The Traveling School

October 2, 2007

Finally, working internet!

I write to you from Eshowe, South Africa, in the heart of Zululand, where we have (at last) found computers, a phone, and other such delights.  I'm sorry you haven't heard from me until now, but we seem to have been thwarted at every stop in our quest to find consistently-working internet.  But.  Here we are, and so now I write.

It seems like so long ago that we arrived in Waterval Boven (just shy of a month!) -- trying to recount everything that has happened since is a daunting task -- I know that Whitney has done a great job keeping you informed of our comings and goings, so I'll just try to fill in the colorful details along the way.

We spent our first two weeks in Waterval Boven, which is reputed to be the best climbing in South Africa (some might even say all of Southern Africa, if not the entire continent).  All of the girls climbed at least three times, and some prided themselves on conquering every route we set. While we were there, we also biked around the township (and saw an impressive collection of steam engines), rappelled beside a thundering waterfall, visited a local township school (and lauded them with such gems as "Ain't No Mountain High Enough", "My Girl," "Build Me Up Buttercup," and other such tunes), ate indescribably delicious roasted chicken, and befriended many of the local shop owners.

And then our truck arrived!  It is large, beige, holds all 17 of us (plus our two new best friends, driver Japhet and cook Peter), and manages to get itself into the most unfathomable parking spaces.  We packed all of our bags, shoved them into the truck, and loaded ourselves into our new home.

Feeling like we were leaving old friends (especially our incredible guides, Gustav, Morris, Thulani, and Mandla), we said goodbye ("Totsiens", in Afrikaans) to Waterval Boven, and departed for the next stop on our adventure: the safari mecca of South Africa, Kruger Park.  We spent about three days in Kruger, daily taking advantage of the incredible wildlife sighting in the area (we saw, among other things, giraffes, hippos, elephants, impala, cape buffalo, a LEOPARD -- very rare -- and a lion devouring an impala).  The girls were all floored by the immediacy of the animals ("There's a giraffe RIGHT outside the window!") and the beauty of the various ecosystems of the area.

We left Kruger and stopped off at Mohloholo Wildlife Preserve, where we fed vultures peices of raw elephant, came within two feet (or closer) of a baby rhino, stared in awe at lions, cheetah, wild dogs, and a prowling leopard, and learned about the different aspects of wildlife conservation and land use in South Africa.

Our next stop was Dundee, where we had our first Study Day/Rest Day (read: sleep in and get caught up on work), celebrated our first trip birthday (Happy 16th, Mattie!), and began an epic ping-pong doubles tournament.  From Dundee, we went to the Battle of Blood River Monument, which is a history teacher's dream come true.  The Battle of Blood River was the 1838 encounter between the Voortrekkers (similar to the Pioneers of the US) and the Zulu.  At the battle site there are now two musuems (one from the Voortrekker perspective, one from the Zulu) and 64 life-sized bronzed covered wagons.  We arrived around noon, visited both museums, and then settled into a sheltered room to plan.  The girls took over, kicked the teachers out of the room, and spent two hours planning an elaborate rewriting of history: they adopted Zulu personas, the teachers were the Voortrekkers, and they challenged us to a stand-off at dawn the next morning.  We teachers snuck out at 5:00 in the morning and, armed with water balloons and sleeping bags (Africa is colder than expected!), layed in wait (in the covered wagons) for the Zulu to approach.  Then proceeded a monumental reenactment in which the girls used the innovative Zulu attack strategy and, reversing history, broke their way into the wagons and managed to get Dawn wet.  Quite the event.

We then reloaded ourselves into our truck and set off to explore the Drakensberg Mountains...or that was the plan.  We arrived at our campground on a glorious with full views of the majestic peaks that surrounded us.  We awoke the next morning to rain.  Rain, rain, and more rain.  So.  We postponed our backpacking trip, settled in to watch some African-themed movies, and waited for the rain to end.  It didn't.  Well, not entirely.  On Friday morning, half way through History class, we realized that we had a clear day, and it was imperative that we follow what has become the motto of the trip: "Carpe Diem".  So we did just that: cut history short, frantically stuffed our daypacks, and departed for the breathtaking hike around what is known as the Ampitheatre.  We ascended a steep gully, sat in awe at the sheer mountains, and descended using metal ladders.  A spontaneous, perfect day.

