After 26 hours of traveling, I finally made it to Grahamstown! Traveling took quite a bit out of me, but I'm not as tired today as I thought I'd be. Wellyna and I were up at 9 am to get ready to go to our school and meet some of the teachers. The teachers are really relaxed with each other, but once they are in the classroom it is all strict and orderly. The girls aren't allowed to sit down until they have greeted the teacher and the teacher allows them to sit. Maybe this is how all private schools are, but it is definitely different than what I am used to.
In case some of you don't know, I am at an all girls private boarding school. It turns out that only about 30% of the girls attending the school are living in the hostels. The other 70% come to school every day and leave at the end of the day. The school day starts at 7:30 in the morning and is over at 1:45, but co-curriculars start at 2:30. 25-30% of the school is also involved in music. They have two nationally ranked choirs, 5 marimba bands, and an orchestra, which is a group of anybody who can play any instrument. A little different than at home!
I’ve attached a few pictures of where I’m staying. I couldn’t get any good pictures from the airplane of Johannesburg (Joburg) because it was kind of cloudy. The first picture is of the backyard where I’m staying. It is very pretty! It has been raining on and off all day here and I hear that that is very common, for the weather to change through all four seasons in just one day. The other pictures are of my garden cottage. It is just an addition to Dr. Baxen’s house, but is completely separate. Wellyna and I are sharing a bedroom and from there we walk into the kitchen, and through there is the bathroom.
We went to the grocery store today and I tried to look for non-American brands of shampoo and soap and was surprised to find that that was a difficult task! Most of the brands of non-food supplies were brands I’d seen at home! I was able to find a soap I’d never heard of and a kind of shampoo that I’ve seen the brand of, but not this particular kind. It also turns out that Friday afternoons are not the right time to go to the grocery store. I mean, that seems common sense and I probably wouldn’t even do that at home and we didn’t have a choice today, but I probably won’t do that again.
Okay. I am going to start working on my assignments for student teaching. Please feel free to ask if you have any questions!
:)
-Anna
In case some of you don't know, I am at an all girls private boarding school. It turns out that only about 30% of the girls attending the school are living in the hostels. The other 70% come to school every day and leave at the end of the day. The school day starts at 7:30 in the morning and is over at 1:45, but co-curriculars start at 2:30. 25-30% of the school is also involved in music. They have two nationally ranked choirs, 5 marimba bands, and an orchestra, which is a group of anybody who can play any instrument. A little different than at home!
I’ve attached a few pictures of where I’m staying. I couldn’t get any good pictures from the airplane of Johannesburg (Joburg) because it was kind of cloudy. The first picture is of the backyard where I’m staying. It is very pretty! It has been raining on and off all day here and I hear that that is very common, for the weather to change through all four seasons in just one day. The other pictures are of my garden cottage. It is just an addition to Dr. Baxen’s house, but is completely separate. Wellyna and I are sharing a bedroom and from there we walk into the kitchen, and through there is the bathroom.
We went to the grocery store today and I tried to look for non-American brands of shampoo and soap and was surprised to find that that was a difficult task! Most of the brands of non-food supplies were brands I’d seen at home! I was able to find a soap I’d never heard of and a kind of shampoo that I’ve seen the brand of, but not this particular kind. It also turns out that Friday afternoons are not the right time to go to the grocery store. I mean, that seems common sense and I probably wouldn’t even do that at home and we didn’t have a choice today, but I probably won’t do that again.
Okay. I am going to start working on my assignments for student teaching. Please feel free to ask if you have any questions!
:)
-Anna
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