Last Day - Robben Island and Home

What can I say??? What an amazing adventure we have had and I cannot believe it is our last day already. Seems like just yesterday we were all boarding a plane, a bit nervous of what was ahead of us and now it is coming to a close.

We started our day quite early - packing up our things and bringing our suitcases down for the last time and loaded them on the bus.

After breakfast, we headed off to the Waterfront to board our Yacht for the ride over to Robben Island. Luckily the water was calm and the ride was smooth. Once we arrived at the island, we boarded a bus to take us over to the prison where our guide, a former inmate there, gave us a tour of the prison. He talked about the harsh and sometimes inhumane conditions they lived in. He talked about the disparity in treatment depending on your race, whites and coloreds were treated better than the blacks. We saw the cell in which Mr. Mandela was held as well. From the prison, we made our way around the island, seeing a couple of churches and a school and a breathing taking view. We also saw the quarry where the prisoners, like Mr. Mandela and Walter Sisulu, mined limestone. Now at the quarry is a rock pile - the first rock was placed by Mr. Mandela and then one by each other prisoner and diplomat who came to a reunion after Robben Island was closed. A quote by Cristo Brand sums up the feeling of Robben Island: "The legacy of Mandela is here on Robben Island. This prison has been turned into a place where people come and learn about how we can all get along. Mandela got what he was fighting for and he created a place where we can all live in harmony."

Some other facts about Robben Island - it used to be a leper colony and had a large hospital there. One of only 7 Kramats in South Africa is on the island - the Moturu Kramat, a sacred site for Muslim pilgrimage on Robben Island, was built in 1969 to commemorate Sayed Abdurahman Moturu, the Prince of Madura. Moturu, one of Cape Town's first imams, who was exiled to the island in the mid-1740s and died there in 1754. Muslim political prisoners would pay homage at the shrine before leaving the island.

After our tour, it was back to the boat and the mainland. Then the goodbyes started as our group separated with Texas, Florida, Oklahoma, the Midwest, some of the national kids and Maryland left for the airport. Tears flowed - and continued to flow as our group got smaller and smaller as our respective flights took off.

In the end, THANK YOU for sharing your children with us. They were all amazing, smart, compassionate, intelligent, caring, witty young adults. We will all be forever changed having experienced this together. Can't wait to see you all again in the future. Keep us leaders updated on what you are doing. We know you are going to do amazing things in your lifetime. What a privilege this has been.

Cape Penisula

What can I say today but it was absolutely spectacular. We started the day with Mr. Nathan telling all the students that today was South African Selfie Saturday, so the goal was to take as many selfies as possible.

We boarded our motor coach about 8 this morning and started heading for Cape Point.

One the way there, we stopped at a nice view spot and the kids got right onto taking pictures and enjoying the view. Continuing on the drive, we saw the real Mandela Park (a black township from the documentary we saw in Johannesburg). This gave the kids a little more perspective on where that all took place.

Once arriving at Cape Point, most of us hiked up to the lighthouse where we were greeted by a baboon who really liked the students backpacks and was quite aggressive in getting at them. That being said, he did sit still long enough to get some pictures of him. We came back down from the lighthouse and then hiked over to the Cape of Good Hope while learning about it's significance. It was a rather leisurely hike, stopping and taking pictures of the breathtaking views. Words cannot describe how beautiful it is. About half way to the Cape - some of the students took an additional hike down to the ocean to take more pictures.

Once to the Cape, we had a picnic lunch and enjoyed the view before heading off to see the penguins. We arrived at SimonTown and took a walk to the beach to see the African penguins. There are hundreds of them in this area. After seeing the penguins and taking more selfies, the students had the chance to walk through a market before heading back into Cape Town and hoping that we could get up Table Mountain. Unfortunately, we were not able to go up due to the weather (high winds and poor visibility).

Back to the hotel to freshen up a bit and then we were off to dinner for an African feast. They brought us many different types of African foods to try and when we found something we liked, we could ask for more. The wait staff also performed for us. The students all are beginning to realize tomorrow is our last day in this wonderful country and we taking pictures with each other and presented Linda and Faizel (our Cape Town guide) with thank you gifts and also celebrated Jacob's birthday. It was the perfect ending to a perfect day. We are now back at the hotel, packing up our things for an early start tomorrow for Robben Island and then begin our journey back home. I can't believe the time has flown by so fast.