We had then planned to do a two-night backpacking trip around Cathedral Peak...but, you guessed it: rain with chances of thunderstorms.  So much for the backpacking trip.  Instead, we held a talent show, which, though not as physically-challenging, was equally as exciting (Jacie's impersonations of the rest of us was definitely the show-stopper...).

And now we're here in (currently cloudy) Eshowe.  We're planning several different cultural experiences: everything from a tour of the town to a visit to an orphanage to watching a traditional Zulu ceremony; the girls are ecstatic about everything that's coming.

And on that note, I am just incredibly impressed by this group: the girls are flexible, constantly enthusiastic, eager to interact with the people we meet, curious about the world through which we travel, supportive of each other, and anxious to make a difference somewhere and somehow.  We teachers all feel incredibly inspired and honored to be leading the girls through this experience: the delight on their faces as they make connections between classes or have a new realization is what it's all about.

To give you a brief description of the girls on the trip:

JUSTINE is a warm, reflective, and insightful senior from California who constantly looks well-dressed and put-together (despite living, like the rest of us, out of one backpack), and whose comments in class consistently offer new perspectives on topics we discuss.

CHRISTINE is a senior from Michigan and on her second semester at the Traveling School; because of her experience from last semester, her innate curiosity, and her intellectual drive, she is proving to be a natural leader among the girls.

KELSEY is a senior from New York who earned the nickname "TrailBlazer" on one of our hikes outside Waterval Boven.  She guided us through some tricky route-finding with ease and enthusiasm: her exuberance throughout this trip has proven necessary motivation for the group.

EMILY is a driven and eager senior from Washington state who won our first African Queen award for her clear desire to get to know our climbing guides in Waterval Boven.  She continually asks the people we encounter insightful and intelligent questions about their families, their living situations, and the areas in which they live.

CHARLOTTE is a clever and creative senior from Montana who constantly entertains the group with her witty and ingenious observations.  She balances a feirce creativity with a deep perception: the rest of the group revels in her celebrity impersonations and her rewriting of various popular songs.

HEATHER is a vibrant and engaged junior from Montana whose passion for the connections between our classes inspired her to volunteer to lead one of our Gobal Studies classes -- the rest of the girls were awed by her spirit and motivation.

LAURA is a warm, smiling, and beautiful junior from Montana whose brilliant grin never fails to lighten the group, and whose air-drumming skills at the talent show brought down the house.

BRIELLE is a bubbly and intelligent junior from New York whose exuberance and excitement motivates the whole group to be equally bright.  Along with this exuberance, she has a serious and insightful side that reveals deep reflections into and considerations of the topics we discuss both in and out of class.

RACHAEL is an insightful and helpful junior from Montana.  This is her second semester with the Traveling School and, now that she's figured out the program, she shares her knowledge and information readily with the rest of the girls, frequently offering to help others with things she has already finished.  She makes perceptive comments in class and frequently surprises the group with her spontaneous and excited thoughts (and her enthusiasm for yoga!).

MATTIE is a sparkling and chill sophomore from Montana who, after receiving a gift of "Rock Princess" shades and beads, wore her new accessories constantly for a week.  She is perceptive, intelligent, and considerate of the needs and feelings of the girls around her.

JACIE is a lively and talented sophomore from North Carolina whose previously mentioned impersonations left the whole group laughing hysterically.  Jacie also frequently blesses us with her voice: she is the lead off in our "Ain't No Mountain High" routine, and it's gorgeous.  Trust me on this one.

JENNA is a quiet and engaged sophomore from Washington state who happily surprises us with incredible stories of her travels, her dogs, ghosts, and other miscellany that she finds.  Her smile lights up her face and infects those around her.

