March, 2010
Most of my time at Wynberg this month I’ve spend working on the Insect Play, the school’s drama production. Although the title might sound a bit juvenile, the play had a very interesting storyline consisting of three acts. The first including butterflies, the second beetles and the last ants. In a smart way it shows the parallels between the human world and insect behaviour. As there were in total only about two months to work on the play, there was a full, tight rehearsal schedule. There was a lot to be done during this short period of time. The progress was great though. And it was nice to experience how after lots of practice all the loose ends came together. During t he process I’ve done a lot of admin (invoices, character list, ticket sale etc.) and during the last rehearsals and the performances I’ve helped out backstage with the props. There were 3 performances that started the 18th of March. It was great to finally see the result.
Something about the school that still strikes me every once in a while is the number of its old fashioned habits, or should a say ‘honoured traditions’. One of the privileges (or disadvantages, it’s just the way you look at it) that comes with living in the boarding house is that it’s hard to miss out upcoming events and that you’re always sort of involved in what’s going on at the school. For weeks in a row there had been several mornings that I woke up by the bell ringing at 5 AM. As the bell usually only rings at 6.30 to wake us up, I was, let’s say ‘quite eager’ to know why they were bothering us that early. What they were doing is a very good example of one those traditions. The boys were practicing marching. Now which school still teaches their pupils how to march? Apparently it was only done by the hostel boys, with the purpose to impress the other houses during the sports day that was coming up, by marching on the field. I must say, the way they did it was quite impressive though. “LITTLEWOOD! Attèèèèntion! Hèèèèads up! Riiiight turn, one two three one! Littlewood, to a left, slow, MARCH! Left … left … left, right, left … left…”
Through my time at school I have come across more and more traditions and regulations that make to school so much different from the ones in Holland. It of course starts with the uniforms and the discipline of the pupils which I mentioned in one of my first reports, but I’ve learned that there is much more to the system they use here than just the obvious differences. I believe that the basic distinction is that Wynberg aims to develop bonded team players and strong leader, whereas the Dutch system aims to develop intellectual and independent individuals. What I experience every day is that Wynberg has a strong hierarchy among the boys based upon meritocracy (just to use two fancy words in one sentence). This system is constantly stimulated and is very important to a great deal of the pupils. I notice it in many different aspects. In the hostel, boys from higher grades are allowed to order around the younger ones, ranging from carrying bags to filling up water bottles. This is being respected. At school, merits, awards and prices are being awarded to the learners that achieve better than others on grounds of academics, sport, service etc. Price giving ceremonies are highlights of the year and price winners receive lots of merit, are being respected by their peer students and their names are added to honour boards throughout the school. Sports or academic distinctions are being awarded with special ties, badges or brading on the blazer for the boys to wear and to show their achievements. The highest ambition of most of the pupils though, is to become a school prefect in their final year. Every year ca. 20 prefects are being elected based on their achievements from the previous years. Being a prefect comes with a lot of status, privileges and responsibility and its being said that it improves your CV considerably. They are granted extra power over the other boys, wear special ties and badges, are allowed to give punishment and together run the school outside the classroom. They are looked up to by the boys and are expected to be leaders for their school. The competition of becoming a prefect can be taken very seriously and it costs a lot of free time once they’ve become one. Still every prefect will be very proud of its position.
These examples indicated to me just how different the fundamental basis of the school system is. Some things that happen on this school would be impossible to image in Holland whereas some Dutch normalities are ridiculed but the people here. It amazes me again and again and broadens my view on the culture.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Friday, April 16, 2010
School continues
Cape Town, February, 2010
First term was a busy, bust most of all a very interesting term. I found myself involved with many different activities and events going on in and around the school. This made the time very worthwhile and showed me a lot of aspects the school has to offer to its pupils and for me emphasised again the great difference between the Dutch and South-African (or should I say British?) school system. The number of extra-mural activities that is being organised at Wynberg is countless. Of course Wynberg is big in its sports and every single boy spends hours on practice, training and matches after school. I have been involved with tennis and assisted during practice sessions and accompanied teams to their games at all the different schools. This was a great opportunity for me to visit many of the neighbouring schools like Rondebosch, Pinelands, Bergvliet and Bishops. Bishops might be worth mentioning as it is the richest school in the area. I had a look around at Bishops’ grounds and it is incredible. I have never seen anything like that. It could be compared to a small village, as it has beautiful majestic buildings, huge sport fields, a library, a private church (what would expect with such a name), a medical centre and old boy residences.
