Nearly A Month In

Cape Town is still going really well! I have almost been here a month now and I cannot believe how quickly that has gone by!

Life at the school has been fantastic! The children are filled with more energy than any other group of children I have ever met. When they eat, clean, sing, and play they are always loud and laughing. And although we do not speak each other’s language, they still invite me to sit in a circle with them and play. Doing activities with them has given me insight into their culture, which I never realized would happen. During free indoor play, the girls normally wrap dolls around their backs (the women here carry their babies on their backs and I still have not figured out how the babies stay there!) and cloth around their hair. One or two girls sit in the middle and take classroom toys and create instruments as the others stand in a circle around them. Then the girls all start to sing and dance around the circle. While the girls are singing, a group of boys cooks up “food” in the kitchen area and serves it to me and other classmates. Sometimes some children will play taxi and “take us” to other places around Cape Town. I really love being around them! They continue to surprise me every day, which is the great thing about children. They truly deserve more credit than they are given.

One of my new favorite spots is a dog park that is just up the street from my house. It is a beautiful open field next to a llama farm and horse pastures.  The best part about the park is that right in the middle are two swings, one wooden and one tire, hanging from a gigantic tree—I bet you can guess my new favorite reading spot, huh? Seriously, who doesn’t love swinging?!  Within one minute of swinging I busted into a fit of giggles as my swing twisted and I spun around getting dizzier by the second…which never stops being funny apparently. Here I was, by myself, in a giant field, laughing and kicking my feet…playing. I quickly reverted back to the mind of a child, spinning until I got dizzy and seeing from which spot I could kick the furthest, because it was innate. Every time I go to the park I see other adults, some with children and some without, doing the exact same thing. Clearly the people who designed this swinging station knew what they were doing!

Over the weekend I went to the open house of a Waldorf school in the area. The school is beautiful! It is on a farm and the school grounds are centered around this giant play yard. In between the classrooms, which are recycled from truck backs, there are smaller playgrounds and gardens. I got to learn more about Waldorf education there, including how it applies to older students. The part that I found the most interesting is their time for crafts. The students get over an hour each day for crafts, which vary between sewing, painting, wood working, metal working, basket weaving, or working on a project. Sounds pretty fantastic, ya? Well, in addition to being fantastic, it also strengthens the student and teaches them about patience, determination, staying with something, goals, and it empowers them because in the end, they hold something in their hands that they did themselves. As someone who sews, I couldn’t agree with that feeling more. It is great being able to hold up a skirt, knowing that it was only a piece of flat fabric before. With the younger students, the part that I found most interesting was the storytelling part of the curriculum. Every year has a different them through which their stories and lessons surround. Each theme focuses in on emotions that those children feel at that age and the events that they might experience in their lives. Through stories, both historical and non-fiction, they can relate and learn to overcome challenges that they might be facing. And if you are thinking that you are too old for stories, let me tell you one. Last week the other volunteers and I, who range from 18-22, sat down on the floor while our house mother read us a story. We closed our eyes and listened to her speak in dynamic levels, as if she was talking to younger children. And not one, single one of us thought it was silly.

It’s starting to warm up a bit here. I am now used to the strange August winter weather but I keep wanting to wear my chacos and shorts. The wild flowers are starting to come out and the area is absolutely stunning! There are wild lilies all around my house and the trees are starting to get leaves. I am so happy that I get to witness two springs this year! J