Our Third Week of School in Richards Bay

Hluhluwe Game Reserve

Jessica Stralkowski
Group Journal: Hluhluwe
7/30/07

Jessica Stralkowski
Group Journal: Hluhluwe
7/30/07

Thursday, July 26th
It was Thursday morning, and 7:30am quickly approached and past as the majority of our MSU group waited impatiently for the bus to arrive and begin our four day excursion to Hilltop Camp at Hluhluwe Game Reserve. At last, our main man, BT Gumede, arrived and we began to pack up the bus with our belongings and our group of extremely excited student teachers packed themselves into the bus for the 1 ½ hour travel to the reserve. But before we could arrive at Hluhluwe, we stopped at Ilala Weavers, a craft and gift store that we had been told to wait for when it came to buying gifts. And did we ever buy gifts…presents for parents, friends, family…it is safe to say our group alone made a pretty hefty dent in the plethora of beautiful baskets, trinkets, jewelry, figurines, masks, blankets…pretty much anything you could imagine you could purchase to capture the beauty of South Africa for those back home. Two hours of shopping and a quick lunch later, we departed Ilala Weavers and made one more stop at the grocery store before we finally headed towards our destination. As we got closer, our surroundings became more and more amazing. The seemingly never-ending valleys and rolling hills were almost too much to try and capture on camera. As we began to enter the park, chaos began to erupt inside the bus as we saw our first animals of the park, including zebras. As we neared the entrance, JACKPOT…an elephant stood in the grassy land within 50 yards of us. Our first elephant, and we were barely even in the game park yet!!! We enter the winding roads uphill towards Hilltop Camp, arriving to our site of rondavels, our accommodations for the next 3 nights. The rondavels slept two people each, and were furnished with two very comfortable single beds, a fridge, sink, and cookware for the communal kitchen we could cook in. Once we all settled into our rooms and unpacked a bit (taking pictures the whole time, as usual), we made our way over to Anne and Margaret’s cabin across the road for our first class session in Hluhluwe.

Class Session 1
Our first session of class began at 4pm on Thursday, with Margaret exclaiming how excited she was to be here with us, our group in particular, and how well our whole group, grad students and teachers combined, were meshing so well. We got our layout for the next couple days, involving a morning walk and game ride on Friday, and additional rides on Saturday if we wanted. Then we finally got into the bulk of the session with Margaret sharing stories and memories of our teaching from the past two weeks as she visited each of the eight schools we are placed in. We had all been with our host families and not with each other for this long since Musselcracker, and there was definitely a desire in the air for each of us to share our experiences. Margaret shared a small moment she had been a part of with each of us in the past two weeks, and was connecting all of our different experiences and proving how similar our experiences really were to each other. We then all went around and shared one moment of our own from our schools that left an impact on us. There wasn’t a single story that didn’t leave us in awe or left an impact. Some were positive, others were humorous, a few crash and burns, and every single one was an empowering moment. It would be wrong to not include that there were some tears definitely shed among the group. No matter how different our experiences have been with our South African students, classroom, staff, or school, somehow we found ourselves understanding and immersed in each other’s situations wholeheartedly. Looking around the room, it wasn’t difficult to see that we were all sharing South Africa with each other to benefit each other as teachers, no matter where in the world we would go after this program. It’s safe to say that this class session will stay in our minds for quite some time.


Morning Walk, Friday, July 27th
Friday morning we woke to prepare for our morning walk, which would begin at 9:45am. We all met at the Hluhluwe reception, separated into two groups of eight, and hopped into our game ride vehicles that would take us into the park to our walking tour. I departed in the second group and we left around 10am. It took us about 15 minutes to get to our walking destination, in the heart of the grassy wilderness hopefully in the heart of the animal sighting! Our ranger introduced himself and went over the rules very quickly. The rules were simple: stay in a single file line behind him, and do not talk until the ranger said it was okay. The ranger carried one weapon: a gun with a belt filled with bullets. As we took off, all you could hear was the crunching and crinkling of the grass and ground beneath our party of nine. We obediently followed the ranger down into the tall grass and park around us, cameras ready for action and lips sealed tightly. Our first sighting was a single white rhino, high up onto a hill above us. As we walked further, our next sighting was groups of zebras and giraffes. We hiked on through the brush and tall grass with the hot sun scorching down on us. We moved quickly, trying to get closer to the giraffes and zebras. About half way through our hike, we stopped and took a break beneath some shady trees. Our ranger let us all pose with his gun, which we had obviously been awed at the sight of since we had begun. We asked how often rangers had to shoot animals, or if there had been many people that had died with animal attacks at the park. He responded it was very, very rare, and that at Hluhluwe alone there had only been one death he had known of since he had worked there. He also included there had been a death recently in Zimbabwe, both Hluhluwe’s and Zimbabwe’s situations involving camera flashes startling the elephants. We finished our break and headed back towards the road where BT would pick us up. Our walk lasted about 1 1/2 -2 hours long, and we hurried back to the camp to get ready for our second class session.