Next to the sport, Wynberg offers its learners, plenty of clubs to join. A few examples: Capstone (religious), African society (specialised in gumboot dancing), Capoeira (defensive dancing technique) and the Gaming society. Personally I’m involved and assisting with chess and debating, where I also accompany teams to their matches, the hiking club which climbed the back of Table Mountain lately and a biology club, which is currently busy assembling the skeleton of a pelican.
During school hours I have been working on several projects. One of them is the Careers Evening, which took place on the 4th of March. This event is annually organised by the school and serves as an orientation for the matrics to explore the possibilities after high school. In this project I’ve been assisting as contact person and did most of the admin. Many different schools, universities and academies needed to be invited and all the necessary facilities organised. In the night itself a big market had been set-up in the hall where all the institutions could advertise the courses they had to offer. The night was a good success.
Another thing I’m spending a lot of time on is they school’s play: The Insect Play. I’ve been named Production Secretary (I’m not joking) and take care of the admin and assist with rehearsals. The premiere is planned for the 18th of March. I look forward to the result as a lot of effort is put into the preparation by both the director and the actors.
During one of the weekends I stayed with my host family Sharon (my host mom) has brought me into contact with four Dutch “Pabo” students which are finalising their study in Cape Town. It was quite nice to spend some time with some fellow country(wo)men and to be able to speak my native language again. With one of the teachers they work with we climbed the front side of Table Mountain. It was a tough, but beautiful walk with stunning views over Cape Town. And I must add that reaching the top of the mountain is just much more rewarding when you didn’t use the cable car.
Last thing I’d like to mention is that the 5th of February I started a maths course at UCT (University of Cape Town). I really wanted to experience a South African university and I also wanted to do something different for a while at my own academic level. One of the teachers organised that I could attend a maths lecture every morning for one term for free (if I had to officially register it would have cost a fortune). UCT is a huge university and has a beautiful campus that looks very classical. The only problem was how to get up there every morning. I didn’t have a car and using the public transport is quite a mission. Therefore, as Dutch as I am, I managed to borrow a nice bicycle from the headmaster and every morning I’ve been cycling up the hills to uni. UCT has a great vibe and even though I’ve only been to maths lectures I really enjoyed the experience (yes, I know, nerd). I would have loved to follow a full-time study there for a while. South Africa has one of the best large telescopes though. So, perhaps, once I started my astronomy study in Utrecht, I might just need to come back again.
First term was a busy, bust most of all a very interesting term. I found myself involved with many different activities and events going on in and around the school. This made the time very worthwhile and showed me a lot of aspects the school has to offer to its pupils and for me emphasised again the great difference between the Dutch and South-African (or should I say British?) school system. The number of extra-mural activities that is being organised at Wynberg is countless. Of course Wynberg is big in its sports and every single boy spends hours on practice, training and matches after school. I have been involved with tennis and assisted during practice sessions and accompanied teams to their games at all the different schools. This was a great opportunity for me to visit many of the neighbouring schools like Rondebosch, Pinelands, Bergvliet and Bishops. Bishops might be worth mentioning as it is the richest school in the area. I had a look around at Bishops’ grounds and it is incredible. I have never seen anything like that. It could be compared to a small village, as it has beautiful majestic buildings, huge sport fields, a library, a private church (what would expect with such a name), a medical centre and old boy residences.
Next to the sport, Wynberg offers its learners, plenty of clubs to join. A few examples: Capstone (religious), African society (specialised in gumboot dancing), Capoeira (defensive dancing technique) and the Gaming society. Personally I’m involved and assisting with chess and debating, where I also accompany teams to their matches, the hiking club which climbed the back of Table Mountain lately and a biology club, which is currently busy assembling the skeleton of a pelican.