LISA is an outgoing and adventerous sophomore from Montana whose laugh fills the truck.  She is eager about everthing: learning, playing, laughing, meeting people, and otherwise enjoying every aspect of this trip.

And there they are; our girls.

I plan to write more and send more pictures soon -- I realize that I haven't even gotten into what we're doing in the most important part of this trip: classes!  I'm going to send an update on that part of it tonight or tomorrow, but I wanted to get something out to everyone, just so you know we're all here and happy.

Off to explore Zululand!

Your South African correspondent,

Claire Hirschmann
Academic Program Director
History and English teacher

Top

October 6, 2007

Me again.  I promised you an update on our classes, and I am here to deliver.  (We're leaving for a traditional Zulu wedding in a few minutes, so this may be short -- how great is it that THAT is my excuse for brevity?)

I could talk ad nauseum about what we're doing in History, but I'll try not to.  We are simultaneously working our way through the book My Traitor's Heart (by Rian Malan), which is a white South African's account of his country -- it starts discussing basic South African history, but focuses most on the chaos in the 1970s and 1980s.  The book is a fantastic entry to the big questions about race, equality, and morality; thus far we have started hammering out such topics as, "Why do humans become violent, and what breeds hate?" and "Can we judge the actions people from a different era?"  The girls are insightful and eager to discuss these themes; it is such a pleasure to facilitate the conversations.  We're also working our way through the basics of South African history (lecturing is probably one of my favorite things to do around here, but they all seem into it) -- we've gone from the first native settlers of South Africa (about 30,000 years ago) and finished this morning's class talking about gold, diamonds, (bling), and the mineral revolution of the late 1800s.  The girls begged to go to the local museum (really -- they begged), so we're going to try to make that happen.

In Literature, we're just finishing Alan Paton's classic Cry, the Beloved Country, which tells the story of an old Zulu preacher's search for his son in urban Johannesburg, in the era just before the legalization of apartheid.  The novel was incredibly prescient (it was written before apartheid began) with its analysis of what South Africa was and would become.  The girls are also finishing their second draft of their first big writing assignment: a descriptive of an object or place that is important to them.  It's been a joy to look over their first drafts -- these girls are remarkably talented writers and are able to convey emotion and insight with their writing.  I'm also going over words of the day with them, and the girls now (already) have phenomenal vocabularies.  A sample of quotations from the girls thus far, "Arg, this is such nefarious homework," "Our method of drying dishes is antediluvian," and "I don't know how to describe it -- the visit to the orphanage was ineffable."  Positively heartwarming to hear those words popping out all around me!

As far as science goes, when we started our tour through Kruger Park, the girls were spectacular observers -- they constantly spotted the hard-to-find creatures hiding in the African Savannah (giraffes can be surprisingly camouflaged), and kept detailed records of all the animals we saw.  The girls just finished studying climate and the world's biomes (especially as they relate to the places where we've traveled).  They are now embarking on their midterm project to create their own nature park (imaginary or real), where they will have to decide everything from the park's board of directors to the animals endemic to their region to the use of natural resources within the park.  They are all pulsing with creative ideas of the inhabitants of their park (pygmies have been mentioned, as has a board of ninjas).

In Algebra 2, the girls are studying inverse functions, special functions, and are about to move to transformations.  They are also keeping a weekly budget to monitor the spending.  The class is a small one, which means the girls get a lot of attention, and are also able to make the class what they want it, which turns out to be quite exciting, at times.

In Math Applications, the girls are beginning what we like to call the Game of Life.  Each has adopted a new persona, complete with name, occupation, location, marital status, and number of children, and are now responsible for researching their characters.  They are writing cover letters for job applications, creating resumes, and preparing for mock-interviews.  They're incredibly excited about the task and finding out about various sectors of society.  They have prepared for the Game of Life (and life in general) by studying credit cards, mortgage loans, and mutual funds.  (It's the kind of class that I always want to sit in on, just to make sure that I know everything about life that I should...)

