Amazing Views from Table Mountain

On our last full day in South Africa, we visited University of Cape Town - in a spectacular setting partway up Devil's Peak with stunning views of Cape Town - to learn about a project that provides resources for literacy learning in multiple indigenous languages.

And then, after seeing it off in the distance all week (with views of the mountain right outside my hotel room window!), I was happy to find time to ride the round, rotating aerial cable car to the top of Table Mountain. This cableway has been running for over 80 years! I find that astonishing because this was quite a thrill even in today's fast-moving high-tech world.

The plateau at the top provided gloriously panoramic views of Lion's Head, Devil's Peak, Robben Island, Cape Town, Cape Town Stadium, Table Bay Harbour, and other beaches and cliffs along the Cape Peninsula. Since we had already viewed many of these sites up close, this was an especially amazing opportunity.

I could definitely spend a few more weeks here in this beautiful country!

Beacon View Primary School in Cape Town

South Africa is divided into nine provinces, each with its own plan for educating children. Cape Town is in the Western Cape Province. We learned from the Western Cape Education Department that many policies to improve literacy learning for all students are not exactly working in an exemplary manner just yet. After decades of inequitable resources according to race, test scores are not soaring by any means.

We visited Beacon View Primary School in an area of Cape Town called Mitchell's Plain. This is a low-income neighborhood that under apartheid was reserved just for "colored," a term widely used in South Africa for people of mixed racial heritage. While instruction is in English for Grade 3 and up, many students in this school have Xhosa as their first language, Afrikaans as a second, and English as their third.

Our People to People delegation was met by the Prefects who stood at attention along the walkway, welcomed our arrival with polite greetings and sweet smiles, and ushered us to an all-school assembly in the courtyard. We were treated to glorious songs from 1500 eager voices.

My private escort then led me from class to class where I had an opportunity to talk with teachers and students.

Like students everywhere, they enjoyed having visitors to shake up their day a bit.

Robben Island

On Sunday, I took a 30-minute ferry ride on the Atlantic Ocean from the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront in Cape Town out to Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned from 1964-1982 (he was then sent to two other prisons and finally released on February 11, 1990). Political prisoners in South Africa, those accused of opposing a government with laws that were unjust and inhumane, were sent here. Oliver Tambo called Robben Island the "most inhospitable outpost of apartheid."

My tour guide was Itumeleng Makwela, a former political prisoner who was captured on the border of South Africa and Botswana, and sentenced to 7 years for sabotage. He served all of his sentence and was released just as the general release began in 1990. He told us about his work in the kitchen, cooking, serving, and cleaning.

He also showed us the couryard of the section where Nelson Mandela stayed, as well as his cell.

We took a bus ride around the island and viewed the lime quarry where political prisoners were required to do manual labor in the hot sun.

Although the island has a pretty view of the ocean and of Table Mountain - in this photo the "tablecloth" is on - it must have been a bittersweet view to the prisoners. It's definitely not a prison now. In fact it's a conference center. Imagine.

African Penguins

Our tour of the Cape Peninsula and Table Mountain National Park on Saturday also led us to an African Penguin Colony at Boulders Beach. Here in this sheltered cove in a magnificent setting, these endangered birds are thriving. We were thrilled to spot them nesting and "holding hands" as we strolled along the special boardwalk that allows them to remain protected in their natural environment.

These cute little birds are all black on their faces and backsides and white with speckles on their bellies. These dots are their "fingerprints" by which they can be told apart. But the sweetest thing about them is that they mate for life and are so, well, exemplary with the males and females touching wings, taking turns incubating their eggs, and feeding their young. How adorable!

This beach was near Simonstown, South Africa, a quaint little fishing village at the end of the world where life looks exceptionally good.

Cape Point, South Africa (!!!!!)

Saturday’s exhilarating excursion was perhaps “the most scenic drive in the world,” according to Peter, our native Capetonian tour guide - and I’m certainly not going to argue!

Views from the coach windows began to be spectacular as soon as we neared the shore going out of Cape Town heading south on the M6 with Table Mountain in its splendid glory dominating the skyline to our left. I kept snapping photos from the moving bus and finally we stopped at the Clifton Beaches for a photo op with the Twelve Apostles peaks in the background.

As we continued on, we drove by boys playing beach rugby, the Misty Cliffs where a steady sea breeze causes a continual surreal mist, and several picturesque harbor towns nestled near the ocean. In these villages, baboons often break into houses and cause a mess, but residents can’t do anything about it because the animals are protected.

We headed inland just a bit on the M65 and entered Table Mountain National Park where we saw baboons and ostriches along the the road as we traveled across the peninsula to join the M4 which led all the way down to the end of the continent.

At Cape Point we hiked 20 minutes up a steep incline to reach the Cape Point Lighthouse for a spectacular view of where the Indian and Atlantic Oceans meet. Ah, yes! Now this just might be unsurpassed grandeur. I am blessed.

Giddily Gliding into Cape Town

After Friday morning's sobering visit to the Apartheid Museum in Jo-burg, later in the day we found ourselves having just a grand old time on the airplane trip to Cape Town. It's amazing what a few glasses of wine and some altitude will do to one's spirits!

I think we finally had some time for several realizations to set in:
1) We're in AFRICA!
2) Those rivers and the bush below us is truly AFRICA!
3) The gorgeous sun setting in the horizon turning the sky bright red is in AFRICA!
4) We are just two hours from the end of a continent that we never thought we'd ever visit!!
5) We are truly on our way to legendary Cape Town, South Africa!