Workshops, Waterfront and Social

What a day we had today. We started out going back to school for a half day workshop. The students all met up with their new buddies and joined into smaller groups. The focus of the workshop was for each group to form a new "tribe" and solve a global issue that was assigned to that group, such as peace and tolerance, poverty, poaching, sustainability, and the like. Each group had to think of which traits each person would bring to the "tribe" to solve the problem. Once they had the basics down, they had to make a poster that would represent who they were as a tribe. The students really did well on this project. The critical thinking and cooperation was amazing. After the projects were completed, each group gave a short presentation explaining their concept. Very proud of all of students for their efforts. After that was completed, we headed back to the Waterfront to catch the ferry to Robben Island - which had been delayed, but as we waited, Linda arranged for Cristo Brand come and talk to the students. Mr. Brand was a prison guard and warden where Mr. Mandela was held. During the time of Mr. Mandela's imprisonment, Mr. Brand risked everything to become Mr. Mandela's friend. After he was released from prison, the bond between these 2 men continued and Mr. Brand was given a job in Mr. Mandela's government after he was elected President. Their friendship continued until Mr. Mandela's death. Mr. Brand has written a book about their unique and unlikely friendship which many of the students purchased and had autographed and then had pictures taken with Mr. Brand. He was very gracious and we are thankful for the time he gave to the students. Unfortunately, the ferry was overbooked and we did not make it to the island today, but Linda arranged for us to go Sunday morning before our flights begin home. This will be a special ferry for just our group. We are all looking forward to it. You should be proud of your students. They have been so flexible and are going with the flow of things here in South Africa. Once all the arrangements were made for Sunday, we returned to the High School where they had prepared a dinner and social for us and our students were able to say their last good byes to their new friends. They had the "hall" or multi-purpose room beautifully decorated for us and their 11th year students helped prepare the meal. After dinner some of their students performed for us and then our Asia also got up and sang. Around 8 o'clock there was supposed to be a load-shedding in that area (where they turn off the electricity to conserve power) so we had to quickly leave or be left out in the dark.  Once back at the hotel, the kids got settled for the night and a big day tomorrow touring the cape penisula.

A Day at a South African High School

Today is one of the days that the students were really looking forward to...their school visit. We left early from the hotel to be able to be at school promptly at 8 o'clock. The students anxiously awaited meeting their new buddies who they would shadow for the day. Once paired off, it was off to class and the leaders met with the assistant principal and learned about the school systems in South Africa from an administrative perspective. When talking with the students afterwards, they all seemed to enjoy meeting new friends and exchanging stories. They seemed to get a kick out of the fact that the SA students seemed to think that famous people just are everywhere - no matter where you are. While in class, they noticed how the students and teachers interacted with each other differently, liking school in the States much better. Maybe they will appreciate it more now. They were amazed at some of the different classes that the students had to take like Life Orientation, which seemed to be a sex ed class mixed in with life skills. They had open dialog with the students on many issues facing teens these days and found that there were major differences in those respects. I think in all in all the students felt this was a great experience and have hopefully walked away with a better understanding of the SA youth and a new friend. After school, they had arranged a TheatreSports performance for us. It is an improv show kind of like "Whose Line is It Anyway" It was very interactive and everyone seemed to enjoy it. After the school day ended at 5 in the evening we were down to the Waterfront for an Italian dinner and about an hour of shopping at the shopping mall. Finally it was back to the hotel to be ready for a half day at school tomorrow.

Day 1 in Cape Town

On our first full day in Cape Town, we woke to very windy weather with the prospect of rain. Unfortunately, due to the weather the ferry going out to Robben Island was cancelled, so our wonderful delegation manager, Linda, made some quick changes to our itinerary.

We headed out on the bus for a city tour. We hardly got under way when the Springbok Experience museum (the Rugby museum). The students learned about the history of rugby in South Africa and how the rugby stars are a close equivalent to our football players. They had a chance to learn the basics of how to play the game and the different positions. There were even some hands on, interactive areas to actually give it a try.

From there, we headed to Langa Township where we had lunch at the Eziko Cooking School. The head chef there explained to us before the meal the purpose of the school to teach local youth a trade - as sort of an apprenticeship. After some time at the school, they go on to local restaurants and hotels to work as cooks. They made us a traditional African meal which the students seemed to really seemed to enjoy it.

After lunch we headed to Gugat'shebe (tourism information/information bureau). We split our delegation into 2 groups - one group went to a drumming class while the other did a walking tour of Langa Township with a guide. In the drumming class, the students learned a couple of different songs, both drumming and signing. Our instructors were quite enthusiastic and everyone had a good time. On the walking tour, we learned the history of Langa Township, which is the oldest black township in Cape Town. The township really built up as the men came there to work and live in the "hostels" and since the women could not live with them, they move on the outskirts to be near their men. When the men came to the township, they were first "cleansed" in a type of a bath or hosing down with unknown chemicals in order to get rid of diseases (they white people blamed the blacks for the bubonic plague) and then were sent to the home affair office to get their Dompass (stupid pass) which were papers that blacks had to carry to show that were permitted to be traveling in the area they were (usually just to and from work). These were similar to the free passes that gave slaves in the US.

