Teaching!

Sorry I haven't updated my blog in a few weeks!  Unfortunately, my host mom doesn't have internet, and the internet at our school was down for 2 weeks.  I'm still enjoying my time here in South Africa!  We visited Langaban last weekend, and Hermanus the weekend before.. it was beautiful!  We actually stayed in a beach house in Langaban, and I saw 5 shooting stars that evening on the beach, it was amazing :)

I've been teaching 7th grade (or grade 7 as they call it here), but have been called to "babysit" (aka substitute teach) all of the grade levels.  The school system is very different here, teachers are often absent and there is no substitute teaching system, so we are asked to "babysit" for the day.  We're left with NO lesson plans, so we have to come up with ways to keep the students engaged on the fly.  Another major difference in the schools are the class sizes - I babysat a 4th grade class during my first week which had 45 students in the class!  The class size ranges from 35-45 students per class, and there are no instructional aides.  It has been difficult, at times, to see how th estudents are disciplined in the school.  I have seen students be humiliated by their teachers for low test scores and wrong answers, and I have also witnessed students being hit by teachers (some parents actually give teachers permission to hit their kids).  The school are very cold here, the classrooms have cement walls an dfloors and there is no central heating system.  Outside of the classroom door is the playground area, which is just a paved parking lot, so there are no hallways in the school.  Instead of having a lunch break as we do in the United States, we have 2 intervals which are two 20 minute periods where teachers have a snack and drink coffee/tea.  At this time the students go out and play and eat some of their lunch.  We have only been in the schools for a short time, but I already have a connection w/the students.  Other differences include prayer in the morning, after intervals, and at the end of the school day.  The staff and students here are so warm and welcoming, it's impossible to walk to the office during interval without getting hugs from students.  At the end of each class I teach, the students come up to me and give me a big hug.. I love it :)  They all scream "miss, miss, miss...." that's how students get your attention here!  Instead of raising their hand to answer a question, their raise their hand with their pointer finger up.  I told the students I would bring them American candy (dum-dum's!) next Friday!

We'll be heading to George this weekend, where most of us will be bungee-jumping!  I'm not brave enough for this haha, so I will be ziplining with three other girls instead.  I'll also be riding an elephant, and maybe even an ostrich.. I can't wait!  We saw giraffes and zebras on the side of the rode last weekend when we were driving home from Langaban.  We're going to a game farm in George, so I'll be able to see more of these African animals then.