Views of a Village

One of the first "sensory experiences" that we experienced when we came to KZN was the visual contrast between village life and our life in the States. As we approach our 1-year anniversary of service in South Africa, we wanted to relive our initial awe with this beautiful country and decode it for our loved ones.

Please enjoy this short video of a rural village that we visited in December.
After the video, I will highlight a few visual indicators of the cultural values or common experiences that you can see in this quick tour.

Visual Indicators of Culture

1) Rondovals
Rondovals are circular buildings that have HUGE significance in the Zulu culture. The families have historically used these structures to hold rituals and ceremonies to honour or convene with ancestors. The roof is made from thatched grass. 

Inside a traditional rondovals, you will often find a space to make a fire and an accumulation of animal bones in the rafters. 

In other homesteads, the rondoval becomes just another storage space. Even in these cases, there is a sense of reverence around these buildings for their meaning.

2) Family Gardens

Most homesteads have at least a small family garden. These gardens are used to supplement family nutrition seasonally. The larger gardens are also used to supplement income. So many times, our mama went to a neighbour's home to buy maize or sugarcane, rather than the store. 

3) Cattle

Historically, cattle have been significant revenue source and social capital for rural families. Many Zulu folktales involve cattle or cattle herders. There are multiple conflicts between tribes and other groups (other tribes, Boers, British) that involved the stealing of or killing of cattle. The idea of someone stealing another family's cow is completely abhorrent—learners will gasp at the mere mention of such a crime. In most communities (though not necessarily at our permanent site), a family's wealth and status is correlated with the number of cows that they own. A common chore (usually for boys and men) is taking out the cows to pasture and herding them all day. 

So, generally, cows are common in the rural homesteads.

4) Fences
Many of the fences you see are designed to keep cattle and goats out of gardens. However, the barbed wire at the top would be a bit excessive for a cow—don’t you think? So, what purpose is that serving?
This is a more difficult question to answer because there are many different explanations given:

• Crime – these rural areas have extremely high unemployment rates, high poverty rates, and large, communal families to take care of. Although the only crime I have heard of is someone stealing the water taps from the yard. The metal can be sold for some quick money, though, most buyers will be suspicious of whence it came.
• Witchcraft/Spirits – There is an undercurrent of skepticism and fear of the magical and mysterious within Zulu culture. Some folks have expressed a fear of ghosts/spirits are their main reasons for avoiding nighttime adventures and often incorporate some “spirit revulsion” elements into their fencelines. 
• Fear of unrest – This theory is mentioned the least often, but is still lingering under the surface. It is often paired with an allusion to apartheid-era raids and massacres. The feelings of distrust and fear are painfully resilient…

5) Waiting
You will see a few clusters of folks waiting for a “taxi” on the side of the road. As you have read before here and here, the taxis do not run on an advertised or consistent schedule. So, roadside waiting is simply a way of life…

UPDATE:
As you tell us about your video observations, we will post additional perspectives/addenda.
Satellite dishes juxtaposed with signs of poverty: Fabulous observation, JV! Since 1994, there has been a huge push to bring electricity to the farthest reaches of the country. It has been a major (and very political) initiative across party lines.  This has caused a jump in communications access in the rural villages, including cell phones (no land lines), radio, and TV. This village, if I remember correctly, received electricity in 2005. Since then, the technology has been slowly spreading from house to house. It is DEFINITELY an adjustment to juxtapose this technology with rural living, but the more difficult adjustment is comparing the amenities available in cities with these sparse, rural luxuries. Thanks again for the observation!


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We are curious...

Looking at the video, what other cultural markers do you see? We have been living in-country for almost a year and are curious about what has slipped our view.

AND

Looking around your home community, what cultural markers can you find that tell about your community’s values or way of life?

Exam Season

Disclaimer: I’m going to use a variety of terms that are used in South Africa. There’s a glossary at the bottom of this post to help with the translations.

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It’s exam season at my school. During the last couple of weeks of the term*, all primary and secondary schools switch into exam-mode. At the primary school level, three grades in particular (Grade 3, 6, and 7) receive a lot of attention because the learners* in these grades write* exams passed down by the Department of Basic Education for languages* and maths* courses. Don’t worry; all of the other grades and subjects test as well. Seeing as how one of my primary functions here is to teach English, I have been able to gain an upfront view of what learners (and educators*) have to do to complete these exams. I’ll illustrate using Grade 6 English.