The girls are finishing studying the Zulu language, and will soon be moving onto the click-filled Xhosa.  When we were in Waterval Boven and Kruger Park, they focused on Afrikaans, and the girls are now in the process of completing children's books in Afrikaans.  Their vocabularies are impressive;  they are constantly willing to try new words and phrases with the people we meet -- "Sawubona" is the Swazi and Zulu greeting for hello, and we say it everywhere, much to the excitement of the people we greet.  The girls keep a weekly language journal in which they record all the new words they learn -- thus far, they have extremely impressive lists.

In Travel Journalism, the girls have finished talking about the qualities of taking a good picture -- they studied symmetry, the rule of thirds, and other aspects of composition.  They have also spent time working on writing composition, focusing especially on writing organization and transitions.  They are in the process of sending out their first articles about a specific day on the trip, so you should be receiving them shortly.  They are going to be starting their next article.  It's wonderful to watch the girls looking around, trying to find the great pictures, experimenting with their cameras, and otherwise processing this experience (and figuring out how to explain in to others!).

We've spent the last week in PE playing a lot of games, especially soccer.  We found this absolutely beautiful field near our hostel, and spent two perfect mornings in fierce competition.  Our cook Peter and our driver Japhet joined in, and proved to be excellent competitors.  The girls loved playing against them, and the heckling is still going on!  We also have been running, swimming, practicing yoga, and lifting weights (it's amazing what you can do with a Nalgene!).  In Nutrition class, the girls have talked about personal and travel hygiene and are now moving to carbohydrates, proteins, and fats.

Global Studies is the class that tries to pull it all together: so far, we have extensively discussed culture (African, American, as a general concept), leadership, and group dynamics.  The best example of what we do in Global Studies happened yesterday: we arranged what we called AIDS Day -- we talked about various aspects of HIV/AIDS in every class.  We started with Health, and talked about the virus itself, how it is transmitted, and what it does to the human body.  We then moved to History and went over the theories of the origin of HIV, its spread through South Africa, and how the South African government is handling the epidemic.  In Math, we discussed some of the economic causes and implications of HIV/AIDS.  Language focused on the Zulu and Xhosa words for the disease and prevention of the disease, and then the girls had a discussion of what the words reflect about the cultures' approach to all of it.  In Literature, we read narratives of individuals affected by HIV/AIDS, and then the girls wrote incredibly empathetic personal accounts of those individuals -- we were all blown away by the writing.  We ended the day with Global Studies, in which the girls artistically represented what they learned through the day: they created collages, posters, advertising campaigns, and poems.  This morning we created a gallery walk and each of the girls presented her project -- it was truly breath-taking.  (Ineffable, you might say.)

I can't express to you what a pleasure it is to be teaching your daughters: they are vibrant, enthusiastic, and soaking it all in.  They are passionate, engaged, and truly model students.  They inspire me to make my classes as interesting, challenging, and informative as possible; I know the other teachers feel exactly the same way.  Thanks for sharing them with is -- they are what make this job the joy that it is.

We are leaving for Durban this afternoon, and then will begin our trip along South Africa's wild coast.  Our access to internet will be limited for a little more than a week...until we get to Jeffrey's Bay, most likely.  I'll try to send something out from there.  Please let me know if you have any questions about anything -- I'll try to get back to you when I can!

Take care,
Claire

Top

October 15, 2007

Here it is.  The Story (deserving of a capital S, even).

I thought that my life as a history teacher had reached its pinnacle a few weeks ago when the girls spontaneously reenacted the Battle of Blood River on the actual battle site (I literally asked Heather how it could possibly get any better), but I have to admit that this recent event may have trumped it. 

Yep; it's big.  But you probably already know how it ends.  If you're so anxious you can't wait for the punchline, skip down to the * * *.  Only if you're really anxious.  It's got a pretty good lead-up...

