and we sit outside with them. They enjoy showing us their dance moves and lying in my hammock. We have been teaching them how to play the card game “War.” As in school, we are trying to learn how to say their first names correctly but it is hard because many of the names are unfamiliar. They crack up when we mispronounce.
About two weeks ago we started seeing weird stuff in our kitchen and realized that it was caused by a rat when our roommate saw it dart out an open window one day. We were in the habit of leaving the windows open to cool off the room not knowing that the outside sill was how the rat got in at night. At first, the owner tried to kill the rat with some meat soaked in brake fluid but that failed. Then the rat kept getting braver and braver until one night Merideth and I trapped it in the kitchen by covering up its escape hole by the cabinets and closing the kitchen door. Armed with brooms, we then tried to kill the rat which went okay until the rat jumped on top of the stove, zoomed across the counter, and flew through the air towards Merideth landing on the floor and scurrying off behind the refrigerator. Realizing we needed help, we called the owner from next door. Merideth stood guard outside the closed kitchen door and said it sounded like we were having a game of field hockey in the kitchen as we chased and whacked away at this rat. Finally the owner managed to trap it under his broom and I finished it with the end of my broom. Since then we have been careful to keep the windows closed and have had no more unwelcome visitors.
Merideth and I have started to get involved at the schools with some projects. We attended a meeting of the Green School committee at one school where we agreed to work on starting a composting program, trying out a better trash burning system, and helping to begin a recycling program. At this same school the principal has asked me to help them replace their old pit toilets. There is a local businessman willing to fund the work. There is no property tax here so schools are entirely funded by the provincial government. Since income levels here are so low, the village schools qualify for 100% provincial funding which means the government gives each school about 800 rands (or $125) per year per student for operating costs. Teacher salaries and positions are determined and paid directly by the provincial education department. Although 20% of the South African government budget is spent for education, these schools are still struggling to recover from the poor facilities and resources left when the apartheid education system was eliminated in 1996.
Two of our schools have limited water. Last week both schools were without water for several hot days. When water is available, the learners fill buckets from an outside faucet and hand the carry water to each classroom where there is a drinking water pail and a hand washing pail. The schools have a free lunch program which for some of the students is the main meal they will get each day. Each school requires the learners to wear a school uniform and there are programs to provide uniforms for the poorest families. Many of the children have deceased or otherwise absent parents and live with relatives or grandparents. In spite of the poverty and things we see as deprivations, these kids are happy and joyful. They arrive at school each day happy with smiles and laughter.
If you want to mail us something, email me and I will send you our address. We are not in desperate need of anything because we have been able to find everything we need here. (Merideth injecting now: I would love to receive pictures cut from magazines. I am planning on using them for teaching English to the foundation learners and the intermediate learners who are not grasping the language. After one year of English instruction in grade 3, the learners are taught all their subjects in English starting in grade four. It must be so frustrating for them especially the children who cannot understand any of the English yet.)
In December we move to the mission and then go somewhere for ten days of Peace Corps training. After that, we return here to our village for Christmas and then before New Year’s plan on flying to East London which is a small city along the Indian Ocean coastline of South Africa where we will “holiday” for ten days at the Buccaneers’ Backpackers (google it). I’m excited because they give surfing lessons and Merideth is excited because there is lots of hiking and beach walking. Then we return to our village and get ready for the start of the school term on January 16th.
Merideth’s two cents: Although it is still officially spring, last week’s weather felt like mid- summer with temperatures in the high 90’s. With the hot, dry weather, water becomes very scarce in the village including the schools. This week we had rain with some cooler temperatures so my spirits were lifted and the village water supply improved.
During the third quarter holiday break, one of the grade 4 teachers at one of our primary schools was transferred to another school in another village. This is not an uncommon situation. All the teachers in South Africa are hired by the provincial Department of Education. So a teacher is obligated to go or leave a position whenever directed. The principals do not seem to have a say in the matter. The fourth quarter started October 9th. Gary and I became the grade 4 EMS (Economic and Management Systems) and Social Science (Social Studies) on Mondays and Fridays. I plan and lead Social Science and Gary plans and leads EMS. This has been an adjustment and challenge for both of us.
The grade 4 learners were first introduced to English in grade 3. Next year English will start in grade 1. As an education policy throughout South Africa all learners are instructed in English starting at grade 4 and going high school. Having a teacher whose home language is only English (like Gary and me) is a challenge for both the learners and us. Our Setswana skills are limited. The SA teachers can switch languages for further explanation and understanding especially for the learners struggling with English. On the other hand our principals feel we will greatly improve the learners’ English which is a bonus. But all in all, this has been a positive experience.
Sometimes I have to pinch myself as a reminder that we are truly in South Africa. One minute everything feels like it could be America and then something is said or observed and I am back to reality. That’s South Africa! I think Gary covered just about everything else.
So that is how it was.
Gary and Merideth
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