Class Session 2
Our second class session occurred between our morning walk and our game ride which would begin at 5pm. This session opened up discussing a very infamous issue that affects South Africa…AIDS. Beginning with some statistics, we learned from Ann that nationally, 20% of South Africa is infected with HIV. In the area we are in, KwaZulu-Natal province, it is even more of a problem, being around 40% affected. This area is the highest of all the provinces. We then began to break down the economic and social reasons that AIDS has been so devastating, along with the type of people that are being affected by these issues. To begin, all of South Africa is obviously affected by this epidemic, but to be more specific, young people and those in their 30s and 40s who are running the economy are being harshly affected. Work productivity has dwindled because of those sick being less productive at work. Funerals overwhelm people’s weekends. The economic costs of AIDS, not just social, is a huge hit to the country. The amount of OVC’s (Orphans and Vulnerable children) is increasing. But these are all intertwined with the social and cultural affects that AIDS is leaving on South Africa. Why is the fight so hard? South Africa’s social attitude towards sex, gender roles, cultural violence, and beliefs on medicine all contribute all hinder the fight against AIDS. To begin with, the historical attitude towards sex and gender is that virginity is valued in women, but not in men. Because of this, men are accepted as being entitled to as much sex as they want, because they “need” it. Commonly, it is accepted for men to sleep with women besides his wife, because it is their right as men. The most dangerous detail of this is the use of condoms, or more specifically, lack of. Women are not really given the option to say no to sex, because it is seen as their duty or obligation to a man. Second, once a woman must oblige to have sex, it is seen as a bad reflection on her if she requests that the man wears a condom for protection. This idea roots from the woman’s place in their culture and the home, where they are expected to be dependent of a man, and to not be able to say, “no.” Violence against women, especially rape, is even sometimes seen as a form of entertainment among men, with this idea even in the minds of the students at our schools at this moment.
As all these social problems involving sex and gender contribute to the spread of HIV/AIDS, it is even more troubling to be informed of the government’s own responses to these terrible issues. Even until very recently, the government has been in serious denial against medicinal treatments appropriate for HIV/AIDS, promoting traditional South African methods over anti-viral treatments. It was even announced through the government that the HIV virus does not cause AIDS, and that POVERTY is causing AIDS. Even more startling, at a recent worldwide conference in 2004 on HIV/AIDS treatments in Canada, South Africa stunned the world and caused an uproar when they filled their treatment table of traditional vegetables and remedies, promoting them as cures for HIV/AIDS. They were forced to take down this display and put up an antiviral display. Even the Vice President, Jacob Zuma, who was accused to rape of an HIV positive female, testified that he did have sex with the woman, it was consensual, and that he would not get HIV because he had taken a shower afterwards. Finally, as South Africa begins to focus on the facts of HIV/AIDS, they have adopted an acronym, ABC, which stands for Abstain, Be faithful, and use a Condom.
Although measures are finally being taken on the social beliefs of sex, gender, and HIV/AIDS, our own experience with talking to South Africans is a rude awakening of how far the nation really has to go. Some of the MSU students have heard South Africans say they believe two condoms are safer than one, that AIDS is a punishment from God, and that violence against women is still very, very common in households. From these statements and actions (and many more, we assure you), it is obvious that it is not only students that need to be educated on these issues, but their mothers, fathers, older sisters and brothers, and friends.
The last question that Ann posed for us is, “Who is deciding the needs of Africa?” Although it is true that HIV/AIDS is very well-known as a killer disease in the nation, many in America and around the world would be surprised to know that there are other issues that are killing more African children than HIV/AIDS. Malaria, malnutrition, and lack of clean water are all much more common killers of South African children. So why is the fight against AIDS so much more popular and well-known in America? Why aren’t poverty, malnutrition, and malaria getting as much of a fight by music artists, celebrities, and all the well-known faces in society? And what can we do to change that?
At the end of our class session, it was apparent there is a bridge between the historically accepted social issues and the affects of these issues that South Africans are dealing with, and dying from, today. Gender roles, violence towards women, the government response, and education about HIV/AIDS are all trying to be fought slowly, but until they are looked at in correlation and connection to one another, South Africa will still struggle to fight towards the their value of life.

