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THIS POST IS FROM LORI MILLER:

There are 11 official languages in South Africa.  This makes for a very diverse society in which cultures mix freely – it’s not uncommon to hear multiple languages used in the same conversation.  I’ve been trying to catch as much South African television as I can between outings, and the day of our arrival I watched a soccer match that was announced seamlessly in English, Zulu, and French!  This was not a matter of “translating”, just each announcer adding comments as needed.

We visited Lisedi Cultural Village on Wednesday, and while it was definitely geared toward visitors it offered a wealth of knowledge on some of the backgrounds that merged to form South Africa.  The village displays reconstructed living quarters and villages of the Zulu, Xhosa, Lesotho, and Ndebele sects among others and the designs are ingenious in their use of the materials available.

Zulu homes have very low entries, both to deter enemies and so that those entering must bow in respect; their food is kept in miniature raised huts to prevent animal an invasion.  The Xhosa dwellings are made of 9” thick walls of cow dung that create a comfortable interior that is around 20 degrees cooler than the outside air – it also uses a high roof and cross ventilation to regulate temperature when building an interior fire. They always enter the home with women on the right and men on the left because when enemies enter they will encounter the men first, and men give their lives to protect the women – chivalry lives!  (Xhosa is also Nelson Mandela’s heritage.)  The Ndebele exteriors are covered in geometric patterns and are instantly recognizable…the interieors are just as gorgeous with every fixture carefully decorated in beautiful patterns.

Earlier in the week we attended a cultures class at Tshwaragano Primary School.  Discovery Channel has provided TVs, VCRs, a programming library specifically designed for students here, and teacher training on how to use video to make lessons more effective.  In this specific case, the video screened for the lesson was not one provided by us but the same teaching methods were applied including repetition, class discussion, and breaking into smaller groups for creative analysis and later, class presentation.

The series of performances shown were derived from many of the students’ backgrounds – we watched dances and musical performances from Xhosa, Zulu, Pedi, Gospel, Gumboots, Ndebele, and classical African origins.  The students were asked to determine which performances were from which heritage and analyzed them according to costumes, props, instruments used, movement, pace, rhythms and tapping.  It’s clear that they’re all well-versed in the specifics of each and the traditions of their own families and those of their neighbors are ingrained in them from birth.

We were lucky enough to receive live demonstrations of dance and music from several groups of students within the school to reinforce what was just discussed!  It was clear from the dozens of faces pressed against the window outside the classroom that these kids enjoy each other’s talents and customs and they will continue to thrive.

THIS POST IS FROM LIBI ANDERSON:

Happy Women’s Day!  Actually, it was yesterday – but I didn’t get to the computer in time to blog.  National Women’s Day is a national holiday commemorating the 1965 Women’s march against an unjust law that required African women to carry special passes under the Apartheid regime.  Wednesday marked the 50^th anniversary of the historic march, and was celebrated with a re-enactment comprised of 20,000 participants.  This time, the women voiced their concerns over the lack of equal opportunity for women in government, and over the abuse that women still commonly face in South Africa today.

The past couple of days have been absolutely amazing, and filled with mixed emotions.  Our first day in Soweto was such an uplifting experience.  The students at Isu’lihle Primary School truly value their educational experience.  You can see it in the way they respect their teachers, the intensity they exude in the classroom, and the incessant joy in their faces.  It is apparently a common occurrence for students to attend class, and for the teacher to not show up.  Instead of running amuck with no supervision, the kids sit quietly and study their lessons until time for the next class.  So when the teacher didn’t show up for the Grade 5 Zulu language class, guess who got to teach the class?  ME!  Clearly there was no Zulu lesson that day – except when the students taught me how to say “Sakubona Igama lami NgiNgu Libi” or “Hi, my name is Libi” in Zulu.  Instead, we engaged in a Q&A session, trading information about our respective cultures.  I asked them if they knew the name of the President of the United States.  Several students raised their hands and answered “George W. Bush” (yes, they included the W.)  They then asked me if Americans are learning anything about Soweto on our television programs.  Sadly, I had to tell them “No”.  I thoroughly enjoyed spending time with them and learning about their culture.

