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We arrived home on Hans's 15th birthday - Dec 16th after something like 32 hours of travel. We are still dealing with jet lag and although we were not completely ready to come home, it is great to see Mark and Maja!

We hope you have enjoyed reading about our travels. Our goal is to put together a slide show to share with family and friends. We'll let you know when that is ready.

Deb

Snorkeling

A turtle tour was fascinating. From 9PM to 1AM we travelled the beach in a big safari vehicle. We saw two loggerhead turtles making nests, laying eggs and return to the Indian Ocean. We learned that the turtles return to the same beach where they were born (15-20 years earlier) to lay their own eggs. Although the picture doesn't show it well, the turtles were about 4 feet long. One turtle laid nearly 65 eggs and only 1 of those will survive to adulthood.

We also took the kids on a snorkeling tour one morning. Six of the eight of us got seasick and asked to return early! The waves were high and shortly after our boat returned they canceled all other outgoing trips that day. Thankfully after a few hours on land, we felt better. We had a blast examining the tidepools and renting snorkeling gear the next day to explore underwater (near shore). We were rewarded with a huge school of sardines, many colorful fish and corals, a squid, eels and an octopus. It is the 2nd most popular diving area in the world - they say. I was pleased at how comfortable the water temperature was - about 26 C.

Deb

St Lucia

With much of our volunteer work wrapping up, we decided to head to the east coast for a week of exploring. Michele and I and the 6 kids camped in the St. Lucia Estuary and Sodwana Bay areas. We saw rhino, crocodile, hippos, many birds and monkeys. The kids enjoyed exploring the beaches for snails, crabs and shells. We had a guide for a hike through the grasslands and enjoyed his local knowledge and Zulu lore.

Deb

g33k$ perform well

The g33k$ participated in the South African FLL tournament and met two of their big goals. They achieved a perfect 400 on the board. They asked for a copy of the score sheet so they could frame it (shown in the photo)! They also got first place at the event and were given the opportunity of attending the FLL World Festival in St. Louis in April 2011. They are all so excited to have some more time to work and play together this spring. They will continue to do outreach and mentoring in their respective communities and meet with each other over Skype every week. It was a fun event and a great way to wrap up our season together.

Deb

Camping

We went camping with friends for the weekend. The kids were introduced to a game called Claylot which looked to me like " gather clay from the river and throw it at someone." They all seemed to have a good time even though they were filthy! The frogs sang to us at night and it was deafening. It sounded like a million frogs and my eardrums were actually sore. The kids also baked "stick bread" over the fire and had a watermelon seed spitting contest. We feel lucky to have friends to spend time with.

Deb

Thanksgiving

We spent Thanksgiving with a group of HIV positive orphans at St. John's. I am sure it will remain in my memory as my best Thanksgiving ever. I cannot explain the feeling I had when Annika, Zac and I were making apple pie with 5 of the children and one 12 year-old-boy (his name is Surprise) said to me, "Deb, I am so glad you are here with us today." And then his smile. Also when the girl named Pretty realized we did not have to measure our ingredients exactly....the smile and sparkle that came over her face as she shook and shook the cinnamon shaker! And when Nkosi noticed me snitching a little piece of apple, the smirk he had and then he copied me and laughed. The pureness of those moments are priceless. It was an amazing day. These children have really stolen my heart. Our schedule is busy but we plan to get back there at least 2 more times before we leave. I wish they lived down the street from me so I could see them often.

Deb

Mpumalanga FLL Tournament

The FLL tournament took place last weekend. It was a lot of fun for participants and spectators and really nice for this area to host their own tournament. By all accounts it was a success. Six teams from the area will be participating in the national tournament on Dec 4th. Hans and Annika's team happens to be one of them so we are excited about having another opportunity to earn a 400 on the board. Their scores were 350, 360 and 375. We took a lot of video but have little bandwidth so we cannot post anything for you to see. I have several favorite moments 1) When one of the first year teams we were mentoring (Robo Docs) achieved their highest score possible (275) - on their final board run and ended up taking the 2nd place robot performance award; 2) When my team so willingly coordinated the clean up while the judges were deliberating (and many other children then joined in) and then the look on the FLL coordinators face when he realized all his work was done for the day; and 3)the words of appreciation from so many teams for the work we have been doing with them over the course of our stay. I get a very hopeful feeling from people here about what they are planning and expecting for next year.

