Saturday 20th March 2010
In typical African style Joan was in no hurry to get me to the airport but at 10am I met the GVI group at the information desk. After meeting the expedition members we started to travel north, packed into a minibus with luggage blocking the aisle. I sat with Gary, a 23 year old police intelligence officer from Stoke. The group is a mix of Brits and Americans and includes some older explorers than those I met in Cape town.
The 5 hour journey to the reserve was actually 9 hours, including a stop at Polokwane to switch into a less comfortable minibus. As we travelled across the Tropic of Capricorn the landscape became more scrubby and remote, but we were rewarded with the sight of a small group of giraffes, their silhouetted heads popping up above the low canopy. Later we saw wildebeest and a brown hyena in the twilight.
We arrived after dark to discover absolutely no electricity at the base, therefore we found our accommodation tent and set up mosquito nets using head torches and the challenge of the next two weeks then hit me. We ate and went to bed in immense heat and darkness.
Friday, 30 April 2010
On the move again
Friday 19th March 2010
I write this from the relative comfort of Bob's Bunkhouse in Edenvale, Johannesburg, for I am alone in a single room for the first time in four weeks. My last day at school was lovely. I wandered around taking pictures of the classes I worked closely with and took pictures with them:
I attended an assembly about disability. Throughout this assembly the children were surprisingly well behaved. When asked which children knew a person who was in a wheelchair, the vast majority of them raised their hand. The principal was equally warm towards me, hugging me goodbye and thanking me for my work with a school polo shirt.
I went home in the afternoon, packed and before I knew it Denver had arrived to take me to the airport. I was struck by a similar sense of sadness to that I experienced when I left home and felt very much uprooted from my new found routine. A hug from Les and Callum and off I went.
The flight was fine although at one stage we were flying straight into a storm. On the ground I find lightning to be an awesome and enjoyable display of nature, but when I was in the air amongst it I wished it didn't exist.
I arrived and my driver Abe, a Natal man, belatedly drove me to Bob's Bunkhouse. I met Bob's wife Joan and also an Australian traveller called Steph. I immediately got into a political debate with Joan who is very chatty and pleasant. No one here seems to like Jacob Zuma but Joan added further to my impression that each region and race is wary and distrusting of the others.
I went to bed to write and prepare for my bush experience. When I arrived I noticed that Bob's Bunkhouse was heavily secured with high gates, electric fencing and barred windows. I didn't know whether to take this as a good or bad sign but Joan informed me that they've never had break ins, only the cars have been attacked.
I write this from the relative comfort of Bob's Bunkhouse in Edenvale, Johannesburg, for I am alone in a single room for the first time in four weeks. My last day at school was lovely. I wandered around taking pictures of the classes I worked closely with and took pictures with them:
I attended an assembly about disability. Throughout this assembly the children were surprisingly well behaved. When asked which children knew a person who was in a wheelchair, the vast majority of them raised their hand. The principal was equally warm towards me, hugging me goodbye and thanking me for my work with a school polo shirt.
I went home in the afternoon, packed and before I knew it Denver had arrived to take me to the airport. I was struck by a similar sense of sadness to that I experienced when I left home and felt very much uprooted from my new found routine. A hug from Les and Callum and off I went.
The flight was fine although at one stage we were flying straight into a storm. On the ground I find lightning to be an awesome and enjoyable display of nature, but when I was in the air amongst it I wished it didn't exist.
I arrived and my driver Abe, a Natal man, belatedly drove me to Bob's Bunkhouse. I met Bob's wife Joan and also an Australian traveller called Steph. I immediately got into a political debate with Joan who is very chatty and pleasant. No one here seems to like Jacob Zuma but Joan added further to my impression that each region and race is wary and distrusting of the others.
I went to bed to write and prepare for my bush experience. When I arrived I noticed that Bob's Bunkhouse was heavily secured with high gates, electric fencing and barred windows. I didn't know whether to take this as a good or bad sign but Joan informed me that they've never had break ins, only the cars have been attacked.
Thursday, 15 April 2010
Home sweet home
Hello folks. Unfortunately due to almost zero internet access I was unable to update my blog once I left Cape Town. I did however continue to keep a written blog. Now I am home I can continue to tell my story. Here's what happened next...