Our story begins on a fairly normal Traveling School day: we were driving from Durban to the largish city of Umtata, and we had made arrangements to camp about thirty kilometers outside Umtata, in the small traditional Xhosa town of Qunu (famed for being the childhood home of Nelson Mandela).  It was cold and windy: really cold, really windy.  Maybe, just maybe, if our collective karma points were sufficient, we could sleep in the rondavels there.  We crossed our fingers.  When we arrived, we found that we could, in fact, sleep in the rondavels.

Excellent.

Umtata is home to the official Nelson Mandela museum, so we awoke early the next day planning to learn all about one of the most famous men in the world.  We discussed who he was and what he did, and then we decided to spend the day contemplating the "genesis of greatness" (not my phrase, unfortunately; it is coined on the back of his autobiography), and we piled into the truck.

And as we were driving back out our little dirt road, Japhet driver slyly asked me, "Did you know that he's around here?"

I did not know that he was around there.  No one knew that he was around there.

WHAT?

So I did the only logical thing to do: I leaped out of the truck and sprinted back down the little dirt road to ask the woman of the complex what exactly was going on.  She told me that Nelson Mandela (yes, THAT Nelson Mandela) was in town ("town" being an exaggeration), that he was meeting up with the ex-president of Zambia (Kenneth Kaunda, another legend), and that she knew where they were.  At this moment, just for divine effect, I imagine, three police cars drove by, sirens blaring.

WHAT?

She sent her friend to guide us, and we embarked on a most ridiculous chase.  (Cue to racing, adrenaline-inducing background music.)  Imagine, if you will, a truck the size of a large U-Haul making its excited way toward Nelson Mandela over the winding dirt roads of rural South Africa.  Seventeen female faces plastered to the windows of this truck.  The screams.  The exclamations.  Four teachers marveling at how this could possibly actually be their job.  Thirteen girls marveling at how this could possibly actually be their lives.

And then the truck stopped.

We were in a tiny parking lot in the middle of nothing but rich and rolling hills, and 300 yards away from us, a group of about fifty people were massed around what looked to be a memorial of some kind.  We sat in the truck and waited.  In silence.  Absolute silence.  We were far enough away to be unobtrusive, but we were there, nonetheless.  And as we sat in our pulsing silence, a small black car, escorted by a few police cars, passed our truck.  We could just make out the shadowy figure sitting in the back seat.

"That's Nelson Mandela," everyone felt the need to whisper at least twice.

The car passed us, joined the mass, and then.  Oh, then.  A white head, THAT white head, emerged from the car.  "That's Nelson Mandela," we all whispered again, just for good measure.

And then a policeman told us we could go closer, if we wanted to.

IF WE WANTED TO?

We quickly (still magically silently) disembarked and virtually tiptoed our way toward the famous white head.  We got to the group, and people moved to let us in.  And then we just stood there, all of us wearing the typical Traveling School outfit (some kind of fleece, mildly stained pants, and flipflops), and watched.  There he was.  THERE HE WAS.  He spoke to a few reporters, and moved to his car.  We were on one side of his car; he was on the other.  NOTHING between us but his sleek black car.

We stood ten feet away from him.

Him, NELSON MANDELA.

* * *

WE STOOD TEN FEET FROM NELSON MANDELA.

* * *

And he stood there, and we stood there, and the surreality of it all was overwhelming.  Astounding.  Inspiring.  Bewitching.

He got in his car.  Throwing decorum to the wind, we waved frantically.  (The windows were tinted.  We have no idea if he waved back.  We've decided that he did, though.  He seems like the kind of man who would wave back.)  The car departed.

And that was that.

Unbelievable.

Just thought you guys might want to know the full story...

In high praise of serendipity,
Claire

Top

October 25, 2007

I write to you from the city of Cape Town, a glowing, bustling metropolis full of cars and cultures.  On Monday, we dropped the girls off at their groupstays, and all reports since have been of massive amounts of spoiling (with real beds, shopping trips, TV watching, and other such amenities rarely found on the rest of our trip).  The girls unanimously report that after the requisite initial awkward stage, they truly love their families.