The kids here have all just finished their 2-3 week exam period and are off school until January 12th I think. This means my team will have some very focused time together finally! They have all been out at the farm with us for the last 36 hours. Games like kick-the-can and Ninja's along with watching Pink Panther 2 fill in their time together away from the robot and skit revamping. They enjoy each other and it is such a treat for them to be together. Although all teams have some struggles, this team has really been easy to work with. And it has been such a great thing to have both my kids on the same team. I really worried about that initially but overall is has been a very good decision. Annika has really learned a lot and grown into an important, contributing member of the team...not bad for a 12 year old with 14-16 year olds....one of whom is her brother!

This weekend we will camp with Liezel and Pieter's family as well as Marietjie's family. Then on Sunday we will join Liezel and Pieter's church for a potluck and short service. We realize we have a long list of things we still want to do before we leave......

Deb

Half marathon, bug and LEGO

Michele and I, and our new friend Marietjie (along with her friend Cora), walked a half marathon as part of the Kaapsehoop 3 in 1 event. We laugh at ourselves because once we decided to do this we only got one day of "training" in. If the weather had been less foggy and rainy we might have seen wild horses or giraffes. Although we made it, our bodies were not happy for a few days afterward! I learned that it is important to choose one's underwear carefully prior to undertaking an event like this. :) We were surprised by the number of people participating in the 10K,half and full marathons - over 1500. We were not surprised when we were passed by some of the fastest runners doing the full marathon. They were impressive athletes.

Hans and Michele seemed to have picked up an intestinal bug or gotten into some bad food/water. They are racing each other to the bathroom. We are hopeful it will not go through the rest of us especially with the tournament coming up on Saturday. Last night the team got their first perfect score on the board - 400 points. They are feeling hopeful for their big day. They have also learned that at the SA championship in December the top three finishers have other post season opportunities. The first place team will compete in a tournament in St. Louis in April, the second place team will go to a championship event in Europe and the third place team will go to Thailand. They are excited about these possibilities!

This morning we woke up to see 14 vervet monkeys hanging out in the trees just outside our front door. They were enjoying the fruit on the palm trees and the flower buds on another tree nearby. We are getting rain just about every day now so things are really turning green and in bloom.

Deb

Cave

We enjoyed exploring an old mining cave/tunnel in a nearby town called Barberton. It was about 800 m long and flashlights were definitely needed. It has been raining a lot so we had to navigate a few large puddles and also encountered a few disoriented bats.

Our LEGO tournament takes place in 6 days so we are gearing up for a busy week. There will be 16 teams from the area competing. Three other tournaments have been held across South Africa already. The high score is 225 (out of 400). The g33k$ think they have a good chance at getting 400 by next week....we'll see as they often feel confident going into the regional tournament and then something unexpected comes up.

In many ways our time is passing too quickly with just over 4 weeks remaining. Perhaps when the LEGO commitments scale back it will feel like it is time to come home. Michele and I plan to take the kids to the coast for the final week after the SA championship LEGO tournament takes place on Dec 4th. We have 2 nights booked at a hostel and 5 nights at a campsite. We hope to see turtles laying eggs on the beach and do some snorkeling and seeing the sights.

Deb

Swaziland and school visits

We camped at Molotja Nature Reserve in Swaziland last week and had a great time exploring a new country. The people are very friendly and the scenery is gorgeous. It is one mountain after another. When fully loaded our van does not have a lot of "get up and go", so we chug along at 40 km/h most of the time. As the roads are not all paved and endure one logging truck after another, our ride was quite bumpy. We enjoyed our visit to the glass factory where we observed artisans blowing into long tubes to form beautiful vases, wine glasses and bowls. The kids also spent time watching the crafters carve animals from wood and rock.

Homeschooling has gotten more and more hands-on as we have found two more schools to serve through literacy and robotics. We read stories at a government school last week and made a donation of some books. There were 257 children standing at attention while we read out loud. As the kids struggle with our accents, I read the page and then a boy from the school read the page out loud to the group. The youngest children (below grade 3) don't really have a lot of experience in English so now I understand all the blank looks while reading. It wasn't until I showed the pictures that the children's faces looked engaged and showed enjoyment.

The other school we have adopted is at an orphanage. The children are all HIV positive and live at the center run by two nuns from the states and one from somewhere in eastern Europe. We built lego fans and merry-go-rounds with the oldest 9 children one morning and then spent some time read to and with each of them. It is a neat experience when I look up from the Curious George book I am reading to see each of our 6 kids sitting with one or two children reading aloud from books friends and relatives donated to give to children here. The kids LOVE the books. We hope to spend significant time there over the coming weeks. There is a boy named Victor with whom I am especially enamored. He has a quick mind and an engaging smile with manners that are heartwarming. The kids sang the World Cup theme song for us and while they were singing, "when I get older, I will be stronger, they'll call me freedom just like a wavin' flag" I got a bit teary. It is hard to think of what kind of future these kids have.