Grade 6 has “two tasks*”. I use the inverted commas* because saying two tasks makes it sound like the learners only do two things. In reality, learners complete a multitude of assignments that culminate into these two tasks; 10 different assignments to be exact. These are in addition to all of the other assignments learners complete over the course of the term. However, these are the only marks* that count toward the learners’ mark*. The assignments fall under four categories of skills: listening & speaking, reading & viewing, writing & presenting, and language structures & conventions. Under Task One, learners are responsible for completing six assignments, and, under Task Two, four assignments.

Grade 5 Learners Writing Their English Exam

If an educator plans ahead, s/he will assign all of the assignments for Task 1 between weeks 4-5 of the term (kind of like midterms at a university) and all of the assignments for Task 2 between weeks 9-10 of the term (kind of like finals at a university) (one term lasts 10 weeks). Assigning assignments for Task 2 gets tricky because the Department of Basic Education mandates that all public primary schools* administer common tests* for languages and maths for Grades 6-7. Theoretically, learners should be given as much time as possible to learn and then prepare to complete the assignments that will count toward the tasks. However, all of the assignments need to be created, signed off by the HOD*, administered (and in the cases of the common tests invigilated*), marked*, monitored*, and given back to the learners so they can see their mark (not to mention learners are given report cards); all before the end of the term when schools close for a break.

If you’re feeling somewhat lost and stressed by the number of things that need to get done in order to formally assess learners’ academic progress, don’t worry, you’re not alone. Educators at my school, including me, feel the same way. Further compounding educators’ stress, and their workload, is that they teach anywhere from four to seven subjects. This means that they have to administer tasks, which are comprised of a multitude of assignments, for each subject they teach. Now, not every subject has as many assignments under each task; however, altogether, it’s a lot of work.

Grade 7 Learners Writing Their English Exam

During the first term, as the reality of what I needed to do for each of my three classes set in, I was like a deer in headlights. I was perplexed as to how I should approach administering all of the tasks, and, further, I underestimated the amount of time it would take to administer everything. With approximately 135 learners spread across the three grades I teach, it took a lot of time to get everything done. In particular, the tasks for listening & speaking took a bulk of the time in class because I listened to and engaged each learner individually in conversation to assess their abilities. Out of the class, writing & presenting took the largest amount of time because of reading and editing learners’ written work.

Entering the second term, I had a better game plan. I planned to start administering tasks as soon as the fourth week of the term started and to have learners edit their peers’ work in addition to their own. (I tried having them edit their own work in the first term, but editing is a skill that takes a long time to perfect). Also, by the beginning of the second term, I was getting better at reading/deciphering learners’ writing. The trick was to read their writing phonetically. Coming to that realization opened the door to new meaning because I was better able to comprehend the message they were trying to send. It still takes me a lot of time to read through and edit learners’ work, but at least now I have a system for getting it all done. With only a few days left in the term, exam season will be coming to close soon. 

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* term – academic term; quarter

* learners – students

* write – take

* languages – isiZulu; English

* maths – math; mathematics

* educator – teacher

* tasks – exams

* inverted commas – quotation marks

* mark – grade; final grade

* primary school – elementary school; grades pre-kindergarten to 7th grade

* common tests – standardized test

* HOD – Head of Department

* invigilated – proctored

* marked – graded

* monitored – grading is checked by the HOD to ensure it has been done fairly; thus ensuring it wasn’t biased

Highlight of My Day: Impromptu Study Session

End-of-the-term exams start this week. The learners in my Grade 7 class will write* their English exam on Wednesday. In preparation for the exam, I held a revision* session during my period. One of the learners was having a hard time understanding one of the concepts, so I told him to come back at the end of the school day and he and I could work more one-on-one.

Learners Trying Out Sentences on the Chalkboard

The end of the day came and so did the learner. I explained the concept in more depth using examples on the chalkboard. While I had the learner try writing some examples of his own, a few learners came into the classroom to see what was happening. I invited them to write their own examples on the chalkboard. While that was happening, more learners came into the classroom. Before I knew it, 12 of my Grade 7 learners were in the classroom asking questions, writing examples on the chalkboard, and asking me to check to their work.