Night Ride, Friday, July 27th
“What’s the date today?!” More than one person whispered this to me as we were in the midst of our first night drive in Hluhluwe Game Park. It was 6:30p.m., and darkness had set in less than an hour ago. It was now pitch black, with an exception of a spotlight that our driver Semo, our choice driver, had in his front seat. The spotlight is shining directly into a large patch of trees, where we hear continuous crunching, steps of something, hesitating, but coming closer with every second. We suddenly look forward as Semo shines the light directly in front of us. An elephant, less than 100 feet away, is standing directly in our road path. He is slowly moving from the right side of the road to the left. As the elephant moved towards the left, we moved a bit closer so that he was now directly to the left of our jeep. No more than 15 feet away. To our direct right, the rustling and crunching of grass continued, and it was getting closer. The rest of the elephants were trying to decide if they should cross also. It’s complete darkness again, and we all are holding our breath, watching both to our right AND left, not knowing what could be more dangerous to us…the elephant we could see, or his friends we couldn’t. We finally move away from the herd of elephants, and as we pick up speed, I heard one of us exclaim, “July 27th, 2007…best day of my LIFE!”
Our ride had begun at 5pm, roughly lasting for three hours. We took off from the reception at the camp, once again, and began our journey to find the “Big 5”…and then some. For those who don’t know, the Big Five are Buffalo, Rhino, Lion, Leopard, and Elephant. So far, most of us had seen a buffalo, rhino, and elephant, and were determined to get our cats. As we rode down and through the hills of Hluhluwe, none of us could believe the beauty of our surroundings as the sun set over the hills and valleys. As the night got darker, our sightings became more plentiful; our first big sight was a family of elephants in the distance. There was a mother and three siblings, one looking to be barely six months old. We watch as the baby tries desperately to keep up with its mother’s lengthy steps. We then moved onto seeing a white rhino, buffalo, and even two hyenas, with one sleeping on the side of the road. As we watched him from less than five feet away, he would open one eye and look us up and down, seemingly annoyed by our gawking, internally exclaiming, “are you humans done shining this light in my face so I can get some sleep?” We later saw the others walking into the grass, separate from their sleepy friend. Towards the end of our ride, we came across a pack of giraffes, most who were kneeling down to sleep in the grasses of the game park. We were told giraffes only sleep 45 minutes a day, so lucky for us we were at the right moment to witness this. Our encounter with the elephant and his “invisible” friends on the path was probably the highlight of our ride, and none of us will ever forget the sights and sounds of the elephants, the hyenas, and the ½ fear, ½ excitement we felt during every moment for those three hours. July 27th, 2007…what a night.

Saturday, July 28th
Session 3 & Conclusion of the Trip

Our third session of class came at 11am, Saturday morning. We began the class by pairing up into groups of two and getting 10-15 minutes to construct an animal of our choice with limited paper materials, paper clips, tape, and colored pencils. The animal had to be 3D. We all worked quickly, trying to make our animal the best in the bunch. With all the animals we had seen, almost everyone had the same idea to create a giraffe, with a couple lions and rhinos thrown into the works of art. We all displayed our creations, each one very different and reflective of our creative skills and imaginations. Our next project was to write another, “one moment” on a piece of paper, one moment when we had a great learning experience as a child or adult. We shared them with one other classmate, and once we were done, we all put our individual “moment” on a list on the refrigerator. The moments ranged from riding a bike, to learning to drive a stick shift, to even understanding the concept of death. They all shared similar characteristics, however, of a moment when we all went, “aha!” in our lives, moments that you cannot learn in a book, moments that involved reality. Our next activity involved Powerful Learning by Ron Brandt, where we worked on taking quicknotes when reading. Quicknotes is a note taking tool that can work for both students and teachers alike. A way to teach students how to take effective and quick notes (hence the name), it helps students become more accustom to summarizing information in a short amount of time. We then concluded our session outside, discussing the articles with each other involving an inside/outside circle activity, and also creating a choral reading poem in groups about South Africa, involving the emotions we have had during our time here. Very seldom can you say that every poem was outstanding, but in this group, it was very true. We all enjoyed hearing each other’s most prominent feelings and emotions come out about their own experiences via poems, and they all spoke to each and every one of us.
Our last group get-together with everyone was at dinner at the Hluhluwe Restaurant, where we enjoyed the buffet and drinks, discussing our weekend’s events and chatting about how much we didn’t want to leave. The next morning we would leave at 9am and begin our journey home, with all of us very disappointed to say goodbye. We had seen so many amazing animals and such beautiful surroundings. We even discovered a little about ourselves as teachers and humans interacting with this country of South Africa and its people. We’ve got hundreds upon hundreds of pictures, probably the same amount of stories, and most importantly-our own memories-to take back with us to America and share with our friends and family.