During school hours I have been working on several projects. One of them is the Careers Evening, which took place on the 4th of March. This event is annually organised by the school and serves as an orientation for the matrics to explore the possibilities after high school. In this project I’ve been assisting as contact person and did most of the admin. Many different schools, universities and academies needed to be invited and all the necessary facilities organised. In the night itself a big market had been set-up in the hall where all the institutions could advertise the courses they had to offer. The night was a good success.
Another thing I’m spending a lot of time on is they school’s play: The Insect Play. I’ve been named Production Secretary (I’m not joking) and take care of the admin and assist with rehearsals. The premiere is planned for the 18th of March. I look forward to the result as a lot of effort is put into the preparation by both the director and the actors.
During one of the weekends I stayed with my host family Sharon (my host mom) has brought me into contact with four Dutch “Pabo” students which are finalising their study in Cape Town. It was quite nice to spend some time with some fellow country(wo)men and to be able to speak my native language again. With one of the teachers they work with we climbed the front side of Table Mountain. It was a tough, but beautiful walk with stunning views over Cape Town. And I must add that reaching the top of the mountain is just much more rewarding when you didn’t use the cable car.
Last thing I’d like to mention is that the 5th of February I started a maths course at UCT (University of Cape Town). I really wanted to experience a South African university and I also wanted to do something different for a while at my own academic level. One of the teachers organised that I could attend a maths lecture every morning for one term for free (if I had to officially register it would have cost a fortune). UCT is a huge university and has a beautiful campus that looks very classical. The only problem was how to get up there every morning. I didn’t have a car and using the public transport is quite a mission. Therefore, as Dutch as I am, I managed to borrow a nice bicycle from the headmaster and every morning I’ve been cycling up the hills to uni. UCT has a great vibe and even though I’ve only been to maths lectures I really enjoyed the experience (yes, I know, nerd). I would have loved to follow a full-time study there for a while. South Africa has one of the best large telescopes though. So, perhaps, once I started my astronomy study in Utrecht, I might just need to come back again.
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Start of a new year
January, 2010
After 4 weeks of Christmas holidays a new year of school started. With the South African seasons being opposite to the European, academic years here start in January. After a final end-of-the-holidays braai (South African barbecue) at the hostel, term 1 was about to begin.
For 2010, 2 new gap-years would be joining Calum and me (for those who forgot, Calum’s my roommate). Dave (Australian) was the first one to arrive, early January. He’s a very friendly guy with a great talent for surfing (and drinking, it’s true what they say about Aussie’s). Nick (New Zealander) arrived a little later due to problems with his visa. He’s also a very friendly guy that’s together with Dave staying in the room opposite to ours. Now that there are 4 of us gappies (a more commonly used term for Gap-years) we are more likely to go out and enjoy our free time. If we’re lucky we’re allowed to use the hostel’s car and go do some things in and around Cape Town. We’ve been to the waterfront, malls and one weekend we went to visit the Two Oceans aquarium, famous for its sharks and huge seawater basins. We are still planning on going to Robbenisland.
A Wynberg tradition at the beginning of the year is the “house braais”. Wynberg uses an English school system. To create bonding between the boys and a clear structure of tutors (mentoren) every boy as soon as it has started school is placed into one of the 8 “houses”. Every house has its own badge, colour and househead (it has nothing to do with an actual house, it’s the name given to the groups the boys are divided in). For the rest of your career at Wynberg you’ll be part of that house and the idea is that you’ll always help and support your house members. The houses are: Van Riebeek (green), De Waal (yellow), Rhodes (red), Wellington (blue), De Villiers (maroon), Lorie (light blue), McNaughton (black) and last but definitely not least Littlewood (white). Every learner living at the hostel (about 100) automatically is a Littlewood boy, which of course makes me a Littlewood. I must say the house system is a very special and good way of giving the pupils a sort of connection to each other and the teachers and it allows the school to organise very interesting inter-house competitions on grounds of sports, drama and singing. Every teacher is allocated to one of the houses, making him a tutor for a group of boys from that house. Coming back to the house braais I mentioned, every house organises its own braai to celebrate the start of the year and to make the new grade 8’s (brugklassers) familiar with their house members. I took the liberty of visiting several.
