Hard to be sneaky in Zululand

A couple weeks ago we were blessed with a long weekend. Looking around the homestead that weekend I recognized that it would be a great time to do some exploring. I looked for the highest hill in view and set off for an overnight adventure. Now from the pictures I have posted, one could easily come to the conclusion that this is a very rural area and that would be correct. That being said, you would be hard pressed to walk in any direction and not run into a village after awhile. After skirting around several such villages I made my way up to the top of the hill I was shooting for, only to realize that it was directly above another hidden village, Mlahane. Confident in my ability to blend in to the surroundings, I pitched my tent in a wooded area overlooking Mlahane and Magaga just beyond that. I had hardly finished pitching my tent when I realized I was discovered. Allow me to paint the scene from the perspective of the youngsters that happened upon my camp. You are bringing the cows in, as you do every night before sun down. You are hurrying because the sun is setting earlier and it is getting colder and colder at night. As you are walking down the hill to return home something catches your eye. Something is contrasting with the prevailing greens and grays of the hillside. You don’t believe your eyes, is that a white person?? In the woods behind my village?? Time to investigate. The last time white people set up camp in this area was 1879 and it did not end well, so you go get your older sister first. When you return you see an unshaven American man who speaks your language enough to tell you that he walked all day to get there and planned on sleeping in some kind of plastic house he brought with him. Not only does he not seem worried about snakes or the cold, there is a sense that he is thrilled to be sleeping outside…What do you do? Luckily your older sister has the phone number of the American woman who teaches at her high school. The phone call Katie soon received started something like this: “Khetiwe, I am very worried. There is an American man who is sleeping in the woods. It is very cold. I am afraid that he needs help. I want to bring him food and offer him a place to stay. What should I do?” Lucky for me Katie had heard I was off exploring and assured the girl that everything was fine, that walking up mountains and sleeping in the woods is just a cultural thing.
I pieced all of this together after the fact. From my perspective, some kids came to say hi, I told them I was going to sleep here and that I only live a couple miles away. Twenty minutes later I get a phone call from Katie, “Are you sleeping in the woods? Okay, just making sure.” Love Zululand

These Colors Don't Bleed

Ever since I moved into my rondavel I just couldn't feel like I could call the place home. There was always something missing, a certain je ne sais quoi. I had my terrible towel, I had my warm sheets, heck, I even had a shower! Yet something didn't feel right...Well it may remain one of those unsolved mysteries like Sasquatch or Justin Beiber. All I know is that after my mom and sister visited I felt much better. I now feel like there is a presence that was not present before. As if something were hanging over me, guiding my every decision...

Work aside

Work aside things are pleasantly calm around here. Municipal elections were held at Ncepheni Primary on Wednesday. Everything went off without a hitch, community members even remarked to me about the great turnout! Despite being asked by anyone and everyone if I had voted yet, I kept my distance and instead attended a pick-up soccer match near the schools.
While most of those reading this are anxiously ushering in the spring, here the cold is moving in and moving in quick. The days are also noticeably shorter. The sun isn’t rising until half past six and is setting closer and closer to five. The consolation is that when the sun is up it stays warm enough. The most disorienting part of the change in seasons is that with the shorter days and cold, I am in an October/November mindset. I will walk to school on a cold windy morning and think, “Halloween must be right around the corner. Better start thinking about costumes.”

Yes, that is a real elephant

Yes, I am riding an elephant. In April, I was lucky enough to be visited by mom and sister. One of the first things we did was drive to the nearest game park that would allow us on top of these gentle giants. The ride was nice but the best part was getting to feed and interact with the elephants afterwards. It was difficult to see mom and sis leave after their 10-day adventure here but it would have been even more difficult if I didn’t get to see them at all.
Following their departure things got back to normal around here. April marked the beginning of term 2 in the schools and with it the beginning of my involvement next door at the senior school, Ntalantala. I am now team teaching grade 12 Life Science with Ms Dlamine. I will be in the classroom with her 3-4 times a week, helping to plan lessons and sharing different classroom management strategies. It is very exciting for me to be immersed in the world of biology again. So far we have covered human evolution and are finishing up the nervous system in anticipation for mid-year exams in June.
I am still actively working in the computer lab at the Ncepheni. At the moment I am reorganizing my efforts towards working with the educators and selecting a core group of learners to pilot a computer skills package I am putting together.
Some of the more exciting news to come about recently is the selection of Ntalantala for a new rammed-earth building! For a great overview on the type of building that will be built, search on youtube for “Skills Transfer Project.” The building showcased there is just a couple valleys over at Buhlebamangwe Primary. I am very excited, as are the rest of the educators, at the prospect of the new building. Even more exciting is that the building will afford the school room to install a computer resource center. In anticipation for this I am identifying educators to begin training so that we can hit the ground running once the computers arrive.

New Blackboa- err, Greenboards!

I have been meaning to report on this for some time now. Last month, thanks in part to the DRF, Katie and I spent the weekend repainting chalkboards at Siyanda Primary School in Isandlwana. Katie arranged for a number of learners from her girls leadership club to come in one Saturday morning. Drawing on my experience painting houses in Pittsburgh during the summers in years past, I directed the kids in the mantra that makes East End Painting Co one of the best: Prep-Prime-Paint! Whereas many chalkboards you may be familiar with are made of black slate, the variety most often found in the schools here is thin board with a couple layers of chalkboard paint. The learners showed their ingenuity by using rulers and old scissors to scrape the boards of their previous coats while others used steel wool to leave a smooth finish. After that a good layer of primer went down (in this case it was pink). The next day we returned to add the first layer of green chalkboard paint followed by a final layer on the third day. In total we were able to finish 4 of the worst chalkboards and the response from the teachers has been so positive we may have the learners return to do more!

Someone turns 21 = Dance Off!

I wish we had a dance competition when I turned 21. The idea is even more appealing when you find out that the guest of honor isn’t even expected to compete! The competition was among 10 local youth teams that I had been lucky enough to have seen in action before. Far from any of the dance competitions you may see on TV or at a bar, this was strictly traditional. The music was provided by the crowds that gathered to watch, who were directed to sing a variety of traditional favorites to keep the beat. As you can see in the pictures, one of the hallmarks of this dance is the high kick / foot stomp. If I spend the next year stretching I might be able to kick that high, in which case I might just enter the NFL as a punter. The winning team walked away with a goat and the two runners up made off with some cash. How you split up one goat amongst 25 teenagers…angaz

Isandlwana Anniversary

Back in January I attended the anniversary/reenactment of the 1879 Battle of Isandlwana. Typically it is a pretty big deal here, but keep in mind, a big deal in a small place is not that big of a deal. Well this year, for reasons untold, the event was supersized. Giant tents, grandstands, and multiple stages were erected on the site of the epic battle. The reason? The president, Jacob Zuma decided to swing through.