When we arrived in Cape Town at about 8 p.m. we scooted through the airport, collected our bags, climbed aboard our buses, and headed for our hotel - all in the dark. We believe that Table Mountain is right outside the hotel room window, but it will be morning before we find out for sure.

What a trip!

Apartheid Museum

Friday morning's visit to the Apartheid Museum in southern Johannesburg was a heartrending, thought-provoking, moving look at South Africa's era of segregation and oppression. How ugly and dreadfully sad to see how this gorgeous country was once spoiled and degraded by man's inhumanity to man. I'm grateful to have visited here no matter my sorrow as I viewed the exhibits.

The beauty of this awful story is that hope emerges out of the abyss. "Never, never, and never again shall it be that this beautiful land will again experience the oppression of one by another. Let freedom reign. God bless Africa." These are the famous words of Nelson Mandela in 1994 during his inauguration as president of the new South Africa.

And then this truly remarkable man set about creating a "collective imagination" that bought into in reconciliation, generosity and forgiveness. He believed and helped others understand that every citizen had been victimized by the policy of apartheid, and he led this divided country towards a true working democracy.

I am humbled and feel so privileged to be here to see "the world's first negotiated revolution" and its fledgling democracy at work!

Multiple Languages and Literacy

On Thursday morning we visited with the Faculty of Education at Unviersity of Johannesburg to learn about education initiatives in South Africa. In this new democracy, children born after 1994 (after apartheid) are considered the "born free" generation. I find it amazing how much has been accomplished and what's going on.

South Africa recognizes eleven languages as official. How cool is that?! Nine are indigenous such as Xhosa, Zulu, Ndebele, Swati, Sotho, Tsonga, etc. And also English and Afrikaans. So especially important here - as it should be all over the world - is multilingual education. I love this concept! Later in the day we met with the Molteno Institute, an organization that has developed curriculum and pedagogy for helping children become strong in their first language as a bridge to learning and literacy.



This day ended with an interesting visit to a Cultural Village where we learned more about the tribes and languages of the Zulu, Xhosa, Basotho, etc., and were privileged to watch dances illustrating multiple cultures.

I am re-energized by experiencing the wonders of our world of multiplicity!

Wednesday in Africa

Today began with a lovely breakfast buffet, followed by five speakers. We had a briefing about what to expect in this country, we learned about the history, culture, and peoples, and we soaked up some research findings about teachers, teaching practices and assessment in South Africa. It was all very interesting, but would have been so much better if we'd had a real-live context to go with it. In other words (yawn! oh, sorry, did I say that out loud?!), by 1 p.m. we still had not stepped foot outside the door of ourhotel. Where IS Johannesburg?

We made up for it when we went to eat lunch at Gramadoelas (Khoi-San for African Valhalla) Restaurant, and then took another bus ride to Soweto where we visited with staff from the U.S. Embassy at the Rosa Parks library, drove past Winnie Mandela's home, and walked down Vilaka, the only street in the world where two Nobel Peace Prize winners have lived. Desmond Tutu still lives there and Nelson Mandela's former home has been turned into a museum.

And tonight, we talked our bus driver and guide into taking us to Naitonal Stadium to watch South Africa vs. Ghana! We bundled up in as many warm clothes as we could find in our suitcases, and experienced a football game in South Africa, complete with vuvuzela accompaniment! It was magnificent! And we won!

Tuesday Arrival

After a long (um, very long) plane ride on South African Air, I arrived with several new friends :) in Johannesburg at the big, beautiful, modern, clean Oliver Tambo Airport. I made it through immigration easily, found my bag, and changed some USD for ZAR (South African Rand). The exchange rate is beyond my comprehension, and it's a little disconcerting to be carrying around so very many Rand!

We all gathered at the appointed spot and headed for the bus. A thirty-minute bus ride in the dark through Johannesburg took us to our upscale comfortable hotel. It's exciting and completely unreal to be in Africa, but I sure wish I could SEE it!



On another note, it seems that the country's soccer team is staying on our floor here at the Southern Sun Grayston. We hear they're playing Ghana tomorrow night.

Gateway City USA

I’m at Dulles International Airport in Washington, DC, USA, our Gateway City. I’m sure soon I’ll be seeing others with People to People luggage tags like mine, but so far I feel like I’m doing this alone. How exciting to know that folks from all over the U.S. have been planning and getting ready just like me and are arriving right here today for this grand trip. Our first official gathering is not until we land in Johannesburg at Tambo International tomorrow, but hey where are you?

Okay, so it may seem a bit silly (I did not hear the word lame out there, did I?) to post a photo of my luggage tag, but I'm also of course making sure I know how to get a photo on here when I really want to. Also, I'm just not so sure when I'll next be able to post at all. Even here in DC I'm not finding WiFi as accessible as I'm used to. So spoiled!

A Week from Today . . .

After six months of planning, learning and anticipation, a week from today I'll be on my way to South Africa! I'm joining a People to People professional delegation on a ten-day visit to Johannesburg and Cape Town. Unbelievable.

I look forward to exchanging ideas and information about Language and Literacy Education with counterparts, to immersing myself in the culture of this remarkable country, to viewing the beautiful landscape, to visiting historical sites, and to experiencing the sights and sounds and tastes of Africa. Amazing.

So as this weeks moves on, I'll need to finally come to a conclusion about what type of clothing one wears as an August winter evolves into spring, what exactly one does on a 19-hour plane ride, and if I've actually remembered to take care of all the details about leaving familiar surroundings behind to take off once again into the unknown. Exciting.