Catch A Wave

It’s incredible to think that we’re almost halfway through March already! Time really does fly when you’re having fun, and it seems like it will be no time until we will all be leaving PE to return to our respective homes! There’s still a lot of banter and adventures to be had between now and then though. The week that just passed was more relaxed and chilled than previous weeks which was nice as it’s given me a chance to recover some energy!

After writing my blog last week I decided to do something really Irish and make some potato bread. I’d never actually heard of anyone making their own potato bread before, I mean we just go out and buy it in Tesco’s right. Amazingly it wasn’t that difficult to make, just add a bit of flour to mashed potatoes and cook it on the pan…simple! I have to admit it wasn’t the greatest potato bread I’ve ever had but to those who had never experienced the culinary delights of Irwin’s and Ormo it seemed to pass. We even had a Costa Rican being introduced to the wonders of tatey bread! The main motive behind making it though was for our class culture day last Thursday! After finishing our lectures everyone provided some food from their own culture, so we had food from the Afrikaners, the Xhosa and the Irish…even Jason our American student brought in a bag of Doritos! It was fantastic to sample a bit of all the foods with the Afrikaans food tending to be a little bit sweeter, aside from the Springbok sausage, and the Xhosa food being more savoury, including chicken feet…yummy! Our lecturer, Mr McFarland, also came in attired in his family tartan, complete with kilt, and played some pipe music which I thoroughly enjoyed listening to! Some of the Xhosa students also showed some of their traditional songs and dances which were really fun to watch. It was great to see our class coming together so strongly.

Over the last week I’ve also used my time to pick up the level of activity in the sporting arena! I’ve started playing squash with the Swedish guys which has taken me back to my first year in Stran when we used to play quite regularly at the PEC before they inflated their prices. I had forgotten how sweaty one gets during a game of squash! (Note to self: play more squash next year when I get home). Hockey trials have also began this week and I’ve already completed one of the three sessions with the remaining two coming on Thursday and Saturday. I really just enjoy playing again and playing in goal which I’ve missed over the last couple of years. Trials simply consist of playing a couple of games which is a lot of fun due to the standard of the players I’m playing with. I’ve been informed that a few of them our SA U21’s and a lot of them are more than capable of pulling off the Shinty4Fun tricks which are available to watch on youtube @ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAzbXbPyQog This is an example of how hockey IS the greatest sport in the world!

My third and fourth sporting activities to be stepped up this week are body boarding and skim boarding. OK so the skim boarding is not coming on so well but then it never does, even when I do it at home. It usually ends up with limbs in places where they’re not meant to be and pointing in directions they shouldn’t! The body boarding however is much more fun. On Monday afternoon I ventured downtown to find a bodyboard and managed to pick one up in a second hand store for R70, about 6 quid, which is a great deal considering that I’ll be selling it back to them when I’m finished! (The other incredible thing about my trip into town was that I saw a guy walking around in a Belfast Giants top…small world!). So the last couple of days have been spent in the water with Marco my fellow German body boarder. Last night in particular was so much fun as we took the boards out at sunset in some simply beautiful waves, although the water temperature was more like Portrush than Port Elizabeth! I think the wind has brought in the Atlantic Ocean and pushed out the Indian Ocean, at least that’s the only logical reason I can think of!

The wind and heat yesterday were incredible! School had to be let out early because it was too hot for the teachers to teach effectively and for the learners to learn effectively. Apparently the temperature had reached around 38C by lunch time and the strong Westerly wind meant that dust was flying around everywhere! I had just started to take my third class of the day when the bell (or air raid siren as it sounds more like) went to signal that school was out! As I walked out of school to get my comby into town I could barely move forward as the wind was blowing straight at me and firing dust, grit and sand at me like tiny pellets. I even found myself walking backwards at stages to try and move forward!

The weekend was very relaxed as I spent a lot of time just hanging out with people and, of course, braaing! We had a braai on Friday night at the Bantry and again on Saturday afternoon at Adrian’s house for his birthday! Adrian is a guy in my class who is also my hockey coach and who brings me to church as well as bringing me to class every morning which is much appreciated…this one’s for you bud! On Friday night we went to an International party which was great because it meant that I got to catch up with and meet a lot of people who I hadn’t seen in a while after we all went our own ways after the initial orientation week. The bar was situated in a really nice place by the beach, slightly out of town, but it was also ever so slightly congested as a lot of international students converged in the one place to begin their weekend ‘festivities’. My lack of drinking has also made me something of a self appointed designated driver which was really fun on Sunday night as I got to drive the Swede’s pick up truck with about 10 people in the back which was interesting…especially given that the majority of them were drunk!

The workload at varsity has been picking up a little bit as well as assignment due dates seem to be mounting up. We handed in a group assignment last Friday, have one due for this Friday, an individual assignment for Monday and I’ve just this morning completed an online test. It sounds like a lot of work but for some reason it doesn’t really feel like it, maybe it’s simply because of the surroundings that I’m in! As teaching practise begins back home I’ve been hearing talk of lesson plans and schemes of work, but take heart that you don’t have to write out lesson plans in the way which they do here! We were given a template lesson plan which was 3 pages long!!! Mine at home just about stretch to one page if it’s a particularly detailed lesson. It will be interesting to see how I find the workload come teaching practise after Easter, and whether I will be able to adapt to the lesson plans here or simply stick to my own design. I’m all for being flexible to other ways of thinking but when it involves doing extra work I’m not so sure how I feel! I’m going to visit a school for cerebral palsy kids on Friday which should be really interesting as I’ve never experienced a school which is solely specialised in SEN, so I look forward to reporting back on that and the experiences which I gain from it.

I don’t like to finish on a sad not but unfortunately this week I have to…the tickets to the T20 final on Friday night are sold out and I’m absolutely gutted! If anyone knows of any available tickets please let me know…….

Peace

God Bless

“God is our refuge and strength,

always ready to help in times of trouble”

Psalm 46:1

PS My room mate moved out this week so I have free room if anyone wants to come out to visit…