Day 7

8:50 PM
Cape Town, ZA

Our morning started out bright and early heading up through the mountains to go whale watching. The drive was beautiful, but scary at the same time! The view was amazing (again, sorry you all have to wait to see the pictures!). At one point in the drive, we were stopped due to "monkey crossing" when a family of about 15 baboons crossed the road in front of us. It was definetly a first time experience for Katie and me! The male baboons were huge, and the female had a baby on her back, and about 10 other little ones playing and running behind. It was awesome! We drove to the ocean to go whale watching, and stopped at several places on the way. It was freezing, but we managed to see a lot more whales than are usually present! At one point there were about 10 whales in the bay. July and August are the months when the female whales try to find a spot near the bay to give birth (a process which takes 2 weeks, ouch...). August is usually the month when the birthing process actually takes place, so we got really lucky! After stopping for a hot chocolate, which turned out to be just hot milk, but all the same with freezing hands (yes, it was this cold), we stopped at another favorite point of Andrew's. We had to hike up some large rocks to get closer, but we saw many whales very very close to the shore here and also a new baby whale. They would blow their spouts and roll over! It was incredible to sit and watch these massive creatures. Right before we were about to leave, a huge wave came and engulfed us from the rock we were sitting on. Luckily by this time it was much warmer, but we were drenched in saltwater. It was quite the experience!
We continued driving through the mountains down into 'Wine Country' where we visited two wineries that were fabulous. I bought a bottle of my favorite, so if anyone would like to try some, let me know when I get home! The views from both wineries were amazing.
From the wineries, we drove to a small local deli for a cheese tasting. Katie and I had hinted that we both love cheese and both had really enjoyed what South African cheese we'd tasted so far. We tasted 4 delicious cheeses, most of which I wish would survive a 37 hour trip home Thursday and Friday! Wish I could bring these back for everyone to taste as well!

This place is incredibly beautiful, and I wish you all were here to enjoy it with us.

Missing everyone, and see you soon!
K

Day 6

9:24 pm
Cape Town, ZA

What a day! I'm almost two exhausted to write, which is bad considering Katie and I will be getting up at 6 am for another exciting day! We started out the day going down to Victoria Port, which is right on the Atlantic Ocean and the main port for Cape Town. There we walked around and went in the little shops. After that we drove to a local meat restaurant in a Township (where you're not supposed to go haha) and ate with the locals. It was amazing! You walked into this little butcher shop type area, picked out what kind of meat you wanted, and then watched them cut it and season it, and throw it on the fire right in front of you. Not only was it the best meat I've ever had, but it was an awesome experience as well. They don't sell beverages, but the local people have started selling bottles of beer from their homes. Shortly after finishing our huge meals, a local came over and asked us to join their party a few tables down. There were about 15-20 local people our age that worked together at an Italian restaurant in town out celebrating the day off (for Women's Day, a national holiday!). They were drinking heavily, but we decided to join them anyway. They were a really fun group, and it was nice to be around some locals our age, although I probably poured 4 tequila shots on the ground. Not much for drinking tequila at 2pm! Katie and I witnessed our first crack snorting, which creeps me out completely, and the girl tried to cover it up after noticing Katie and me looking at her like she was crazy with "It's nothing, just for a headache!" Right... Shortly after Katie and I decided to leave. Andrew took us back to the hostel, where we decided to do some exploring on our own. We walked several blocks to the local market, where locals sell African goods. We used our AWESOME bargaining skills to get some great deals :) After that we decided to talk a few more miles, well... many more miles! back to the pier to watch the sun set and eat some dinner. The sun set was beautiful! We grabbed some pasta, which was also delicious, and headed home (by cab, don't worry...!) We have a big day tomorrow, so I'm headed to bed. I'll add pictures once I get home, but because I'm using a public computer this is impossible at the moment. Sorry, I really wish you all could see the beautiful things I'm seeing while reading this! It's an incredible city.

Much love,
K

Day 5-Day 6

8:00 am
Cape Town, South Africa!!

There is no wireless, so I'll be posting from a public computer in the common areas.

