Zulu-land

For the past two days I've been in Durban, a southeastern coastal town on the Indian Ocean. It's a beautiful area with rolling green hills. The city is in the state of KwaZulu-Natal. Zulu and English are most common languages spoken here. Today was one of the funnest days we've had. First we met with teachers, then we met with people working for the Wildlands Foundation. The group encourages forest and wetland restoration in urban and rural areas. In the case we were seeing, they are restoring areas around a landfill to create a buffer zone. For the past 50 or more years, the area has been mostly sugarcane, but is now being turned back into forest. In order to promote change, they get the local Zulu tribal members involved. In exchange for growing seedlings, community members can purchase building materials or education credits. The woman pictured below is a success story. She is growing 1000 trees in exchange for approximately $600. While that may not seem like alot, $600 is nearly 1400 Rand, which goes a long way in South Africa. With that money she will be able to build a large addition onto her house in order to provide more room for her large family.

I also went to my first rugby game today which was awesome. Rugby is a very serious sport down here!

I must go to sleep now--I have a flight in six hours to Cape Town.

Zulu Woman Growing Trees in Durban

Nelson Mandela's Home

Soweto

Soweto Township

Yesterday was a really tough day for me. We visited the township of Soweto, a very impoverished area that black South Africans were forced to move to during the apartheid area. Terrible atrocities occurred there, and in many ways are still happening. What struck me most, however, wasn't the never-ending shanty-towns or people begging in the street. It was the incredible happiness that exudes from the people if this country. Despite all they have been through, they have managed to forgive. Not to forget what happened, but to forgive so that they and their country can move on. It was extremely heartwarming. I talked with several people, and had great conversations about their lives before and after the critical year of 1994. I'm inspired by their faith in humanity, and hope that circumstances continue to improve for the people of Soweto and other townships throughout the country.

I'm currently in Durban, a coastal city in Kwazulu-Natal. Tomorrow I hope to put my feet in the warm waters of the Indian ocean. I'll try to blog again in a few days from Cape Town.

Takeoff in Dakar, Senegal

I made it!

It's about 12:00AM in Jo-burg. I still can't believe I'm in Africa. From what I've seen so far (in the dark) is that the city looks a lot like Florida. American ads on billboards, Western shops, and a lot of palm trees. The trip wasn't bad--I slept most of the way, which is probably why I can't sleep now. We had a short layover in Dakar, Senegal. As we landed we could see shanty towns made of aluminum and litter was everywhere. I'm having a hard time posting pictures from my IPad, but I'll try to fix the problem soon. I need to try and sleep, because we have a long day tomorrow. I'll try to blog again and get some pictures posted soon.

New Twitter hashtag...

The twitter hashtag I gave previously was wrong. If you'd like to follow our travels, find us @Toyota4Teachers.

Meeting my fellow TITP Participants

It's been a fun-filled day, and I haven't even left the country. I arrived at the airport at 7:30AM and met a fellow teacher before heading to the hotel. Our room wasn't ready since it was so early so we decided to venture out to the national mall. The heat made the walk a bit unbearable, but we eventually made it to the Holocaust Museum. It's definitely a must see if in the area, and for parents concerned about the heavy content, they do have a "light" version that is elementary school appropriate. Afterwards we returned to the hotel for the meet and greet with all twenty-four participants. I feel very lucky to be a part of this program--the other teachers are amazing. They come from diverse areas and backgrounds, and have some great ideas for programs to implement when we return. It will be interesting to see how our ideas evolve throughout our travels.

This evening a reception was held for us at the Botanical Gardens next to the Capitol Building. Receptions can only be held after hours with congressional approval. Luckily, we had that. Representative Donald Payne (NJ-D) joined us and offered his congratulations. He's a former teacher and understands how hard our jobs can be. I had the opportunity to talk to him for awhile and we had a great conversation about the state of education both here and in South Africa.

That's all for tonight. I need to rest up before the long flight tomorrow. Next blog will come from Johannesburg. South Africa here I come!

It's finally here...

Tonight I start my journey to South Africa. I'm a little nervous, very excited, and a little sad to be leaving my loved ones for a while, but I know all the preparation and time away will be totally worth it. The trip starts with a red-eye to Washington, D.C. There I'll be meeting my fellow Toyota Teach participants and the IIE and Toyota personnel who will be accompanying us. Meetings continue through Monday morning, and then Monday afternoon we depart for South Africa. Music, books, naps, and Angry Birds (Why is that game so much fun?) should keep me occupied on the 16-hour flight. I'll update the blog as soon as I can, and you can also follow our travels via Twitter @ToyotaTeach. If there's anything you'd like to know about the trip, comment below.

TITP Press Release

A press release was recently sent to local media about my trip.  Unfortunately I can't upload pdf files to my blog, so if you'd like to see it you can download the release at my classroom website:

sites.google.com/site/stbrigidscience/my-forms.

So much to do, so little time!

I don't know how you all feel, but this summer is going by so quickly.  It seems like we just got out of school.  My trip starts in 17 days, and I have so much to do.  I've already gotten the required vaccines (thankfully only Hep.A and Typhoid were required), and my malaria prevention pills are ready to go.  I've been reading as much about South Africa as I possibly can--books, news articles, websites, blogs, etc.  If you haven't read Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela, I highly recommend it.  He lost so much in his struggle to end apartheid, but he never lost sight of his goal.

Shopping, packing, and all the fun errands that go along with any trip still need to be done, and my excitement grows with each passing day!  I recently received the tentative itinerary, and I've created a google map so that you have an idea about where I'll be and what I'll be doing.  Check out the map here:

TITP Trip to South Africa

If any of you are interested in reading about South Africa, the following links can give you some information about the people, government, wildlife, and history.

CIA World Factbook       South Africa Cultural Center       South African History Online

South Africa's Wildlife Wonders