We also walked through the township where we welcomed into a few homes to see how they live - some of the homes were converted shipping containers split in half to house 2 families. Basically all they had room for was a bed and maybe a stand to hold clothes and such. As soon as our buses arrived, of course, all the children came to meet us and wanted us hold them, walk with them holding hands, give them hugs and attention. As always, our students obliged and welcomed the interaction.
From Langa Township we headed to dinner at BlowFish - a nice restaurant overlooking the Atlantic sea border where the some of the kids tried sushi and then enjoyed the sunset while having dinner.
Finally it was back to the hotel and bed getting ready for our day at school.

Safari

What a time we had on safari.

We arrived at the Bush Camp in the early evening and were greeted by Nkombi - the resident cheetah.  She had been hand raised, along with her two brothers after their mother was killed.   She is not afraid of humans and would let you pet her head, but was still wild and hunts for her own food.

Each day we would get up at around 6 to go out on a bush walk where we learned about tracking the animals and how to tell the difference between the animals by the footprints they left behind.  By the second day, the sttudents were experts.  They learned about erosion and how the extremely dry winter they are having is effecting the bush and the animals.

After the walks, we would come back to camp to have breakfast ready for us.  The students got to try a maize porridge, some liked it, some didn't.  After breakfast it was off for a bush ride in search of animals.  We saw giraffe, rhino, Cape buffalo, zebra, hippo, impala, kudu, bush babies, 1vultures, cheetah, leopard, hyena, wild dogs, all sorts of birds, caracal, and servel to name a few.  On the drives, our guides gave us lots of information about each animal, their environment, and if there are any issues related to them, i.e. endangered, etc.  After about 2-1/2 hours in the bush it was back to camp for lunch and an enivornmental talk about preservative versus conservation and how the bush camp fits in the concept of conservation.  They learned about the plight of the rhino and the terrible trouble they are having with poaching and far the numbers have dropped.  Can you imagine a world without rhino??  We also learned about the venous snakes of South Africa - the types of venom - and how to protect yourself from that.

After all the excitement of the morning, we had some free time around camp before our afternoon ride in search of more animals.  At the end of the 2 days, we had seen just about everything there except the elusive elephant.

We did have some excitement on the second morning when the second group left camp and noticed that Nkombi's brothers were stalking around the camp.   The group went back to see if the brothers would walk with them.  We tried unsuccessfully to get them to follow us, as they wanted to get at their sister.  They students learned that brothers will either force their sisters out of their territory or kill her when it comes time for them to mate and that is the stage these three were at.  It was pretty interesting.

After dinner, they students were able to have some down time - sitting around the fire, playing drums, making smores, talking...or playing cards or dominos - or watching an evening feed.  

After our time here, it was really sad to leave, but Cape Town here we come.

Our day in Soweto

All I can say is what a day!   We were on the go the majority of the time and learned so much.

The day began with a short drive into Soweto.   Our first stop was FNB Stadium which was known as Soccer City during the 2010 World Cup.  This stadium hosted the opening and closing ceremonies and many match games during the World Cup.  The stadium's capacity is approximately 90,000 and is the only place to date that has hosted the most world leaders at one time for Nelson Mandela's funeral.  This stadium also hosted Chris Hani's funeral.

 Our first stop was the Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital - which is the biggest hospital in the Southern Hemisphere, most beds in the world (at about 2000 plus use of stretchers), and the 3rd or 4th largest in the world.  It was built in the early 1940s for use as a military hospital during World War II.  We all learned a little about the healthcare system in S. Africa - completely free is you go to a clinic - and then get sent to the hospital, and only about $30 if you directly to the hospital.  If you have insurance or are wealthy you can go directly to a private hospital and only pay about $100 total.  We also learned a bit about the economy and the taxi driving industry.   Statistics show that the unemployment in the country is about 24.9%, while in Soweto it is listed as about 45%, although this is probably inaccurate as there are many "informal traders,''people who sell goods or services that are not documented or taxed.  For example, if you own your own car, you could pay about $8000 to an organization to drive a taxi in a certain route.  These taxi drivers can make up to $600 profit per day tax-free.

From there we headed to Regina Mundi (Queen of the World) Church.  This church was the meeting place for the political resistance during the uprisings.  They would meet in the church and when authorities were coming, they would pretend they were in a worship as to not get caught.  This is also one of the larger churches, holding 2000 people sitting and 6000 standing and is still in use today as a Catholic Church.

