Last Day with the Preschoolers

Yesterday I spent my last day at Silvertown Educare. I was supposed to finish on Friday but I got to sneak back the beginning of this week because my placement at the elementary school doesn't start until today. The staff was very grateful for the time I'd spent at Silvertown and wrote me the nicest note. Natalie and Karan are still there this week and we are going to print out a bunch of the pictures we all took and make a poster for the classroom. The walls definitely need some decorating!

Yesterday, we also had our last X'hosa lesson. X'hosa is a tribal language spoken by most blacks in Cape Town. However, it is very difficult to learn. There are three distinct "clicks" associated with different letters (I think they all sound the same) and the words are long and hard to pronounce. We've been having fun with the teacher learning some songs and simple sayings. So far I've really only learned "molo" is "hello" and "unjani" is "how are you?". Also, most X'hosa people name their child a X'hosa name that has a special meaning. So many of the kids at our schools are named the X'hosa words for gift and light. One of my favorites, Ongebiwe, supposedly means "be cautious you don't get stolen." Our teacher said no parent would name their kid that, but he said like in our country, people are getting creative!


Natalie playing with the bubbles


These two are best friends (and cousins) and one was feeding the other during breakfast time
They look so happy to get their picture taken

The last day we brought out some bubbles during playtime and everyone just loved them. I will really miss all the kids, and I pray that they will grow up happy and healthy. I was so fortunate to spend time here with just happy kids and hope to stop back again before leaving Cape Town.

However, I am very excited to start my placement today at Blossom Street Elementary. I look forward to learning about curriculums in the schools here and helping teach the children. I think it will be wonderful to build relationships with kids that are a little older.

I'll fill you in soon. Don't freeze over there, please!

Jackie