After an awesome flight yesterday (we got sandwhiches and wine on a 3 hour flight, South African airways sure beats anything in the States!) we were picked up by one of Katie's friends from the ERs friend Andrew. He is Australian, and owns a hostel in Cape Town, so we're staying there. He didn't take any bookings this week or tours, so he's our own personal tour guide! We're lucky! The sun was setting as we were driving to the hostel, and it was absolutely beautiful! I love Cape Town already! Once we got settled in last night we went to a local pub to celebrate one of Andrew's friends birthdays. I guess you were paid in South Africa to open a business around the time of the world cup, so his friend had a brand new pub that was small but nice. Katie and I had our first South African beer, which was actually very good! (I'm legal here, which makes it even better!) We also had our first South African jello shot, and some orange fruity shot, which may have been guava juice? But they passed as well! Haha.
Today it is freezing and raining. I've been told by friends back home that this is much better than the humidity you all are dealing with right now? I woke up shivering and to the sound of rain, also to the sound of some animal Katie and I think may be a monkey, but we'll find out for sure. We were supposed to hike Table Mountain this morning and take the cable car down, but due to the weather we changed our days and plans around a bit, and will be going to the markets this morning. For lunch we'll be going to a meat restaurant, which I'm sure Katie will love. At the restaurant, you chose the meat you want, and they prepare and take it off of the animal right in front of you and then barbecue it. Should be fun!

Miss and love everyone back home! Hope you're enjoying the heat ;)
K

Day 4

7:15 pm
Johannesburg, ZA

Coolest day by far today, and it definitely made up for all the other moments I've been not so happy with Joburg. I knew the day was going to be good when we actually got picked up on time. Well kind of, the driver called asking if it would be okay if we were picked up at 9 instead of 8:30 this morning. Katie and I were a little worried... but he showed up at exactly 9am. We headed out for the safari first, followed by Sterkfontein Caves, where the first human ancestors were discovered in the 60's (Mrs. Ples).

The safari was awesome. We drove around for about three hours, and saw many many animals- zebras, lots of lions, giraffes, antelope, wildebeest, springbok, cheetahs, and hyenas. It was amazing. The giraffes came up to us, and made me feel really short (not that that's hard...). At the end, there was an area where you could pet a lion cub. Katie and I may have gotten gnawed on a little, but it was so cute. We contemplated taking it home but decided that wouldn't go over very well... (haha.)
The caves were very interesting. It is thought that the ancient hominids were looking for water,fell in a hole that led to the cave, and died there. Their remains were found 4 million years later. There are still eexcavations going on today.

We realized we supported the drug habits of our tour guide today after noticing his one very long finger nail and a pot leaf necklace hanging on his rear view mirror...

Katie and I had beautiful weather, and a great last full day in Joburg. We fly out to Cape Town tomorrow afternoon, and I can't wait!

Hugs,
K

Day 3 continued.

8:40 pm
Johannesburg, ZA

Note to self: 15 minutes in Joburg time= 4 hours.

Yep, waited that long for a driver to pick me up. I was really frustrated and not a very happy camper this morning/afternoon. (Understatement). Joburg is apparently the type of city where you must take tours everywhere. It's not very tourist friendly, nor friendly towards the type of people like me who hate tours. I eventually got picked up by a young man in his car, which made me really really nervous, but even more nervous when he started talking about how he was going to drop me off at Constitution Hill to meet up with another driver. When we got there, I refused to leave the vehicle. He went to find the other tour guide, who had taken some other people from the Pediatrics Conference on the same tour. They both came over to get me as I sat completely frightened in the car. The tour was not what I signed up for, but I was just glad to be doing something other than sitting in the hotel.

Constitution Hill is an old prison as well as the present day High Court site. Gandhi and Nelson Mandela were both prisoners in this prison, so it was pretty interesting to see.
The High Court is much much smaller than ours, and is located in a beautiful building. Africans live by the saying "Underneath the trees," so everything in the building is centered around this. It's pretty spectacular. After this we drove to Soweto, a township built to answer the overpopulation outbreaks when gold was discovered in ZA. The township is hardly what I think of when I hear township (Hazel Green, WI anyone?). It does house Nelson Mandela's former home. The homes (including Mandela's) all look like one bedroom shacks. In Soweto is the soccer stadium where the final World Cup game was held. Our guide said he believes that once the hype of the World Cup blows over, the city will be dead again. The students in Joburg get out of school early on Fridays to remember the students that were killed while defending freedom. It's neat, they get to go to the museums and monuments and just hang out there. If they are really using these Fridays to celebrate their freedom and those who died for it, it's awesome. Otherwise, who wouldn't enjoy a half day of school every Friday?

Safari tomorrow and archaeological site, and after a rough night of sleep last night and a bad morning I could really use some catching up!
Love and miss you all,
K

Day 3 and still waiting.