Our next stop was the Hector Peterson museum where the students learned his story.  He was a 13-year-old boy who was killed by police during a peaceful student protest.  The picture of him being carried by Mbuyisa Makhubo with his Hector's sister running alongside crying was published and brought the world's focus on what was going on.  The photographer, Sam Nzima was fired from International Newspaper due to publishing it.  While Mbuyisa Makhubo had to flea the country and has disappeared.  Apparently he fled to Botswana and was last seen in Nigeria.

We then took a walk down Vilakazi Street, a world famous street, where Nelson Mandela's home is (which is now a museum0.   Archbishop Desmond Tutu also has a home on this street where he still stays when he is in town.  We had lunch next to his house where the students had a tradition African meal of beef, lamb stew, tripe, potatoes and salad while having live entertainment of African dancing and Marimba music.  Everyone really enjoyed this.  

After lunch we headed to to Kliptown to our visit at SKY (Soweto Kliptown Youth).  We were greeted by TK from the organization who talked to the students about the Freedom Charter, which was written June 26-27, 1955, but not implemented until 1994 after apartheid ended when the ANC (African National Congress) came into power.  It was moving to have all the students circle around the monument and read the 10 statements.  From there we headed into Kliptown to spend time with some local kids.  We hardly got into the housing area and the students were greeted by the children - with open arms, wanting to be held and played with.  Many spent the tour with children either in their arms or holding hands.  They put on a show for us of dancing and singing.  We learned about the work they do at SKY - providing meals for the kids and after school activities and tutoring.  The organization has even taken in children whose parents have died and they live at there as well.  Leaving the children was difficult, many tears where shed, lots of hugs were given, and a lot of hearts were changed.  As we walked to the bus, it felt as though the entire communities children were walking with us.

After dinner, it was time to get ready for our drive tomorrow to Tshukudu (chi-kudu) tomorrow and 3 days of safari.  We will blog again when we get to Capetown.

First Full Day - July 16

Yesterday, our delegation was finally all together in Johanessburg at dinner last night.  Most of the students were pretty tired after all the traveling, so after dinner it was pretty much straight to bed for an early start today for our first full day in South Africa.

Our first stop today was the Apartheid Museum.  We arrived before the museum opened so we had time for an "in Country briefing" where the students were given an overview of South African History, the political system, economics, health, flora, and fauna.  

To give the students a better perspective on how large the continent of Africa is, the were shown a map of the continent with the the following countries inside on the map outline:  US, China, Eastern Europe, Japan, France, India, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Netherlands, and a few others.

From there, we toured the museum for a few hours, learning about Apartheid, how it came to be, some of the struggle to end it, and how things are still changing today.  We learned about the different terminology and social status as it pertains to race, i.e.  Whites = European, Colored = Mixed race, Asian, Indian, etc., and Blacks = Black.   They also learned that in Africa, it is derogatory to call a person who is from this country to be a "native," they are "indigenous."  Our tickets for the Museum had a race on it and you would enter the museum through the door that was for either the Whites or the Non-white.  When walking through the white door - everything was written in large print and was big, whereas through the non-white side, it was small.  Gave the students a little bit of feel of what it was like.

After the museum we headed to lunch in a nice outdoor-ish restuarant.  They students all seemed to enjoy their meal of either chicken breast burger, beef burger or pesto pasta.  We were then on the road again to the supermarket to get snacks for those who needed them for the Bush Camp.  We came back to the hotel for a short rest (about an hour or so) and then headed back out to watch the film "Leaving Mandela Park" which was a documentary about children growing up in Soweto and their struggle to make it out of there.  I think it is starting to hit everyone of the poverty and sometimes hopelessness some of these people feel.  Tomorrow will probably have it all sink in when we go there.

Dinner was "artsy" pizza - proscuitto and basal, chicken and mushroom, chicken and avocado, and artichoke and sun-dried tomato.  Again, everyone enjoyed it.  We are now back at the hotel and they students are enjoying about an hour of free time before bed to get ready for our day in Soweto tomorrow.  Everyone is doing well and are enjoying getting to know new friends.

The Journey is about to begin

We have spent the last year learning about this incredible place and can you believe we are leaving tomorrow!

I know I am looking forward to meeting everyone and sharing this experience together with my fellow leaders and students.  What an AMAZING time we are going to have.

For those who have never traveled with me, I try to blog every evening and let you know what we do that day (sometimes it helps after the students are home when you ask them what the pictures are of).  I try to post as many pictures as can - but usually at least one group shot and then some smaller group shots.

Feel free to share this blog with your family and friends.  All I ask is if you leave a comment, which we all love to get, if referring to a student, please omit last names.

Thanks for entrusting us with your precious children.  What a privilege!