Another tradition that comes with the start of the year is the grade 8 induction week. For one week all the new coming pupils are being introduced to “the Wynberg ways”. During that time they’re being taught about the school traditions, expectations in manners, sport, culture, service and they’re shown their way around the school. In that first week they must wear their school uniform, but they’re not allowed to wear the blazer until the blazer ceremony. Once they’re inducted they are officially handed over their blazer and linked to the “brothers in an endless chain”. With other words, they’re part of Wynberg.
Now that I’m on the topic of traditions anyway, the hostel has the tradition to initiate the year with an obstacle course organised by the grade 11’s (5e klassers). I participated in doing the course. What I hadn’t been told however was that the course also serves as initiation for all new hostel boys. When I think of an obstacle course, I think of a straight forward track in which you have to climb over or crawl under certain objects. However, first we were told by the hostel masters to “wear clothes we’d never wear again”, second they said “this year, the beatings with sticks will not be included in the track anymore”. Once I heard that I started to reconsider my definition of obstacle course and didn’t know what I was getting myself into. This was it: you enter a tight long dark passage which has been dug in earth, through an opening in the bushes. On your stomach you crawl yourself a way through the dirt, halfway covered in water and mud. Meanwhile the grade 11’s shout at you, throw eggs, cover your face with mud and flower and you simply desperately try to find your way through the course. Once finally finished, I had never been that dirty in my life.
The first few weeks were a welcome back to Wynberg and the start of what will become a busy term.
After 4 weeks of Christmas holidays a new year of school started. With the South African seasons being opposite to the European, academic years here start in January. After a final end-of-the-holidays braai (South African barbecue) at the hostel, term 1 was about to begin.
For 2010, 2 new gap-years would be joining Calum and me (for those who forgot, Calum’s my roommate). Dave (Australian) was the first one to arrive, early January. He’s a very friendly guy with a great talent for surfing (and drinking, it’s true what they say about Aussie’s). Nick (New Zealander) arrived a little later due to problems with his visa. He’s also a very friendly guy that’s together with Dave staying in the room opposite to ours. Now that there are 4 of us gappies (a more commonly used term for Gap-years) we are more likely to go out and enjoy our free time. If we’re lucky we’re allowed to use the hostel’s car and go do some things in and around Cape Town. We’ve been to the waterfront, malls and one weekend we went to visit the Two Oceans aquarium, famous for its sharks and huge seawater basins. We are still planning on going to Robbenisland.
A Wynberg tradition at the beginning of the year is the “house braais”. Wynberg uses an English school system. To create bonding between the boys and a clear structure of tutors (mentoren) every boy as soon as it has started school is placed into one of the 8 “houses”. Every house has its own badge, colour and househead (it has nothing to do with an actual house, it’s the name given to the groups the boys are divided in). For the rest of your career at Wynberg you’ll be part of that house and the idea is that you’ll always help and support your house members. The houses are: Van Riebeek (green), De Waal (yellow), Rhodes (red), Wellington (blue), De Villiers (maroon), Lorie (light blue), McNaughton (black) and last but definitely not least Littlewood (white). Every learner living at the hostel (about 100) automatically is a Littlewood boy, which of course makes me a Littlewood. I must say the house system is a very special and good way of giving the pupils a sort of connection to each other and the teachers and it allows the school to organise very interesting inter-house competitions on grounds of sports, drama and singing. Every teacher is allocated to one of the houses, making him a tutor for a group of boys from that house. Coming back to the house braais I mentioned, every house organises its own braai to celebrate the start of the year and to make the new grade 8’s (brugklassers) familiar with their house members. I took the liberty of visiting several.
Another tradition that comes with the start of the year is the grade 8 induction week. For one week all the new coming pupils are being introduced to “the Wynberg ways”. During that time they’re being taught about the school traditions, expectations in manners, sport, culture, service and they’re shown their way around the school. In that first week they must wear their school uniform, but they’re not allowed to wear the blazer until the blazer ceremony. Once they’re inducted they are officially handed over their blazer and linked to the “brothers in an endless chain”. With other words, they’re part of Wynberg.