10:30 am
Johannesburg, ZA

I've decided that time means nothing in South Africa, as in Costa Rica. We ran into this problem over winter break last year when Katie and I went to Costa Rica, but it's even worse here. I scheduled a bus to take me to Soweto and then to the Apartheid Museum and several other places in Joburg. They didn't call me last night with a pick up time, so I called this morning around 8 am. They said they would be there in 15 minutes, which meant I had no time to shower, but just enough time to look decent. I sat in the lobby for 45 minutes, until I could no longer stand the awkward conversation one of the male employees was putting me through. He was one of about 10 guys that has asked if Katie and I were twins during the 3 days we have been here. Every one of these men has told us that we must thank our parents for good genes. (Thanks Mom and Dad...) Katie and I discussed yesterday if maybe we should just start saying we are twins to save ourselves the trouble. Anyway, it seems like where ever in the world I go, foreign men have a fascination with American women and want to know everything about the States. I remember being 12 and walking the streets of Paris with my Mom and having men whistle at us. Keep in mind I haven't grown an inch since I was 12 and probably look pretty similar. Maybe? Haha. Anyway, when I get nervous I usually fidget with my ring, something my family has reminded me that my Grandma Egan once did. Weird how those little things get passed on huh? This man noticed I was doing this (which is also weird...few people notice I do this) and said, "Well you must feel nervous." YEP. To say the least. Ha. At this point I excused myself to call the bus company again for the 5th time, to get the same response of, "We'll be there in 15 minutes." The hotel staff has been very very nice and helpful, probably, again, because I am a young white American girl. But aside from that, even if Joburg residents can't tell time, at least they are friendly and helpful.

15 minutes= 3 hours in Joburg time.

Still waiting. Hopefully I'll get to leave the hotel room today!

K

Day 2

Day 2...
8:26 pm Johannesburg, ZA

Note to self: When the country drives on the left side of the road, it means you must walk on the left side too.

I'm not sure why I didn't remember this from London many years ago, but I realized it quickly after a trip to the Sandburg Mall, Africa's largest (and most expensive) shopping area. I ventured away from the convention center Katie was presenting at for a few hours and in the few hours I was gone probably got lost about 20 times. As soon as I found my way, I went back to the convention center, and note to my Mom and Cullen, you guys should be proud of me, I purchased no articles of clothing. :) Maybe I am learning!

Big day tomorrow seeing Soweto and the Apartheid museum, as well as much more of Joburg.

Night all,
K

South Africa!

8:40 PM Johannesburg, ZA

We're finally here! After a long 30 hour flight, we finally made it to Joburg, and our hotel. We found out that we have to pay for internet (poo!). It's 100R which is about $15 for 120 minutes. Hopefully that goes a long ways... Katie and I decided it was like going to see a movie? Or something like that...
I slept on the flight (no surprise there to the ones that know me the best!). Oddly, it went by pretty quickly! We got three meals, which were all disgusting. Thank God for the Qdoba grilled chicken salad I purchased at the Atlanta airport. Everyone was envious when I walked on the plane. First class passengers were offering me their seat in exchange for the salad... haha.
After arriving in Joburg, we got in a cab van to our hotel. They drive on the left hand side of the road, and also drive in the right side of the vehicle. London anyone? Good thing Katie and I didn't rent a car... Who knows how that would have turned out with my past driving record? wink wink.
Our hotel is really nice, and I'm pumped for the free breakfast in the morning. Katie stayed at the same hotel chain for a few days when she was in Africa with the United Nations and she said it's amazing. After all the airplane food, I could use a little something delicious!


Keeping this short and sweet while pretending I have jet lag, which may be impossible after sleeping for 20 some hours.

Missing everyone, and lots of love from South Africa,
K

The Little Kiddos!

What a handful these kiddos are! The past 6 weeks (which flew by) have introduced me to a new world that includes constantly being surrounded by little people with wild imaginations and sharp personalities, and where recess is no longer considered just play time, but also a break for the teachers. These crazy little things have personalities that are amazing, and they surprised me everyday with something new. Overall these kids are incredible and I love them all!