Wednesday, 17 March 2010
Leaving Cape Town
Friday night I fly to Johannesburg so that I can join a conservation project in Limpopo on Saturday. My time in Cape Town has been great and I have had such a good experience here. The school work has been very challenging and the city and its surroundings are beautiful. I will be very sad to leave but equally I am very excited about the next stage of my trip, which is really my main reason for being here. I am also itching to move on now and see more.
As of now I will be unable to update the blog for at least 2 weeks, and even after that I will be traveling and may not have internet access. I will do my best to add to it when I can but it may need to be completed once I arrive home.
I'm glad everyone has enjoyed it and I hope to be able to continue it soon.
Bye for now!
Paul
As of now I will be unable to update the blog for at least 2 weeks, and even after that I will be traveling and may not have internet access. I will do my best to add to it when I can but it may need to be completed once I arrive home.
I'm glad everyone has enjoyed it and I hope to be able to continue it soon.
Bye for now!
Paul
Kirstenbosch
I have been suffering from a cold this week and haven't done much in the school. I have been resting a lot and not really done anything exciting. We went to Pirates on Tuesday night to say goodbye to Vivian and myself, who both leave this week. I bought the group dinner as a thank you and a goodbye. On Wednesday evening the social was on and this time it was bowling in Newlands. It was good fun and there should be some funny photos of me on Facebook soon. Here I am on Long St with Dutch Tom and some others:
On Thursday I took the day off and went to Newlands for my Projects Abroad debriefing and looked in some shops. In the afternoon I went to Kirstenbosch botanical gardens, which are beautiful now we're in the late summer.
The gardens are also filled with an array of statues and artwork, giving a sense of not knowing what is around the corner. Here are a few of pictures from the gardens:
I even managed a close up of an African Monarch butterfly:
And of course a protea, South Africa's national flower:
On Thursday I took the day off and went to Newlands for my Projects Abroad debriefing and looked in some shops. In the afternoon I went to Kirstenbosch botanical gardens, which are beautiful now we're in the late summer.
The gardens are also filled with an array of statues and artwork, giving a sense of not knowing what is around the corner. Here are a few of pictures from the gardens:
I even managed a close up of an African Monarch butterfly:
And of course a protea, South Africa's national flower:
Tuesday, 16 March 2010
I don't want to be a teacher
That probably doesn't come as much of a surprise to most of you and I think I knew it before I left England. I have really enjoyed my time in the school and haven't been made to work particularly hard, but the behaviour and attitude of the majority of the children is so disheartening that it has totally put me off. I know that many children in UK schools are better behaved, but I have not found teaching particularly rewarding, even the fun parts. Each class has it's good ones, but they are the absolute minority and on the whole they are atrocious, both academically and behaviourally.
It is very depressing to think that I have travelled 6000 miles to help and yet the children often don't even care. They don't listen, they are lazy, they don't respect the teachers and they don't respect each other.
Despite this, I don't think the teachers do a bad job whatsoever. They work very hard, they are grossly under-resourced and they are distracted by other school matters on a regular basis.
As a result of these deficiencies, it is impossible for the children to be engaged in stimulating activities for the entire day. They are so used to waiting around for teachers that the tendency to talk, squabble and get up from their desks is ingrained into them.
My time here has definitely got teaching out of my system and I am very glad I have given it a go, but I couldn't imagine myself dedicating my time to a group of children as bad as these ones. Perhaps the teachers among you can reassure me with regards to British schools!
It is very depressing to think that I have travelled 6000 miles to help and yet the children often don't even care. They don't listen, they are lazy, they don't respect the teachers and they don't respect each other.
Despite this, I don't think the teachers do a bad job whatsoever. They work very hard, they are grossly under-resourced and they are distracted by other school matters on a regular basis.
As a result of these deficiencies, it is impossible for the children to be engaged in stimulating activities for the entire day. They are so used to waiting around for teachers that the tendency to talk, squabble and get up from their desks is ingrained into them.
My time here has definitely got teaching out of my system and I am very glad I have given it a go, but I couldn't imagine myself dedicating my time to a group of children as bad as these ones. Perhaps the teachers among you can reassure me with regards to British schools!
Monday, 15 March 2010
My quiet weekend
Not a lot to report I'm afraid folks. This weekend was a quiet and relaxing one. I deliberately packed everything I wanted to do into previous weekends to leave one free to chill or to do things I had forgotten.
