This picture is the school taken from the road:
The classrooms are stuffy and pre-fabricated and here is a picture of one:
I was introduced to the staff during a brief staff meeting and then to the teacher I would be spending time with, Mr Scheepers. Walking in to face 35 twelve year olds was daunting but not altogether new to me. The principal introduced me, I introduced myself and off we went. We worked on maths (expanding brackets) and plural words and then the kids went home at 1pm - not bad, eh? My initial impression was that the children are smart but a bit lazy in some cases. I sense a lot of frustration from Mr Scheepers though and the school is under-resourced as expected. I was actually left on my own with them for a long 20 minutes while Mr Scheepers made some photocopies. With nothing prepared I just chatted to them, about to begin an improvised maths game when he finally returned. I am the only volunteer at this school but I think that's a good thing as I already feel rather immersed into the project.
Oh and another thing. Each classroom has a loudspeaker on the wall. Periodically the principal will interrupt and relay information to the teachers about registration or "learners walking around the grounds aimlessly." It's quite distracting and possibly costly so I was surprised to see such technology considering the slow internet connection which only works on 3 machines in the I.T. room.
I returned home at 1pm and decided to take the plunge and venture into the city centre alone, namely to visit the District 6 Museum. Trips like this are littered with defining moments and I was hit with one as I left the house and walked up the road again. A girl in her Hyde Park Primary uniform ran up to me saying hello and see you tomorrow...so that was nice!
I jumped on the cramped minibus and got a train to the centre. Here is the District 6 Museum, on Buitenkant Street:
Briefly, District 6 was a central and poor area of Cape Town occupied by non-white residents. The Government under apartheid decided to clear this area and relocate these people to the Cape Flats (where I am staying). In doing so, the area became a whites-only zone. The museum is small but tells some heart-breaking stories, with many of the evictees being relocated to different areas to the rest of their families.
Here's one for the planners (sorry, it was only a matter of time!) Le Corbusier, the famous designer and architect, had a vision for geocentric cities. At the time of apartheid, the South African government adopted his vision and even used it as a reason to clear District 6 of its 'slums' and start a regeneration project. So in effect, town planning and urban design may in some part be responsible for some of the apartheid actions of the government here...perhaps we should keep this quiet!
The train home was odd and I could probably write an entire post on them! At the main station the platforms are shown but the train times are all about 2 hours ago. I have now learnt that the trick is to go to the platform number displayed and either ask the driver or some other equally confused passenger as to whether you are on the right one. There isn't really a timetable as such. Also, there are no announcements on the train so you have to scan the platforms as you pass them, hoping that the right station names appear. All of this before having to physically force open the hydraulic doors when the train stops. I got home, after whacking my head a couple of times on the minibus roof, and decided that was enough for today.
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