Deb

Haircut

I got a much needed haircut today. The gentleman who cut my hair was a well-seasoned Afrikaaner who has lived a full life. It was fascinating to get the local scoop on the Pick-n-Pay (large grocery store chain) strike, hear about the bird that is stalking hummingbirds in his wife's flower pot, learn about the best beaches to visit on the Elephant Coast for our trip in December and get his recommendations on places to visit in Swaziland. He told me there is a bird that spears its prey onto the large thorns on a certain kind of tree to feast on later and that the crocodiles are very dangerous at night in a certain estuary having recently eaten several people. I enjoyed our conversation very much.

Perhaps the highlight of my day though was the experience I had while getting my hair washed at the shop. The woman scrubbed my head (not the quick dab on some shampoo, smear it around a little and then barely rinse it out treatment I am used to at my local hair salon back home) but really scrubbed it, then she combed in conditioner and then gave me a full head massage. This lasted a full 15 minutes. It was decadent and I left her a large tip...even more than I left the guy doing the cutting! I think I may need another hair cut next week.

Deb

Practice tournament

Yesterday we hosted practice tournament for the 16 teams in our area. We had 8 teams show up which was pretty good considering how things have been going. Some of the teams are struggling to get practices in where more than one or two kids can attend. It is interesting that teams that are led by parents are moving along quite well but teams that are led by teachers are having trouble finding time. Teachers here are quite busy teaching school during the day and running after school activities in the afternoons (schools are out around 1:15PM). The teachers that are coaching FLL also coach cricket, chess, theatre, arts and cultures, etc plus have meetings with parents and all the other duties that go along with being teachers.

My team (the g33k$) provided mentoring during the day while I helped train volunteers for judging at the tournament we are hosting on Nov 20th. The program runs a bit differently here and since it is relatively new there is a lot for people (and me!) to learn. It was a great day for the kids and I am hopeful those attending recognized areas to work on for the next 3 weeks in preparation for their tournament. Perhaps the best part of the day was meeting parents of the kids we have been working with weekly. These parents are likely to become part of the core group that will continue to develop this program in future years. One dad is ready to take over a team and start practicing in his garage this week. Many parents commented on how great a program FLL is...how it gives their child a chance to think differently than they are used to in school. A judge commented how it allows kids opportunities to talk with adults and researchers about real world problems. She also felt that kids in South Africa are at a disadvantage compared to American kids as far as overall educational opportunities. She believes that kids here are not encouraged to think about their role in "real world" problems.

Our days will change starting this week as kids here are entering exams. Their school year ends soon (end of Nov) and they have finals every other day. On exam days they only attend school for their exam and the rest of the day is spent at home. On days without exams they don't attend school at all. So we will start going to town much earlier in the day to work with teams. Typically we have our school in the AM and go in for our service learning in the afternoons. Hope our kids all adjust well to this change as we have asked them to adjust to much already. Overall, though, for 6 kids and 2 moms to do what we are doing things are going GREAT!

Happy Halloween everyone. We might make caramel apples today, but otherwise Halloween is not celebrated here. We can't find a can of pumpkin puree as we wanted to make pumpkin bars.

Deb

g33k$

Annika and Hans's robotics team is studying the bionic eye for their research project this year. This afternoon our team will meet with an optometrist to discuss eye diseases and their idea for their innovative solution to some of the problems with the system.

We have 3 South Africans on the team which is fun in many ways. We plan to stay at Francois's house in town tonight. They have a pool in their back yard which will be very welcome in this heat. We will also order pizza for supper and practice a good part of the day tomorrow. His two brothers are also on robotics teams so they have a FLL table in their garage. Our tournament is in 4 weeks so there is much to do. It will be fun for the kids to "play" at a friends house.