The first week of class we gave each kid the assessment screener they received in March that determined their need for the K-Ready program. After doing this, we compared the results from the March test and the test we gave to look for any changes. The improvement in some was drastic. Apparently it took a piece of paper for some parents to realize just how far behind their children were. Our goal is to make sure we make up for lost time and close the gap. It's amazing how much more intellegent these kids are when you take them away from the distractions of their peers. For instance, one of the trouble makers acts out in class frequently, and refuses to listen to directions. However, he was able to identify all of his letters, count to the required 30, drew a picture way ahead of his developmental stage, and grouped and identified shapes his peers wouldn't have dreamed of. Speaking of developmental stages, this kiddo is a prime example of Nature vs. Nurture. He clearly is naturally smart, yet lacks the structure and support at home to help nurture this. It is our hope that we can bring him up to pace emotionally and behaviorally so that he does not slip through the cracks once in middle school and high school. He is completely the type of student that you hear of all too frequently, the minority boy who is completely capable of a 4.0 GPA yet is expelled early on in high school to never return to an educational setting. Someone is going to need to go the extra mile later on in his education to help this boy go places. Unfortunately we can only do so much at such a young age, which is pretty frustrating to think about. We make all of this progress at school, but all too frequently it's lost the minute they go home.

My favorite perk to teaching 4 and 5 year olds, the constant hugs. It's gotten so I don't even mind the little girls that won't sleep unless I let them sleep on my lap (which makes for a long time to fall asleep during nap time when I have to get to all five of them!) or the little girl who tries to run away in hysterics every day after recess and will only be calmed when I hold her in my arms. Conveniently she instantly falls asleep once in my arms. I love it. The other teachers have been asking what my secret is! One of the girls (well more like all of them, but one in particular!) will cling to anything that walks and talks. My mom brought me lunch one day, and this little girl went up to her and held her hand and would not let her move an inch away from her- after just meeting her. It's amazing. Love these little ones.

Catching Up... 6/18

In my first post I said I'd keep this up as frequently as possible, time permitting. Little did I know, 4 and 5 year olds are much more exhausting than I could have imagined and could have the potential to turn my bed time into 10 pm (at the latest). After an 8.5 hour work day, all I want to do is eat, run, be around adults, and get a full 8 hours of sleep (in that order). This makes for little time doing other important things that I should be keeping up with... but I'll try to fill you in on the whirlwind of my past two weeks.

We saw our classroom for the first time on June 18th. Huegel Elementary School is shaped like a space ship and old, to say the least, making for an interesting first day trying to find which classroom was ours. We stumbled upon a teeny tiny room used for Occupational Therapy and Speech Therapy, and after checking our maps several times we discovered every teacher's nightmare: teaching in a classroom the size of a closet. My class would be one of the biggest K-Ready classrooms at Huegel with thirteen kids. The classroom was only slightly larger than my bedroom at my apartment, which is pretty small. To make matters worse, the classroom was NOT ready for 4 and 5 year olds that following Monday. The OT/PT items were everywhere, and the janitor very apologetically informed us that they didn't even think this was going to be used as a classroom. Each K-Ready classroom was to be equipped with mini tables and chairs as well as a full kitchen play set, games, puzzles, a carpet, and everything else you would find in any decent Kindergarten classroom. Red flag numero uno, we had none of these. The janitors were great, and while we removed the furniture, exercise equipment, and computers from our classroom, they set out for a hunt around Huegel to find us some furniture and (hopefully) some play sets. Because Ms. Feneis is a new graduate and I obviously have never taught before, our personal supplies were limited to the paper folder games we made in training. After a while we found ourselves asking if this was a joke.

The other teachers at Huegel are amazing, and luckily some of them let us go shopping in their 'real' classrooms that they use during the school year. Here we found several games, puzzles, storage devices, and some play supplies. Slowly, 2 small carpets and furniture started appearing in our classroom. We crossed our fingers that we would have tall students as the janitors delivered chairs meant for 3rd graders to our classroom. We begged the janitors to search for a kitchen set (a Kindergarten staple!) after they notified us that there were at least 3 classrooms without one and MMSD wasn't giving us anymore. They eventually surprised us with a very old half of a kitchen set. We decided we only received this because they felt pretty sorry for us and our circumstances. The pitty cry works every time! Our classroom gradually came together and by 4 pm we were (almost) ready for Monday and 13 students to enter our little closet of a room. As hard as it was to be optimistic, we decided that with an unusually large number of kiddos qualifying for K-Ready this summer, the circumstances could have been worse. Right?

