JOURNEYS & REFLECTIONS

Daily Update - Day 14-23 (May 30-June 8)
More photos added 6/17
Daily Update - Day 9-13 (May 25-29) More photos added 6/8
Daily Update - Day 1-7 (May 17-23)

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On the Road
May 29, 2001

This morning we had the opportunity to visit the Hluhluwe Privaatskool, situated in Zululand, Kwa-Zulu/Natal. The school opened in January 1995 and is the first Afrikaans speaking private school in Kwa-Zulu/Natal. A special thank you to Mr. Pieter leRoux and Mr. Kingsley Snyman for providing housing and an eventful agenda including our visits to the high school in the Zulu village, a visit to the Fanie Roberts Cat Farm, and a delightful day at Lake St. Lucia. Hluhluwe Privaatskool is a typical country independent school and one of eight independent schools in Zululand. A local pineapple farmer, Mr. Frikkie Meyer, donated the ground. The buildings were financed and built by parents.

Children in grade nought drawing pictures.	Ocean study in grade nought.
Grade four studies time around the world.	Grade six Hluhluwe chat with Skidmore students
Ezfundeni Zulu students challenge Skidmore to a soccer match.	Skidmore cheers their team.
Lani Prenzler guides us across South Africa.	Suzy and Kim at the Indian Ocean.
A winter swim in the Indian Ocean.

On the Road
May 30, 2001

Today we traveled from Zululand to Pretoria and we enjoyed a relaxing evening at home with our families. One group savored a wonderful meal of ostrich stew for dinner. Stay tuned for additional information as we gather more data at the Edendale School over the next several days.

On the Road
May 31, 2001

We rose early this morning to be at Edendale with the children and faculty. Our Skidmore students were busy collecting additional data for their case studies on children and teachers. Several students were working on research projects with the professional team. In the afternoon, we visited a government school in Mamalodi where over 800 students gathered in the courtyard to sing and dance for us. Later, we visited the S.O.S., which is an orphanage for abandoned and abused children. Upon our return to Edendale, Susan Lehr organized a a workshop where Edendale teachers and Skidmore students brainstormed curriculum webs using multicultural text sets donated by the Dean of Faculty's Office at Skidmore College. For dinner, as a group, we created a pasta dinner that was enjoyed by all regardless of a short power outage.

On the Road
June 1, 2001

We had another wonderful day at school. The Edendale students prepared an assembly for all of us that was tremendous and our Skidmore students even prepared a song and dance routine to share. Gcina Nhlophe, a television performer and children's author, shared a traditional African folktale during the performance. The children from the Culture Club presented all the Skidmore students and faculty with gifts at the end of the assembly.

Later in the afternoon, we visited Edendale's sister school in Atteridgeville. After this visit, we drove to the Princess Diana of Wales Mohau Aids Center for children ages 2-8. It was a very emotional and sobering experience to see infants and toddlers with AIDS.

We ended our evening attending the musical African Footprints at Gold Reef City in Johannesburg. This musical returned from a very successful run in England and will debut in the United States in 2002.

On the Road
June 2, 2001

We enjoyed a great day at Sun City featuring a beach, waterslides, beautiful gardens, shopping, and a casino. Later in the evening we enjoyed a lovely braai at Rina's house. Host families joined us for the festivities.

On the Road
June 3 & 4, 2001

Today we had a long journey from Pretoria into the Drakensburg Mountains to our final destination of the Malealea Lodge in the country of Lesotho. Dancers and singers were there to greet us at an open campfire. We then enjoyed a South African meal and retired to our huts under the stars. Electricity was provided by a generator and was shut off at 9:30 in the evening and was not turned on until 4:30 the next afternoon. All fourteen students went on a six hour pony trek to the waterfall and bushman paintings. Several faculty went on the walking hike. It was an arduous climb down into the gorge, but the bushman cave paintings were exquisite. During these experiences many of us had the opportunity to meet with village children and a few of us even had the chance to visit the children's homes.

On the Road
June 5, 6, 7, 2001

Today we were on the bus for eleven hours to arrive at the Addo Elephant National Park. We drove through the Park and viewed elephants, buffalo, but no black rhino! Eagles are everywhere and have 7 foot wing spans!
On to Tsitsikamma where we walked through the forest and viewed an 800 year old yellow wood tree. We stayed at Storm's River in chalets and then it was on to Cango Caves where we stayed in the mountains.

On the Road
June 8, 2001

This morning we visited an ostrich farm. Some of us were kissed by ostriches; others rode wildly on the backs of ostriches; the rest of us fed them. We have arrived in Gordon's Bay, just outside Capetown! And here we are at the Internet Café!
Off to Capetown, Robben Island and Table Mountain tomorrow morning. We are all healthy, incredibly jazzed with all we are learning, and are looking forward to seeing our families next week! Love to all of you.

Karen Brackett
Susan Lehr

Sunset at Capetown

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For additional information about the journey, contact:

Karen Brackett or Susan Lehr
Educational Tour to South Africa Directors
Education Department-Palamountain Hall
Phone: (518) 580-5140 Fax (518)580-5146

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