Now that I’m on the topic of traditions anyway, the hostel has the tradition to initiate the year with an obstacle course organised by the grade 11’s (5e klassers). I participated in doing the course. What I hadn’t been told however was that the course also serves as initiation for all new hostel boys. When I think of an obstacle course, I think of a straight forward track in which you have to climb over or crawl under certain objects. However, first we were told by the hostel masters to “wear clothes we’d never wear again”, second they said “this year, the beatings with sticks will not be included in the track anymore”. Once I heard that I started to reconsider my definition of obstacle course and didn’t know what I was getting myself into. This was it: you enter a tight long dark passage which has been dug in earth, through an opening in the bushes. On your stomach you crawl yourself a way through the dirt, halfway covered in water and mud. Meanwhile the grade 11’s shout at you, throw eggs, cover your face with mud and flower and you simply desperately try to find your way through the course. Once finally finished, I had never been that dirty in my life.
The first few weeks were a welcome back to Wynberg and the start of what will become a busy term.
Christmas Holidays
December / January, 2010
From the 11th of December until the 11th of January the school and hostel closed for its Christmas holidays. A little longer than we get off in Holland since these holidays also serve as summer vacation. Of course that is the ideal time of exploring the some of the country.
First I stayed a few nights with my host family, after which I would leave for a one week group tour I had booked. With this tour I travelled through the Garden Route along the coast in eastern direction, all the way up to Port Elisabeth. The group existed out of youngsters from mostly my age with many different nationalities: German, American, Australian, Canadian and Mexican. Our tour guide, driver and cook Maudi was with us for the whole week and made everything run very smoothly. I had an amazing time with a very nice group. We travelled from backpackers lodge to backpackers lodge with a big van. I’ve seen beautiful nature ranging from semi-deserts to huge valleys. On the way we stopped at every tourist highlight to visit. These were the activities we did:
- Visiting the southernmost tip of Africa. The place where the Indian and the pacific oceans meet.
- Ostrich farm tour, including an ostrich ride and standing on its eggs (they’re massive and won’t break).
- Visiting a cheetah farm with all different predators.
- Cave tour with absolutely stunning chambers.
- The world’s highest bungee jump!!!!! Yes, I’ve done a 216 meter bungee jump. You don’t want to know how scared I was but I did it and it was incredible.
- Zipline from tree top to tree top through some beautiful nature.
- Elephant farm tour and a ride on an elephant. They are wonderful animals.
- A safari through the Addo Elephant Park, where we haven’t just seen elephants but most of the wild animals including lions, buffalo’s and giraffes.
It was a great holiday with great people and a good opportunity to see some more of the country.
A few days after I returned from the trip, my parents came to visit me. Although they arrived a day later than they were supposed to due to heavy snowfall in Germany, the 22nd of December, for the first time after three months I was reunited with my parents and my little brother. Together we stayed in several hotels and bed ‘n breakfasts and we have visited many of the tourist attractions Cape Town has to offer, like Table Mountain, Kirstenbosch botanical gardens, Waterfront, Greenmarket square and Canal Walk shopping centre. It was also a very good opportunity to show them where I had been living for the past three months. For two days we visited The Aquila game reserve, a relatively small but beautiful safari park with beautiful luxury facilities. All together we had a great relaxing time together and we celebrated Christmas in hot midsummer conditions. After they headed home again on the 1st of January, I wouldn’t see them again for the upcoming 5 and half months.
The last few days of the holidays I spend with my hostfamily, where Ryan (my exchange) by the way was already very busy with preparing his gap-year to Holland. His departure is planned for early February. Which is going to be very interesting as Holland is experiencing its coldest winter in years and Ryan has never seen snow in his life.
From the 11th of December until the 11th of January the school and hostel closed for its Christmas holidays. A little longer than we get off in Holland since these holidays also serve as summer vacation. Of course that is the ideal time of exploring the some of the country.