They were excited to go to the board and try things out. After playing around with various examples, the learners started having fun with it by writing wishes and jokes. It was a lot of fun!

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* write - take

* revision - review

Sugar Cookies & Sweet Times

Last weekend, I invited the teachers from my school over to my house to bake sugar biscuits*. Since I arrived, I have baked a variety of cookies and brought some to share with the teachers. Each time, I have been asked for the recipe. Seeing how popular the biscuits have been, I thought it would be fun to teach my colleagues how to bake one of them.

In preparation for my teachers, I made hummus and cut up some veggies. I haven’t seen hummus in the grocery store in my shopping town, so I was taking the chance that they hadn’t had it. And then I waited… and waited… and waited. In true African fashion, the teachers were running late. There was a moment when I thought they weren’t coming, but I was relieved when I got phoned* by one of them saying they were on their way.

Two of the Teachers Mixing Ingredients

Three of the teachers from my school came. They were excited and curious to see the hummus. My risk paid off; none of them had had it, and, further, none of them had even heard of it. It was fun to see them try the hummus because they commented on how healthy it was; especially to eat it with veggies.

After the hummus, I pulled out the ingredients we needed to bake the biscuits. Since the teachers were learning how to bake them, I had them mix the ingredients. It was true experiential learning in the making, evidenced by the flour on their clothes. We were having a lot of fun and we took pictures at each step. It was funny because the teachers took turns completing the same steps so they could rotate into the frame to have their picture taken. Also throughout the mixing, one of the teachers took notes so she could make the biscuits again on her own.

Cutting Out Biscuits and Preparing the Icing

With the dough prepared, I had them smell it so they could take in the vanilla aroma. They were sheepish about doing so because in Zulu culture it’s considered rude to smell food. I could see their reluctance to smell the dough, but I told them that it was okay. I explained that in American culture it’s a compliment to smell one’s food. It was a great moment to compare cultures.

The Sweet Part of the Process - Adding Icing

I then showed them how to roll the dough and cut out the biscuits. Michelle and I don’t have cookie cutters, so we improvised using a cup. (Last Christmas, Michelle and I made cookie cutters out of pop cans. Thank you Google!) The biscuits were ready to go into the oven. The teachers were surprised to see how simple it was to make the biscuits. Anytime I had brought them to school, they imagined that I went through some complex process to make them.

 

The Icing with Fun, Bright Colors!

While the biscuits baked, I heard them say several times about how they learned how to make “American cookies”. (While we mixed the ingredients, I kept switching between cookies and biscuits without realizing it and they picked up on it). I told them about how my family makes these biscuits, and many other kinds, during the Christmas season. It was how I learned how to bake. The teachers and I talked about how we were kind of like a family then since we were now making the biscuits. It was really cute.

After the biscuits came out of the oven and had a chance to cool, I showed the teachers how to make icing*. I explained to them that the frosting recipe is the same one my grandma used. I had food coloring, so I asked them what colors they wanted to make for the biscuits. They didn’t understand why we would change the color of the icing at first, but, when they saw the various colors, they commented about how the biscuits looked so much more appealing and fun. They said the biscuits kind of looked like toys because the colors made them so bright.

A Rainbow of Color

Icing the biscuits went by in a flash. We took more pictures while we decorated them. After the biscuits were iced, we each grabbed one and toasted to our success. The biscuits were so delicious! There were lots of “mmm’s” as we enjoyed a few of them. One of the teachers said that she was glad we had the hummus and veggies to start because it helped offset the biscuits we ate – haha!

Before the teachers left to go home, we took a group photo and talked about how much fun we had. They said we should hang out again and learn how to bake other things. I told them it was a date.

The Master Chefs Beaming after Their Work Was Finished

I want to give a shout out to my mom for teaching me how to bake. Every time I do, it reminds me of home and family. Last weekend, our family grew a little in size.

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* biscuits – Cookies are known as biscuits in South Africa.

* phoned – South Africans say “phoned” instead of “called”. They make a distinction between calling someone on the phone (to phone) and calling someone from some place like across the room.

* icing – Although Americans use icing and frosting interchangeably, South Africans strictly use icing. In my family’s house, we say frosting, but, when I’ve tried using frosting here, I get only puzzled looks.