That weekend I decided to try my skills at garage saling, and conveniently, on my run I noticed an awesome garage sale with what looked to be age appropriate items a few blocks up from my apartment. I had heard that teachers buy most of their supplies out of pocket (MMSD teachers have a yearly budget of $125, a little ridiculous.) but I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I discovered that garage sales would probably be my best friend for the rest of my life as I found tons of toys, puzzles, an awesome toy Dirt Devil vacuum cleaner which actually makes the vacuuming noise (I tried it on my carpet in my apartment and much to my disappointment, it doesn't really work), a mini lawn mower (unfortunately this doesn't work either...), a small table, and a red plastic fire chief hat (a staple of course). I'd like to mention I got this all for the small amount of $35. I've always been a bargain shopper! The only other garage sale I've been to as an adult I snagged an awesome 12 piece knife set for $3 and a full dish set for $20. It's a mix of talent and skill. I decided my classroom was set after I had pretty much cleared out the entire garage sale. For this the ladies loved me and even let me go home, get my wallet, and make several trips back to my apartment. My mom was also thrilled, as this now meant she had to make room to store these 'supplies' until I someday have my own classroom.

Things were slowly starting to look up for my 13 students and their closet of a classroom they would be spending 8 hours a day in, 5 days a week for the next 6 weeks. If all else fails I guess they got a cool vacuum out of the deal?

training weeks

I'm almost done with my second and last week of training (finally!) and so excited to have students on Monday. I'm paired up with a new graduate from good old UW-Whitewater, Michela Feneis. She long term subbed in a preK classroom Spring semester, so has a little experience with four and five year olds (more than me anyway!). I feel like AmeriCorps has me prepared fully for the K-Ready program this summer, and I'm very impressed with the awesome program. Lucky for me, she's letting me take part in making the lesson plans as there aren't really any for us other than a general schedule/ideas of what to do. The four and five year old's days are structured into two parts with the morning focusing on Math and Literacy, and the afternoon orientated around the Madison Schools and Community Recreation department (another great program promoting fitness in young kids around Madison, much needed). The past two weeks we have been getting training in math and literacy teaching as well as conflict resolution training and ESL training (as most of the kids come from non English speaking homes, however my class is not considered a bilingual classroom). Luckily I can speak a little Spanish...and also lucky for me I took Human Development 320 so I know exactly...well, to a certain extent... what to expect of the behaviors and emotions of 4 and 5 year olds.

I'm not sure if you've heard of the STARS program in Madison, but it was started by a Leipold teacher 21 years ago targeting students who were significantly behind due to lack of instruction at home. My classroom is one of two classrooms in the summer program (which has 380 students this year, a record high for MMSD...) that targets students who have tested into the lowest category in their kindergarten screening tests as well as obvious problems in the home. It hasn't really been made clear to us what happens after the first week of instruction, but we do know that for an hour and a half each day the parents of our students will be joining us in the classroom for instruction on how to teach their kids at home (aka teach them basic skills such as recognizing their names). In addition to the parents joining us, social workers will be on staff in our classroom on Monday. Many of these kids come from troubled backgrounds and home lives, so it's awesome to know that we are actually targeting the problem, rather than teaching these kids things that we know they will just go home and neither be reminded of or reinforced. I'm really impressed with the STARS program as well as MMSD and AmeriCorps thus far and think and hope that it will make as big of an impact on the kiddos as I'm expecting.

and so we begin...

After being asked by a former professor, Joyce Hemphill (take her if you get the chance, she's incredible!), to be a guess lecturer next semester in her Human Growth and Development classes on my experiences working for AmeriCorps this summer, I decided it would be a good idea to keep some sort of a journal. I contemplated keeping a journal in a composition notebook, but couldn't find it in myself to sit and physically write something each night, or even weekly. Typing has always been much easier ;) This blog is mostly for my convenience to record memories and experiences and reference to in the future, however I hope you enjoy reading of my experiences in the process.

Every job I have had, essentially, has been in the health care field. Working as a CNA, an EMT, and currently a Pharmacy Tech certainly have not prepared me to work with four and five year olds. After an amazing experience tutoring second and third graders Spring semester, my volunteer placement coordinator suggested I apply for a job teaching through AmeriCorps this summer. This is what I knew of the job: Students are screened in Madison prior to entering Kindergarten in the fall. The students that are red flagged for being significantly behind in many areas necessary for success in Kindergarten are recommended to take a K-Ready summer school program, offered by the Madison Metropolitan School District (MMSD) and AmeriCorps and Schools of Hope (two AMAZING programs). Not really knowing what I was getting into, I decided to give it a shot and get my feet wet. After all, who wouldn't want to spend their summer with a bunch of four and five year olds.

Obviously, I got the job, straying me away from health care for the first time in my life. Cullen reminded me frequently when we would see an extremely annoyed and stressed out (not to mention underpaid) teacher walking around with fifteen little kiddos that certainly that would be the ideal way to spend the summer, right? Let's hope he's wrong this time ;)