My next stop was Constitution Hill, which was just as enlightening, but much harder to deal with emotionally.  Constitution Hill is the current site of the Constitutional Court – which was established to uphold the Bill of Rights that was created once Nelson Mandela became President.  The court was built on the site of the Old Fort, which was a jail used to hold political prisoners.  Parts of the Old Fort now house a museum, which highlight the cruel treatment of the white prisoners and the inhumane treatment of the “non-white” prisoners.  The exhibit features actual jail cells, recreations of the living conditions, actual replicas of the mechanisms used for punishment, and quotes, narrations and short films about all of the displays.  Some of the abuse was too graphic to even write about.  Never before had I become physically ill from viewing an exhibit.  The experience did an effective job of putting things into perspective.

The next day at Tshwaragano Primary School was just as heart-felt.  I had the opportunity to observe a video lesson.  All of the students wore uniforms, except those who couldn’t afford the $50 cost.  I sat next to a girl whose uniform skirt had large holes in it, whose sweater was visibly tattered and shoes were torn, and whose hair was uncombed.  These students were much more impoverished than the ones from the first school.  Some of them lived in tiny shacks with tin roofs.  For some, school is the only place where they get a meal.  Yet they thanked us profusely for Discovery’s gift of a television and VCR by performing several cultural dances and songs.  Most kids in the US would tell you that a VCR is useless these days.  To these kids, a VCR continues to change their lives.

Overall, this has been a life-changing experience for me.  I am more aware of the things that I take for granted on a daily basis, and of my global responsibility to help level a playing field that is still quite uneven in the 21^st century. 

In the mid-1990s, the township of Thokoza in South Africa was in the news headlines when, during the final throes of Apartheid, civil war broke out between the ANC and the Inkatha parties.  As the township descended into chaos, rather than intercede to stop the fighting, the South African government -- at the time was struggling to maintain what little hold it still held over the country -- began a systematic campaign to encourage the fighting.  At different times, the government actually provided arms to both the ANC and Inkathas; when opportunities arose to mediate the conflict, the government turned a blind eye.  Before the conflict ended, over 2,000 people had died.

This morning, we visited Tshwaragano Primary School in the heart of the Thokoza township two of the teachers spoke to us about life during the war in Thokoza.  The school, it seems, was located right in the heart of the fighting, and frequently became caught in the crossfire.  On those days, students and teachers had to "run for their lives" to dodge the bullets, which lodged themselves into the side of the school.   Despite this, the school remained open.  They ran for their lives one day and returned to school as normal the next.  I asked the teachers why they didn't close the school - they said "because we are teachers.  that is what we do.  They are students.  This is where we belong."

Ten years after the Thokoza conflict, the area of highest violence down the street from the school has been turned into a memorial so that townspeople will never forget the lives lost.  Although the area is still populated by shanties, the school continues to thrive, in part with the support of the Global Education Partnership, but primarily due to the resilience and determination of the teachers and families in the Tshwaragano school community. 

The students continue to amaze me -- everyone was so excited for our visit (as demonstrated by the "top-secret-double-incognito-they'll-never-see-us-here" eyes of two giggling students who couldn't resist peeking through the hole in the partition to see us;)

That's all from here for the day.  Tomorrow we'll have some time to try to make sense of everything we've learned this week as we head to the Ivory Tree Lodge for a game drive.  Yeay safari!!!:)

P.S.  We're having some podcasting difficulty here b/c of transfer rates - you'll have to wait a day or two for our interview with our special guest -- DISCOVERY BOY himself, who is a graduate of Tshwaragano and dropped by to say high during lunch!!

Journey with our Educators Abroad to Pilanesberg National Park for an up close and personal look at the Big 5.  All of the amazing photographs in this enhanced podcast were taken by our crew. 

Chuckie, the head ranger. shares his insights about the safari and the animals they encountered.

Download the podcast.