First I stayed a few nights with my host family, after which I would leave for a one week group tour I had booked. With this tour I travelled through the Garden Route along the coast in eastern direction, all the way up to Port Elisabeth. The group existed out of youngsters from mostly my age with many different nationalities: German, American, Australian, Canadian and Mexican. Our tour guide, driver and cook Maudi was with us for the whole week and made everything run very smoothly. I had an amazing time with a very nice group. We travelled from backpackers lodge to backpackers lodge with a big van. I’ve seen beautiful nature ranging from semi-deserts to huge valleys. On the way we stopped at every tourist highlight to visit. These were the activities we did:
- Visiting the southernmost tip of Africa. The place where the Indian and the pacific oceans meet.
- Ostrich farm tour, including an ostrich ride and standing on its eggs (they’re massive and won’t break).
- Visiting a cheetah farm with all different predators.
- Cave tour with absolutely stunning chambers.
- The world’s highest bungee jump!!!!! Yes, I’ve done a 216 meter bungee jump. You don’t want to know how scared I was but I did it and it was incredible.
- Zipline from tree top to tree top through some beautiful nature.
- Elephant farm tour and a ride on an elephant. They are wonderful animals.
- A safari through the Addo Elephant Park, where we haven’t just seen elephants but most of the wild animals including lions, buffalo’s and giraffes.
It was a great holiday with great people and a good opportunity to see some more of the country.
A few days after I returned from the trip, my parents came to visit me. Although they arrived a day later than they were supposed to due to heavy snowfall in Germany, the 22nd of December, for the first time after three months I was reunited with my parents and my little brother. Together we stayed in several hotels and bed ‘n breakfasts and we have visited many of the tourist attractions Cape Town has to offer, like Table Mountain, Kirstenbosch botanical gardens, Waterfront, Greenmarket square and Canal Walk shopping centre. It was also a very good opportunity to show them where I had been living for the past three months. For two days we visited The Aquila game reserve, a relatively small but beautiful safari park with beautiful luxury facilities. All together we had a great relaxing time together and we celebrated Christmas in hot midsummer conditions. After they headed home again on the 1st of January, I wouldn’t see them again for the upcoming 5 and half months.
The last few days of the holidays I spend with my hostfamily, where Ryan (my exchange) by the way was already very busy with preparing his gap-year to Holland. His departure is planned for early February. Which is going to be very interesting as Holland is experiencing its coldest winter in years and Ryan has never seen snow in his life.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Report 4 - End of the year
Cape Town, December 2009
With the end of the year in sight and the matric (examenjaars) exams almost finished, the school was clearly rounding of its activities in December. The last weeks of the year at school were rather quiet. The same counted for the teachers, so during the times there was really nothing to do I spent a few hours behind the chessboard challenging other teachers. A very big and time-consuming, but also very interesting project I started on, is next year’s play. Wynberg Boys’ High School Major Production. Wynberg will be performing a drama production at the end of term next year: “The Insect Play”. Back in Holland I’ve been involved with drama for the past 5 years and therefore I was very keen on participating in the organisation. During the last weeks we’ve been working on the selection of the play and organising auditions. The cast has now been selected and the rehearsals will start next term.
All the boys end their year with a test period in which they write an exam for every subject. During the test period I had been scheduled for a lot of invigilation. With other words: keeping the boys quiet while they write a test. At some occasions this was quite a challenge, considering that I just left high school myself. But in general I think I can conclude that the boys are pretty well behaving. At the end of one test I spoke with one of the boys and this boy kept on addressing me with “sir”. I asked him if it was compulsory for him to call me sir. His response touched me: “No sir, definitely not, that is our way to show you our respect”. An answer I probably wouldn’t have heard in a lifetime if I’d be working for a Dutch school. I did notice though, the huge differences between the A classes and the other classes. At Wynberg, the highly intelligent and hard-working boys are put together in the so called A class. And believe me, it makes a world of difference to either supervise 9A or 9D.