We were allowed to leave early again on Friday but we stayed to check out a Nestle chocolate milk promotion on the school fields. It allowed us to mix with the children and get some more pictures with them:
After school on Friday we went to a reggae bar called Roots in an area called Observatory. We met up with the Human Rights volunteers and saw the live reggae band there. They were quite good and sang songs about last year's xenophobic attacks along with the obligatory Bob Marley covers.
On Saturday I went to Newlands with Callum for lunch and bought tickets to see The Stormers again (the VodaCom executive we met last week let us down.) Before the game we met up with a Bagley family friend called Selwin as well as Tyron (The Bagleys' daughter's husband) for a couple of beers in the lawn opposite the stadium. Here I am with Selwin:
The game was an evening one and made for a much better atmosphere than last week:
This time they played the Hurricanes from New Zealand and it was again a bit one-sided, The Stormers winning 37-13:
Here is a picture of Mr Bryan Habana (international winger) giving out signed photos. I didn't get one, boo:
After the game I invited Selwin and his friend to come drinking with us and we went to Pirates. It was interesting to have an evening talking to two cape coloured people about the current social situation in South Africa. They are wary and cautious of other ethnic groups around the country, but the main point they made was that under apartheid they found themselves in the middle of the social chain under whites, whereas now they perceive themselves to remain in the middle ruled by blacks under the ANC. Luckily they find a certain humour and irony to this.
On the way home we stopped at a take-away place to buy a gatsby, a South African answer to our late night kebabs. Imagine a genetically modified monster ciabatta, 50cm in length and filled with spicy beef, chips, salads and anything else you want. It weighs as much as a baby and only costs 70R (about 6 pounds). Needless to say it was enough for two, in fact probably enough for four. No picture though I'm afraid.
On Sunday morning I went to church with Lecia and Callum. This was interesting although not unlike a Church of England service, other than the racial demographic of the congregation. In the afternoon I literally did nothing. This was my last free day until I come home so I thought I would relax and read/watch TV. The only thing mildly entertaining on TV here is wrestling, and we've now become fixed on to this, wondering who will be victorious at the upcoming Wrestlemania...this really isn't something I expected from my travels!
We were allowed to leave early again on Friday but we stayed to check out a Nestle chocolate milk promotion on the school fields. It allowed us to mix with the children and get some more pictures with them:
After school on Friday we went to a reggae bar called Roots in an area called Observatory. We met up with the Human Rights volunteers and saw the live reggae band there. They were quite good and sang songs about last year's xenophobic attacks along with the obligatory Bob Marley covers.
On Saturday I went to Newlands with Callum for lunch and bought tickets to see The Stormers again (the VodaCom executive we met last week let us down.) Before the game we met up with a Bagley family friend called Selwin as well as Tyron (The Bagleys' daughter's husband) for a couple of beers in the lawn opposite the stadium. Here I am with Selwin:
The game was an evening one and made for a much better atmosphere than last week:
This time they played the Hurricanes from New Zealand and it was again a bit one-sided, The Stormers winning 37-13:
Here is a picture of Mr Bryan Habana (international winger) giving out signed photos. I didn't get one, boo:
After the game I invited Selwin and his friend to come drinking with us and we went to Pirates. It was interesting to have an evening talking to two cape coloured people about the current social situation in South Africa. They are wary and cautious of other ethnic groups around the country, but the main point they made was that under apartheid they found themselves in the middle of the social chain under whites, whereas now they perceive themselves to remain in the middle ruled by blacks under the ANC. Luckily they find a certain humour and irony to this.
On the way home we stopped at a take-away place to buy a gatsby, a South African answer to our late night kebabs. Imagine a genetically modified monster ciabatta, 50cm in length and filled with spicy beef, chips, salads and anything else you want. It weighs as much as a baby and only costs 70R (about 6 pounds). Needless to say it was enough for two, in fact probably enough for four. No picture though I'm afraid.
On Sunday morning I went to church with Lecia and Callum. This was interesting although not unlike a Church of England service, other than the racial demographic of the congregation. In the afternoon I literally did nothing. This was my last free day until I come home so I thought I would relax and read/watch TV. The only thing mildly entertaining on TV here is wrestling, and we've now become fixed on to this, wondering who will be victorious at the upcoming Wrestlemania...this really isn't something I expected from my travels!
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