Regular routine

We are into a regular routine with school, lego practice and volunteer work so there is not much new to report. The kids have been building a ladder with logs and rope to hang from a great climbing tree in the yard. They are also learning how to change the oil on our Toyota Regius van (the manual is in Japanese!). Zac had his first driving lesson on the dirt roads today and we all lived to talk about it. The schools were are working with are all progressing at different speeds. The kids continue to be fun to work with. Even more fun is for me to work with my kids and Michele's kids to teach them. This morning Michele, Sebo and I took a walk to the nearby village as the temps are getting pretty warm in the afternoons now (38 C so far this afternoon). The people who live there are all employed by the sawmill that operates 24/7 just up the hill from us. About 1500 people live there. A primary school and small store are there as well. We are hoping to go over to play soccer on their field in the next few days....as they have goal posts and grass! No nets, but we have not seen a single soccer net in South Africa yet.

I am planning to make an apple crisp while Hans is online for two classes this afternoon. We have Granny Smith apples here and one called Cripps. I bet the Honeycrisp are ripe in MN!

Deb

Schools

Two school visits...one with 1 teacher to 72 students (three students to one desk and one book) and the other in a school with no lights and no desks. The literacy rate in Mozambique is 38%. Kids are promoted to the next grade level whether than can read or not. It was stunning to see these schools.

Soccer with locals

This afternoon we showed up on a soccer field with a ball and kids came out of the woodwork! The kids look small but are not as young as you might think. Due to malnutrition their growth is stunted. They schooled our kids with their fancy footwork in the sand. Everyone had fun playing together and Annika's new ball got broken in well with the reddish African soil.

Mozambique

We are visiting Mark's brother and wife in Maputo. We've encountered a little trouble on some of the streets.

We enjoyed visiting a preschool literacy program and acting out a few stories for the kids. Then we "read" some stories with the kids - some of them counted in english with me so I felt encouraged that they understood what I was saying....a little girl plopped herself down on my lap and pointed to the pictures. I asked Mary Jo what the word for candy was as the girl kept pointing to the pieces of candy. When Mary Jo starting laughing, I was told the little girl was deaf. We all laughed since I was going on and on with this child.

Interesting that all the kids washed their hands before they took the books to read.

And we enjoyed a new fruit called masala from the street market. The lady that sold it to us (about 15 cents US) supports her family with 3 kids off the proceeds.

Kruger National Park trip 2

Mark's brother and wife (Todd and Mary Jo) came to the farm for a visit this weekend. We enjoyed a braai together and showed them the dam and waterfall where we like to hang out. Since Mark comes home in a week we wanted to get another trip into Kruger to see the Big 5. Michele and kids joined us and we had a great day. Waking at 4:30 AM to drive 90 minutes to potentially see lions, rhinos, giraffe, etc was no big deal. We were rewarded in a big way today. We saw rhinos in two different spots as well as 2 female lions by a watering hole. They were a mere 10 feet from our van, lounging and sleeping in the shade. We have some amazing photos to share! Also a group of 7 giraffe, hippos playing and wrestling in the water, elephants, monkeys, birds, crocodile, etc. It is an amazing place and I am sure Michele and I will go back often with the 6 kids.

Planning to go to Mozambique this week from Wed through Sunday. Please take care of Mark when he gets home next Monday the 11th. (His 50th b-day is Oct 16th). :)

Misc food and other thoughts

Here we are!

Miscellaneous things I've been thinking about.

There are few street lights and signs on the highways so one never knows where the next gas station is...and there are no rest stops. It is common for guys to be going to the bathroom by the side of the road - and they do not necessarily turn their backs to cars zooming by.

Many people - especially children - go barefoot. In the grocery store today there was a 50+ year old man with bare feet. Kids are even barefoot in the schools.

Cars use diesel, unleaded or even leaded gas still. We are paying about $4.50 a gallon. You cannot pump your own gas at the station.

Mealie pap - which is corn meal porridge - is eaten for many meals. We are getting used to it for breakfast with milk and sugar.

There is no high fructose corn syrup here. Sugar is used as the sweetner.

I have found my "happy place". It is a store called Fruit and Veg. They sell fruits like papaya, granidilla, guava, etc....the dried guava is amazing and I can get a big bag for about $1.50. The kids can down a bag in one sitting so I am glad it is cheap.

A loaf of sandwich bread is about $1.20. AND they have good bakeries with nice breads for dinner. Chocolate chips are very difficult to find and to buy a boxed cake mix or brownies is over $6.

Deb

Pretoria LEGO clinic

We are in Pretoria for 3 days conducting a robotics clinic for 11 coaches and their 60+ team members. Yesterday afternoon I worked with the coaches who ranged from 1st-3rd year coaches. Today Hans, Annika, Laurie, Zac, Mark and I spent a whole day with the kids. We did beginning and advanced programming, team building activities, public speaking and project planning, board strategy and building techniques. The kids enjoyed seeing the Techno Travelers robot perform on last year's board as well. Tomorrow morning I have a strategic planning and brainstorming meeting with a combination of coaches, operational partners and the head FLL person here in South Africa.