In preparation of the their tests, a few boys from the hostel have asked me to tutor them or help them with their study. One of them is a black township boy. He is a huge muscled rugby player, but also one of the friendliest and polite boys I’ve met at the school. When I first met him I asked him how his matric exams were going, on which he replied he was only in grade 9 (2e klas). Hearing his stories from living at the township made me realise how complete different cultures live together in this one country; definitely compared to some spoiled white boys that take everything in their life for granted. South Africa is the land of contrast. The boy received a scholarship from Wynberg for his rugby talent. Otherwise he wouldn’t have been able to go to an upper-class school as Wynberg. He told me one day that it wouldn’t take long any more for he would “go to the bush”. He explained that it is a ritual in their culture for boys to gain their manhood: without the use of any kind of painkiller, their foreskin is cut off. Never thought these things still happened; just think of it! BRRRR!
The end of the year came with all kinds of ceremonies. The last day of school for the matrics is a day full of traditions and is called valedictory. It is a very emotional event for the matrics. The parents come to school, the headmaster and several teachers give speeches and there is a big price giving. A BIG price giving. I thought it be nice to sitting on stage with the other teachers: mistake. The ceremony took forever. One could almost give away the price for not receiving a prize. Another event was the Christmas celebration with the hostel. It was very nice, although the real Christmas feeling was hard to find with a 30 °C and a blue sky outside. There was a big dinner and one of the boys (a black guy) dressed up as Santa Claus.
The 11th of December the holidays started. The second of the three summers in a row I’ll experience, with wonderful warm and dry weather. Although, I do need to confess that I was quite jealous when I heard of Holland’s white winter weather.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Report 3 - Welcome to Africa
Cape Town, November 23, 2009
Monday the 16th of November I have had an experience, which has had quite an impact on me. On my way back to the hostel a man and woman have mugged me. Most of my family and friends probably heard about it already and therefore I’d also like to share my experience on my blog.
For a few weeks I have been member of a target-shooting club, located on walking distance from the school. On the Monday I’d been going to practise and at 4:30 PM I was on my way back to Littlewood hostel, walking on my own for the boy that usually joins me was sick that day. On my way I pass a guy carrying a 1,5 meter stick and I hear him shout something at me. I just ignore the chap and continue walking. He comes running after me though and tries hard to start a conversation, saying it’s unnecessary to ignore people, he would never harm anyone and he's a friend of the community. Sincerely not expecting someone to run after me and to start talking like this I didn’t have a clue how to respond and being worried about the stick he’s carrying, I just decide to be friendly and not to upset him. He’s a coloured man, somewhere in his mid-thirties (I think) and introduces himself as Jarin. He starts an entire conversation, wants to know about me, tells about himself, suggests I should join him to church some day and I definitely needed to meet his sister. She was single again and I made a good chance to hook up with her, he told me. At that stage I thought he was just a weird, but harmless fellow and figured he’d leave sooner or later if I’d just stay friendly. He called for his sister, which joined us. Strangely enough however, she was Caucasian. They ask me where I stay, I tell them I was on my way back to hostel and they ask if they can walk with. Uncertain how to respond I agree and they walk with me up the road leading to Littlewood. Once we reach a more quiet area away from the crowds, the friendly conversation is becoming a little unfriendly and they begin to implement that I am insulting them by walking home that quickly. At that point I finally start to realise what the true intentions of these people are. Obviously too late by then. Jarin demands from me to show my apologies and he starts threatening me. Hitting his stick on the ground he says to me the stick won’t break but it will crack me. He tells me he’s a gangster, member of the “26” gang and shows me his tattoos. He ensured me that his mates could be there in 2 minutes if I’d make him angry. He could protect me however if I’d show my apologies and wouldn’t start to be cheap on him. Eventually I give him my cash (± €30) and fear that he’ll also be taking the watch I’m wearing. To my relieve however he doesn’t take it and Jarin and his “sister” finally leave me alone.
Thinking back on this incident I’m glad I nothing serious happened. The boys at the hostel and the teachers have been very supporting, which was very comforting. It bothers me however how easily they tricked me into this and that I didn’t see the thing coming when I could still prevent it from happening. When looking back now I realise it was so obvious it was going to happen. I’ll just consider it as a harsh “welcome to Africa” and a lesson for the rest of my stay.
