from Tsitsikamma to the beach...

We had a spectacular hike through the fynbos biome in Tsitsikamma National Park. The girls now approach hiking days of 13+ kilometers with no difficulty. We hiked into our first hut, late in the afternoon to be greeted by a wonderful natural swimming hole. The girls explored this by sliding on the slippery rocks and testing their mettle by fully submerging into the cold, mountain pool of water. You could hear shrieks and laughter rising up out of the little canyon. Our second day out greeted us with misty cloud cover. It was the perfect weather, as the fynbos biome is characterized by beautiful varieties of shrubs and low lying plants and not much shade from the sun. We were blessed to see hundreds of the 8,600 species native to the Fynbos biome in bloom. The best sighting of the day, was South Africa's token flower, the King Protea. Photographed with drops of misty rain on the outside, it was a highlight. We greeted the truck again after a 11.5 kilometer hike out and hit the road for our next adventure. Other highlights included science and travel journalism classes on the trail, smores, cooking dinner over an open fire and evening games. What's next for these adventurous students? Surf lessons!

Mountain Times

The group has emerged from the mountains after some adventurous days of hiking. We climbed up and over boulders through a dried up river gorge to see the stunning array of peaks and valleys. The girls rallied each other throughout the hike and encouraged one another up mountain peaks and ladders. It was a great team building day.

We have been listening to the array of languages spoken throughout the provinces and are busy practicing our clicks so we can interact. These skills will come in handy as we head to the province that Nelson Mandela grew up in.

Everyone is doing great and sends big hugs and hellos to all!


~ Aunge

P.E. Class

P.E. at The Traveling School involves a variety of activities from rock climbing and hiking to morning runs and yoga. Recently, the girls practiced their team building and trust tactics while discovering rock climbing routes on the canyon walls. We have focused on getting the entire group into running shape as well as using plyo-metrics and core exercises to promote strong bodies. We also play active games including capture the flag, freeze tag, and ultimate frisbee. Later this week we head to the mountains to hike some incredible mountain passes and challenge ourselves.

Brenna & Caroline

Battlefield

After an early morning jog, breakfast and tea the girls are headed to the British Zulu battlefield. Two different cultures are represented at this battlefield. The first museum is described through an Afrikaner perspective and the second from a Zulu. History comes alive for the girls as they walk through the museum and life size sculptures of loggers (wagons) circled up trying to defend themselves wait for them outside on the battlefield. Tomorrow we are headed for the mountains.

Brenna

Three School Visits...

The TTS18 students have had the rare opportunity of visiting three different secondary schools within our 2 and ½ weeks of travel. Students visited two private boarding schools (Stanford Lake College and the Southern Cross school) and one public school located in the Engwenya Township near Waterval Boven. They sat in on classes and interacted with students of similar age. Debriefing this experience in our Global Studies class provided a platform for students to discuss their observations and question why. The legacy of apartheid is a theme that has been part of the past few weeks in our discussions. We have discussed observations that the students have made regarding infrastructure of the schools, student and teacher motivation levels, racial divisions amongst students and the variety of culture within student groups. The TTS students have been open and honest in their discussions with each other about what they are seeing and experiencing. To compare and contrast the variety of schooling systems in South Africa first hand is what makes the Traveling School a truly experiential learning experience.

History and Government of Southern Africa Class Update

Our semester began with learning the geography of the African continent with a focus on the newest democratic nation of the South Sudan. The struggle for democracy is a theme that we will discuss throughout the semester. With current knowledge of South African’s political structure and leadership, students have looked to the beginning of colonization and the roots of the Afrikaner identity through readings and discussion. While visiting the Southern Cross school, we had the wondrous opportunity to talk with a freedom fighter from the anti-apartheid movement. He gave the students a brief history and focused on his participation in the ANC (African National Congress) political party beginning in the 1980’s. Having been imprisoned several times for political crimes, he gave the students a unique perspective on race and identity in South Africa today. Discussing the importance of perspective has been a theme and will continue to be as the students visit the site of the famous Battle of Blood River next week, where they will compare and contrast the perspective of the Afrikaner (Boer) and the Zulu during the battle in 1838.

Algebra 2 Class Update

The 6 students in this class have been working hard on reviewing Algebra 1 skills and filling in gaps to make a strong platform for our next 5 chapters. Amongst singing birds and the occasional lizard scurrying through the grass, the students diligently work through their problems and take notes. Sitting in their crazy creek chairs today, we reviewed the 5 types of Parent functions and students refreshed their practice of graphing techniques with their graphing calculators. Our first chapter test is coming up and the students will demonstrate their knowledge of functions, transformations, and simplifying equations with square roots and exponents.