Monday began my volunteer time at Camp Sonshine in Maitland Garden Village, just a bit down the road from Pinelands where I currently live. The Grade 1 and 2 teacher, Teacher Liz, has been nice enough to pick me up in the mornings, and I am very thankful that she too lives in Pinelends; it's tough depending on everyone for transport and you eventually feel like a total pain in the butt because of it. Alison is making the same sacrifice in the afternoons by picking me up, so I owe these folks some hard work during the week, which it turns out won't be a problem because I absolutely loved my first week there! Grade 2 comes to class from 8 until 10:30 and then we have First Interval. Then Grade 1 comes from 11 until 12:30 at which point we have Second Interval...by then I am famished and ready to sit and eat as Liz and I usually discuss the insanity that just ensued...it is great fun though. The kids are easily distracted and love to go to the toilet just to get out of class...that's an old trick that keeps on working to this day. Most of them are very bright as well, and I think at that age kids just love to go crazy around each other; when you get them to quiet down and learn something however, it makes it all worth it and you can't help but to love them. In the afternoons, Camp Sonshine has an after care program for girls and boys that provides games, exercise and a good learning environment to keep them busy until their parents get off of work. I usually stay until most of the kids are gone and walk to the train station where I grab a ride from Alison. Eventually, you start to like certain kids more than others for various reasons, but my plan is to help them all with equal effort to make sure that my time here can make the biggest positive impact possible; I know that I will miss them all no matter how good or bad they act during this short 2 month stretch. This particular Monday evening, we decided to meet at Rachel's for another Spanish tutor session, and we started with a short quiz followed by some new material that will require some studying this weekend for sure. She lives in Pinelands as well, so the geographical situation could not be set up any better for me; I can literally walk everywhere I need to go except for work, and that includes the grocery store and church. Tuesday morning was a taste of reality as the kids came in really fired up and very hard to control to start the lesson. I decided to bribe them with Livestrong bracelets given to me by a friend that knew the kids would be all over them. To keep the week going smoothly, I have given away at least seven of them to the best behaved kids, and I have no idea what we'll do about next week. Gotta go to the store and figure out what else they might like as a prize. I can get some of them to listen sometimes, but Liz really has a handle on how to get through to them when things seem at the bring of chaos...gotta respect a teacher who can lay down the law at the right time, and the kids truly love her...coming up for hugs after class and again before they leave for the day. After care went well and we played kick ball on the astro field. Alison dropped me off at the Howard center where I grabbed a few groceries and walked back to The Pad. From there it was dinner, email, brain storming about school and a movie before bed.
Wednesday was another day for me to adjust to my new schedule, continue to figure these kids out and learn how best to have a positive impact in the class room. Thursday flew by as well and we played soccer on the astro during after care. Some of these kids have amazing soccer skills, and they made this American look pretty foolish a couple of times for sure. Last night I had dinner, worked on my blog, read and got in bed for another episode of Top Gear, a great British car show hosted by three hilarious car enthusiasts. It is huge on this side of the world, and if you are not familiar, you MUST check it out on the web if possible. This morning, Friday, I was up early and eager to see how insane these kids would be with the weekend just a few hours away. It wasn't too crazy though, and on Fridays we try to have some fun and take them outside a bit to keep them sane. It's a beautiful, windy day here in Cape Town, and I am planning to check out InsideOut for the first time tonight at the Attic just down the road. The guys that visited the states recently are back in town, and I hope to catch up with them and hear some stories. I'm ready for the weekend and a chance to relax, study, read and prepare for week two of school.
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