Monday, November 2, 2009
Report 2 - Start at Wynberg
Cape Town, October 28th, 2009
It is now week 7 of my stay in Cape Town. The first two have been holidays and now I’ve spent almost 4 weeks as a staff-member at Wynberg Boys’ High School. During the last few days of vacation I had become very excited about my time at school. To be honest I had no idea what to expect from neither school nor the hostel, which I would move in to. What follows are my first impressions at one of Cape Town’s most traditional boys’ schools.
During the weekdays I stay at hostel Littlewood, sharing a room with Calum. Life at the hostel is much better than I expected. Served dinner every evening, nice breakfasts, our room is being cleaned and laundry is taken care of. No complains at all. The downside I quickly discovered on my first day of school. 6:30 – bell rings to wake up the boys. 6:40 – bell rings, all boys must be out of bed. 6:45 – bell rings, last warning for boys still in bed. 6:55 – bell rings, 5 minutes ‘till breakfast. 7:00 – bell rings, breakfast. 7:40 – bell rings, boys must leave to go to school. And this happens 5 times a week.
Everyday I am expected to attend at school at 7:50, formally dressed (collared shirt and tie), to witness the teachers meeting. Lessons start at 8 o’clock. At school I was expecting a lot of guidance from teachers showing me around and explaining what was expected from me. To my surprise however this didn’t appear to be the case. Mr. Richardson invited me in his office to have a talk with him. He explained me that I now was considered a staff-member and therefore would be treated as an adult. Also would I be expected to be individual and to find my own way at school, but most importantly not to be bored. With other words: look for jobs, but don’t expect too much help. During my first weeks at school this was quite hard for me and sometimes it still is. I have been talking to many teachers and tried to find out where I could be useful and which teachers I would be able to help out. Fortunately are most of the teachers very friendly to me and am I pretty well accepted as a staff-member. When I tell about my interests in science and maths I usually get surprised reactions and even more surprised when I tell that I don’t play rugby or cricket. As it appears I am the first gap-year to be actually keen on academics rather than on sport. Some teachers are therefore very enthusiastic about my stay. During school hours I am asked to do a lot of admin. Beside that I am free to see where I can be useful. Since the end of the year is approaching many projects and programs in which I could be involved are rounding of. Therefore some days can be very quiet, in which I’m not doing that much, where as other days can be very busy.
Wynberg Boys’ High School is different from any Dutch high school in many ways. The most striking point for me however was the attitude from the boys towards the staff. When walking through the hallways I’m often greeted: “Good day, sir”. Boys always call me sir and when I enter a classroom during a lesson the entire class stands until the teacher allows them to take a seat again. Another difference is how valuable Wynberg considers traditions. All the boys wear uniforms. However they do not just wear it. During the past few weeks I discovered that most of the boys wear their Wynberg clothing with pride. Pupils are actually proud of the school they go to. Some other examples are the big assemblies in which the headmaster will talk to the boys from stage and the great amount of awards that are given for outstanding achievements in sports or academics.
Momentarily I’m trying to get more and more involved with projects and activities at school that gain my interest. During school hours I’m starting to assist with drama classes, the life-science teacher would like to involve me in a biology club, I will attend during practical science classes and I can do some tutoring. Also when the lessons are finished I’m getting more and more occupied. The fact that I neither play rugby nor cricket is sometimes a problem for these sports are very big at Wynberg. However I now provide my assistance with basketball and tennis matches. I do also accompany the Wynberg chess team on their games. Beside the sports, I found that there are plenty activities provided in the neighbourhood. Since last week I started target shooting with air rifles, Wynberg organises a scuba diving course that I’ll join and I’m planning on starting surfing at one of Cape Town’s stunning beaches.
To conclude I would say that I have so far experienced a sometimes difficult, but overall interesting and challenging start at Wynberg. Slowly I’m trying to find my place at the school grounds and with time I discover more and more wonderful things to spend my time on. Also in Cape Town there is still a lot to discover for me. I keep on saying that it is a huge city and there are many places I’d still like to visit. I look forward to the remainder of the year and I’m trying to get the most out of the time that’s still ahead.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