Our Second Week of School in Richards Bay

Tour of Richards Bay

Tour of Richards Bay by Land and Sea
Reported by: Kristin Thielemans
July 10, 2007

LAND:

Richards Bay is a fairly new town. It was originally a favorite spot for fishermen. The suburb Meerensee is an upper class area where people are not based on race – but economic status. Meer means lake, en – in, and see translates to sea. There is construction going on and lots of new buildings because the economy is thriving. New shops, more employment, and a demand for housing are a result of an increase in population. The boardwalk is mostly under construction. A huge mall is being built.
Richards Bay Minerals, RBM, is comparable to General Motors. RBM supplies schools with toilets, books, and sponsorships. Many parents of children at the schools work for RBM. Many students aspire to work for Richards Bay Minerals in the future.
The enormous Hillside Aluminum Plant is owned by RBM. There are pyramids with grass on top complied from waste from factories. The fertilizer plant is close to the ocean. They are always trying to think of new uses for the fertilizer. Outside of Durban is a huge sugar cane industry. Close to the harbor is a paper factory, Mondi.
Richards Bay Harbor has a lot of fright trains full of coal, woodchips, and other manufacturers’ products. This harbor is he biggest exporter of raw materials in the world! Many countries, including the US, use countries in Africa for their raw materials. For example, Africa ships out coffee but we make the profit because a product is made from the material (i.e. roasted coffee beans).


SEA:

The deep-water port of Richards Bay started being built in 1971 and was opened in 1976. After just leaving the harbor, the captain told us about the animal life of Richards Bay. Swimmers beware: crocodiles and sharks have been known to make cameos. Crabs, three types of mangroves, and pelicans are all abundant here also. Since September 11, 2001 the port has become part of the International Safety Patrol.
Sand has to be dredged out from the opening of the port so it does not get blocked. The sand that gets pumped out of the water is then returned back to the beach… the same beach we will be back to in just a few days for a braai with our host families. In 1917 a steam engine sank and there is now a buoy marking its location. The steel will rust away on the ship but reef grows on steel. The buoy also marks possible coral reef in the area.
Many trees have died by the port due to saturated roots in salt water. Fright ships load up with mounds of coal. Richards Bay harbor is the biggest woodchip exporter in the world.
Isak, our captain had a great sense of humor and did funny Bill Cosby impressions. The boat ride was relaxing thanks to the beautiful weather and Billy Joel music in the background! Although we did not see any humpback dolphins, we still had a lovely tour of Richards Bay, by land and sea!

St. Lucia

July 21, 2007—submitted by Samantha Meyers

St. Lucia, a World Heritage Site, is famous for its wildlife preserves, especially wetlands. Our Saturday there was spent exploring these on a boat tour of a waterway that fed into the Indian Ocean. We were looking specifically for crocodiles and hippopotamus, but were blessed with sightings of many birds as well.

Shortly after we began our cruise on the pontoon boat, we saw a lounging crocodile. Some of us also saw one hiding in foliage. Many teachers in our group suspected that the crocodile we saw was fake, because it never moved during the excursion. While this is a possibility, it is likely that the crocodile was resting as it is a nocturnal creature that hunts at night. Also, as a reptile, it is cold-blooded, needing the sun to keep warm. The captain gave us some other interesting facts about crocodiles—they are able to stay under water for two hours, grow up to six feet, and live over seventy years! Their main job in the ecosystem is to clean up dead carcasses and keep the fish population under control. Once the Zambian government had many crocodiles killed. The big fish ate all of the small fish, and then began to die off, throwing the whole area into chaos.

While we waited to see hippos, we were treated to more local history. The whole area had once been private hunting grounds of Shaka, and the nearby ocean is the resting place for 163 ships sunk during WWII, including Japanese, Italian, and German submarines. What looked like jagged rocks sticking out of the water were actually fossilized oyster beds. The shore was lined with Mangrove trees. This remarkable plant grows roots both below and above ground so that it will not be smothered during the floods.

It was not long before pods of hippos graced us with their presence. They teased us, only popping their heads up for air, seconds at a time. The hippopotamus can only stay under water for six minutes at a time. We began to see more and more hippos, (the average pod has 14 with only one dominant male).

