Days 8 and 9

Molweni bahlobo bam! Ninjani? Ndiphilile enkosi!Kuyabanda nje.
Hello my friends! How are you? I am good thank you! It is cold here.

Well I have been working on my Xhosa language some more with a few more classes wince I spoke to you last. It is such a beautiful language and I wish I could truly speak it more fluently. I will have to do with saying ... Andiyazi (I don't know) ... for a little bit longer when I get past the greeting. The xhosa greeting is not just hello though. They ask how you are doing, what is the weather like, where did you come from, etc. all in their greeting. It is amazing.

Ok, we have been so busy I have not had time to catch you up from the past three days so here goes...

Day 8 - Saturday

Today was very cold and rainy. We planned on heading down to the marketplace by the beach but the weather was just too bad. We hung out in our rooms and I finished reading the book Kaffir Boy  by Mark Mathabane. It is an autobiography of the true story of a black youth's coming of age in apartheid South Africa. This book describes how Johannes (later changed to Mark) grew up and all of the trials and tribulations he went through. If you have not read it you must. This book was published in 1986 but we still see a few of the things that happened in this book still around now.

We later went to the South Africa Marine Rehabilitation and Education Center (SAMREC). This center opened in 2000 to help with the threat endangered animals. This center rescues animals, rehabilitates them and releases them back to their natural habitat. It also tries to educate people how to help these animals survive. The main marine animal they rescue is the South African penguin. This penguin is being endangered through oil spills so they are rescuing them, cleaning them and making sure they are healthy before returning them to their habitat. At the SAMREC you can adopt a penguin. I can not wait to adopt my very own penguin with my classroom this year. I believe it will help the students understand how we need to help care for our beaches. We will be able to see pictures of our penguin, learn why he/she is at the center and learn of his/her release date. I am so excited about it.

This is how tall the emperor penguin is compared to me.

African Penguins

Virginia's friend that thinks he is a human.

Day 9 - Sunday

Sunday was a beautiful day, sunny and finally not windy. We walked through the boardwalk and down to the marketplace. The marketplace is like a giant flea market, most items there are handmade by local people. I can not tell you what I purchased (they might be gifts he he) but I did purchase the Big Five animals of South Africa (lion, leopard, elephant, water buffalo and rhino) made from ebony wood. They will look marvelous in my classroom while teaching my kindergarten kiddos about

animals.

Just one small booth from the market with hand painted pictures. 

I will complete Day 10 and 11 tomorrow all about Emifini Primary School. It has been an amazing day!