The kids are enjoying free internet in the hotel, the big breakfasts and hanging out together.

Friends arrived

My friend, Michele, and her 4 kids arrived from Ohio on Thursday. Zac is 15, Sebo is 13, Elle is 10 and Lorenzo is 6. It is great to see friends and hear American voices. We are working together with the LEGO robotics program here and spent the afternoon at a school with 5 new teams today. We taught them basic building techniques and how to start a new program in NXT-G. It is the basics but still fun to see their enthusiasm and questions.

Getting internet today on the farm...we hope.

Deb

Miscellaneous items from the week

Annika is explaining the FLL challenge board to kids at a school. Hans, Laurie and Annika pose by the banana bunch we cut. And here we are playing on the raft.

Here is where we live with the Theron family.

BIGGEST news...we are getting internet at the farm!

Deb

Basketball

In five weeks of being here and traveling extensively throughout the country I did not see a basketball hoop. Soccer and rugby are the popular sports and get the funding. However, through, C4L, the organization I have been working with while here they found some rural township kids who play basketball. So we (Donald from C4L and I) set out to a rural township to do a basketball clinic.

We were supposed to leave the center at 1:30, but I found out about something called “Africa time”. It happens when it happens. We ended up leaving at 2:15 and met with the “team.” After arriving and looking around I still had not seen a basketball hoop. As it turns out, the team does play, but they play on a “net ball” court. Net ball looks similar to basketball hoop, but doesn’t have a backboard. And it is played mostly by girls.

So I met with these guys and talked to them for an hour and a half about basketball; rules, violations, fouls, shot clocks and anything else that they would ask about. I demonstrated with a can of back beans since they didn’t have a basketball. The soccer ball they used went flat.

They are interested in learning so I will continue to go out there to work with them. Pieter and I are working to make a basketball hoop. Pieter welds, so we are working on it in the back yard. We’ll see how it goes and see if they can come up with a post to put it on.

I also got to peek in on choir practice and got to listen to the best music I have heard here.

Mark

Sports for Social Change

Mark is working with the Desmond Tutu Center for Leadership using sports for social change. Tomorrow he will go to a school in a township (generally a poor black area) and teach some basketball. Afterwards the kids will listen to their youth coordinator talk about child trafficking. He is also working on a big soccer and track event that will involve about 250-300 kids on an upcoming weekend. The hardest part about making connections with people is that we live 45 minutes away from the town. There is definitely no hopping on your bike to quick run an errand.

Deb

LEGO robotics teams

We have met with two of our schools involved in LEGO robotics. We are helping 16 teams in total. The coaches and kids are all bright-eyed and excited. The kids range in age from 9-16 and most have no experience. We are at the initial teaching stage and there is much to do...all fun.

Deb

Kruger Day 2

We woke up early this morning to try to find Lions, as they are most active in the morning and at night when it is cool. We were rewarded when we found a family, called a pride, of at least ten lions resting in the sun. They stayed around for a while and we got more than 70 pictures of them.

We also spotted a Yellow Hornbill, numerous Giraffes, an ugly black bird called a Ground Hornbill and three hippos.

To finish off the day, we went on a night Safari. We were lucky enough to see three Leopards together, which is very rare as you are lucky to see one! We also spotted a Spotted Genet Cat, a Black Genet Cat, a White Tailed Mongoose and a Marabou Stork, a member of the Ugly 5.

7536 Video of Leopards

Hans

Internet

We are struggling with internet access! When we do find it, it is expensive and slow. This is probably the hardest thing about being in South Africa for us. Connection to family and friends and information in general is something I guess we take for granted. Hans will need access each Thursday for two online classes he takes through The Potter School...we are not sure how this will happen. Because of this we are not able to post the pictures we are referencing in our blog. As soon as we have decent internet speed we will try to update the photos.

Deb

Kruger Day 1

Hippopotamus family We got to see a family of hippos swimming in a large watering hole.

6890- Giraffe We saw an abundance of Giraffes including some babies.

Leopard We saw many cars parked along the road and we looked around to see what they were looking at and we spotted (pun intended) a leopard lying in the tree. We even got to see it climb down!

In our camp ground we saw vervet monkeys grooming each other.

We saw many zebras in small herds(3-5). Each zebra is unique in their stripes. Some thick, some thin, some dark, and some light.

Annika