Our trip to Cape Town yesterday was so great! Yes, the train was a little "dodgy," as my host mom likes to call it, but the views were worth it.
Besides the incredible sites of Table mountain and tropical plants, our first stop was the District 6 Museum. This museum is all about where colored people were designated to live during Apartheid. It was crazy to see how it was and to read the stories. They were forced to live in specific ways like caged animals. It made me think about a mixture of the Holocaust ghettos and the US in the 50s and 60s. It's also still crazy to see the amount of racism still here in South Africa. I guess these things take time.
Next we traveled to Green Market Square which consisted of a bunch of little shops filled with so many different South African crafts and gifts. Lots of bartering went on here! Unfortunately, it was so much fun that at the end, our group thought we lost Andrea. Luckily, we found her! But sadly, for her, this incident is becoming a running joke :P
We got to see the Malay district streets which are lined with so many brightly colored houses! So beautiful! Side note, Mom, Dad, Mary, & Jim: I saw a Hilton near this area ;) Just sayin'!
Basically, Cape Town is awesome and I cannot wait for our next trip back there to travel up Table Mountain, walk through Robben Island, and visit the beach :)
Today, however, was my second day at school. I was terrified when I first got there because my Cooperating Teacher basically told me to take over all of her classes and then left the room. Luckily, I knew what words to put through my head and got a smile on my face. It went so well!! Yes, I did teach my different classes about bacteria and food webs, however, I also incorporated community building with my students. I had a fun discussion with a few regarding Jay-Z and Beyonce (everyone thinks that because we're from America, we're all bff's with celebs!). I also taught some students the Macarena while they are teaching me their dances. It felt great to connect with these students, even though repeating lines from our conversations was a must. Definite confidence booster :)
Tonight, I'm going for a run with some friends here, further exploring the city and University (no worries! We're leaving soon! It's 4:30 here!). Then it's a designated night in with Phoebe, the girls, and Lutz and Gemma (the dogs!). Tomorrow is only a short day at school and then it's a pool party to celebrate 3 of the GV students turning 22. Crazy!
More Later!
AB
No comments:
Post a Comment