But before I get too far into that, we have some catching up to do.

(To begin, let me just say a few things: when we left Eshowe, where I last wrote, we went to Durban.  In Durban, we said goodbye to our beloved cook, Peter, and welcomed the last addition to our trip, our new cook Crispen.  Crispen is a wonderful man from Zimbabwe who speaks almost like he's singing -- which is appropriate: his totem animal is the Lilac-Breasted Roller bird.  His food is delicious, his kitchen is impeccable, and his personality is absolutely charming.  Crispen has been part of almost every Traveling School Africa semester, and our group is now complete.)

And then happened an event so monumental it deserves its own email.  So I'm going to do just that: send you all a second email.  Suffice it to say that we stayed in a small town by the name of Qunu, and then we then proceeded to Hole in the Wall, a gorgeous coastal enclave where we got to catch up on work, scream poetry off rocks into the crashing Indian Ocean waves, and otherwise try to make sense of the incredible event.

Trekking our way along the southern coast of the country, we next stopped in Jeffrey's Bay, the thriving surf mecca of South Africa.  The girls went crazy.  First, they went crazy surfing.  The girls are all naturals: all of the stood up at least once (which is an incredible accomplishment for beginning surfers), and were fantastically devoted to it.  They cheered each other on, caught at least a hundred waves on their knees, bellies, or feet, and positively glowed throughout.  They continued glowing as they stormed the factory outlets of Jeffrey's Bay -- every girl now as at least one new addition to her wardrobe!  Other highlights of the stay included going out to a movie (Hairspray), completing a Language scavenger hunt and learning new Xhosa and Afrikaans songs, and massive shell-collecting from the pristine beaches.

Continuing along the Garden Route, the safari truck stopped in Tsitsikamma National Park. Our campsite was only a few (but significant) rock outcroppings away from the crashing, spraying ocean.  We're talking huge waves, here.  Like cannon shots.  We did an afternoon hike along the coast line, and arrived, gasping and ecstatic, at a 50 meter waterfall.  Several of the girls climbed up next to the waterfall and serenaded the rest of us (and the ocean) with a medley of cheesy love songs.

Getting closer to Capetown brought us closer to midterms, and we spent the night before exams in the tiny town of Swellendam.  That same night, South Africa reached the culminating point of a journey that had sparked great pride, great debate, great ire, great passion throughout our trip.  Rugby, my friends.  Rugby.  The Springboks of South Africa played Britain in the championship game of the World Cup.  Think Yankees-Red Sox, here.  We're talking OLD rivalries.  At around 10pm the girls were finishing up their final studying when a roar echoed from the downtown area of the city (a good mile and a half away).  The roar continued for a solid hour (punctuated by horns, shouting, and sirens)...guess who won.

(South Africa!)

Our last stop en route to Capetown was Cape Agulhas, nothing other than the southernmost tip of Africa.  It is at this point that the Atlantic Ocean meets the Indian Ocean, and we will all attest that there is absolutely no color difference between the two.  The girls again screamed poetry (this time mostly memorized), sending it simultaneously to India, South America, and Antarctica. 

And now we're in Cape Town.  When we arrived, we stopped by Sharon Cupido's house, where we were all greeted with massive amounts of mail (thank you thank you thank you), warm freshly-baked doughnuts from Sharon's mother (known to all as Ma), and warm hugs.  Clutching their bags, envelopes, and boxes, the girls dispersed to their new homes and settled into the aforementioned pampering.

So that's where we are now.  The future holds wonders: the service project, a visit to Robben Island (Nelson Mandela's prison and home for almost 25 years), the Cape Town planetarium, and then...a new country.  Yep.  On November 6th, we will be leaving our beloved South Africa and entering Namibia.

But we've got some things to do here first.

Hope all is well back on the home front.  We miss you.

Much love,
Claire & the Girls

Top