We were all fascinated to learn that these water-loving creatures cannot swim. Rather, they bounce along the river floor like big ballerinas. This does not slow them down, however. They can run at an average speed of 44 kilometers per hour, meaning even the fastest man on earth at 37.5 kph has cause for concern at the sight of a hippo. As it turns out, they are pretty dangerous—killing more humans than any other African animal. They have six large teeth devoted to fighting, and are capable of applying six tons of pressure for a bite that could easily snap a crocodile in two. We passed around a tooth, which was about two feet long, and weighed an estimated eight pounds. As intimidating as this was, the captain related that the largest tooth on record was over a meter! Other interesting hippo facts are that the babies feed underwater, their closest relatives are whales, they are nocturnal herbivores, and they have over 18 inches of fat.

The estuary at St. Lucia is home to 1,500 hippos, and we saw lots of beautiful birds too, such as the Goliath Heron, egret, and the unforgettable African Fish Eagle. This bird is a bit small than our Bald Eagle, but colored similarly. The exceptions are a black tip on the beak and the stripes of black feathers. If beauty is not enough to make you remember the fish eagle forever, the mating ritual sure is. “The fish eagle mates in flight,” the captain explained, adding, “The male must decide what is coming first, him or the ground!”

Besides captain and comedian, the boat’s driver was a great tour guide. He even let Anthony and me drive the boat! Be sure to come back and see him sometime, maybe for one of his ocean tours to see humpback and southern right whales, for more of his great jazz and blues—much better than the sudden animal sounds that he played. Remember, its’ one small step for man, but a big leap for crocs (off the boat). And if you meet someone going on this relaxing cruise all the way back to Nkandla, tell them not to worry. Only 1 ½ people get eaten per year! Also, say hello to Sandy, aka “Hobo”—the orphan female hippo sometimes seen walking the St. Lucia streets at night.

First Week of School

It's our first week in the schools in Richards Bay and Empangeni...Two high schools--Mkhayideni and Ntongande and six primary schools--Nzalabantu, Enhlanzini, Mbonambi, Mbhodla, Sitholinhlanhla, and Thuthukani.

Braai at Alkenstrand Beach

Amy Zuidema
July 15, 2007

What a wonderful day our group had together on July 15 at Alkantstrand Beach. After each of us relocated to our home stays, it was refreshing to see one another’s faces, even though it had been just over 24 hours since we had last seen each other.
We met as a group for a braai with our home stay families at Alkanstrand Beach on the Indian Ocean. Throughout the park, there were triangular picnic areas that included picnic tables, and a wooden planked roof that enclosed the picnic area. Several large grills were placed throughout the park, allowing easy access for anyone wanting to grill. There were three large buildings throughout the park. All of the buildings appeared quite nautical with their blue and white exterior. One building was a restaurant, another a life guard building, and the last was a public restroom. There was a beautiful pier towards the south side of the park that jetted out into the Indian Ocean. Lizl Van Rooyan (Julia’s host mother) informed me that the technique used to break up the surf and harbor is called Doulos and was invented in Richard’s Bay.
Although the braai was scheduled at 1pm, many of us quickly became acquainted with the slightly more ‘laid back’ lifestyle here in South Africa. Most of the group did not arrive until 2:00/2:30 ish, giving me an opportunity to explore the concept of a braai and investigate the area we were picnicking in.
Vela’s friend Sibo quickly took me under his wing and became my personal tour guide at Alkanstrand beach. The first thing he informed me was that each family was to bring their own meat to grill and a dish to pass. This South African tradition seemed to be quite similar to what we Americans like to call ‘barbeque’. I learned that a traditional braai typically occurs while celebrating some sort of event. Today’s braai was in celebration of the coming together of us students and our host families!
While preparing the food for our braai, I overheard a host mom make the comment, “We don’t have any maids here, therefore I will get dinner started.” She proceeded to put the coals on the grill. Families brought various foods to the braai, including potato salad, chutney, coleslaw, a bean salad, potato chips and bread rolls. The choice of beverages ranged from person to person – most choosing soda as their drink of choice. The grills were started and several men took over the duty of grilling the large amount of meat. Some families chose to make kabobs while others chose steak or chicken.
After our delicious meal, many of us went over to the pier to do some exploring. While walking down the pier, we noticed that the fishing poles were considerably larger than those one might find on the shores of Michigan. I paused to ask a fisherman what they were catching and he replied “Sharks”. Imagine my surprise when I heard that some fishermen further east on the pier had already caught a shark that day! As we headed on down, we stopped to climb some rocks, and while nearing shore, we found a huge clan of crabs. We even spotted a cat down on the rocks (how he got there, we have no clue). The sun was beginning to set and we knew it was time to say good-bye. After hugging each other goodbye, it was time to head home and get a good nights rest for our ‘first day of school’.