Heritage Day 2015

Michelle and I have been in South Africa long enough now that we’re able to have the chance to celebrate special occasions for a second time. One such special occasion is Heritage Day. (I wrote about Heritage Day last year; you can read more about it here.)

The Teachers Lookin' Fancy

Yesterday, teachers and learners donned their traditional garb. There were performances including: musical poetry by Grade R* learners, storytelling by a Grade 3 learner, teacher imitations by Grade 5 learners, songs by Grade 6 learners, and gumboot dancing by Grade 7 learners.

Grade 6 Learners Performing Songs

There was also a special dance performance by the teachers. All of the teachers got involved this year, including me. The learners and teachers thought I was a riot when it was my turn to dance.

Joe Shaking Things Up

Joe High-Steppin'

After school let out, the teachers stayed behind to share a traditional meal together. I tried tripe for the first time as part of a tribal dumpling soup. I was hesitant to try it because it’s unusual for my culture, but I was (greatly) pleasantly surprised to find that it was delicious. Last year, I brought chocolate chip cookies, so this year I wanted to bring something different. I’ve observed that meat pies are common throughout the country; however, fruit pies don’t seem to exist. I used that as inspiration to bake apple pie. The pie was a hit!

Mr. Thwala and Several Learners Performing a Shembe Dance

Get it Ms. Khumalo!

Heritage Day took on more meaning for me this year than it did last year. Having gotten to know and grow closer to my fellow teachers and the learners made the holiday more special. I tried describing the change in this way to the teachers, “In the time I have been here, you have welcomed me with open arms and warm hearts. We have built friendships. I have grown to feel like I have become part of your family.” There were moments during the celebration when I could feel tears welling up behind my eyes because of the joy and pride I feel for the people at my school. But there was another reason I felt emotional; these feelings were also tinged with sadness because it was possible that it will be my last Heritage Day in South Africa. (About a year from now, Michelle and I will be returning to the US.)

Teachers Singing and Dancing

What these feelings taught me were that I need to cherish moments like the ones I described above and to make the most of the time I have left. The next big event coming up is the Grade 7 Farewell (it’s the graduation for the learners as a send off to high school). I wasn’t able to attend the Farewell last year because of a training, but I’ll be able to go this year. I look forward to it!

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*Grade R = kindergarten

#TBT: Reading Competition – Term 1

 *TBT stands for “Throw Back Thursday.” It is a popular hashtag on social media sites and an excuse to post old photos and things that are “throw backs” to the past.

Many of you have asked to hear more about the literacy competitions that have been happening at my (Michelle’s) school this year. So, I wanted to take you back to the beginning and highlight each one.

How it All Started
As I have mentioned here, my School Library Committee (SLC) is so amazing. You have to understand that, in my experience, the vast majority of committees created at South African schools meet only a handful of times each year, if at all. It is fairly common for a committee (or administrator, or organization, or school) to say, “Yes, we will do this thing,” and you never hear about it again. So when my SLC said that they wanted to host quarterly, internal, school literacy competitions to recognize and encourage learners to read/write/etc, I thought it was a lovely idea, but was skeptical that it would take off. I am glad that they proved me wrong.

The moment of truth came in early March when I raised my hand in a meeting and said, “I want to ask whether we are going to host a competition in Term 1. We stated last school year that we would do this every term, but we only have a few weeks left and we have not started planning. Should we skip the competition for this term and start planning for next term?” My comment was met with a resounding: NO. We must push to plan a competition for this term because if we start to slip now, we will slip the next term and the next. We can make no excuses… (Did I mention how much I love them?)

Term 1 – Prepared Storytelling/Reading and Unprepared Reading
It was decided that we would start with a basic reading competition. Students would come to the front, read a story, and be assessed on fluency. Fluency, when reading aloud, refers to the learner’s tone and inflection (do they sound natural or robotic?), pacing, pausing (at commas, periods, etc.) and ability to read with emotion.

Prepared Reading

Each grade competed in a level-appropriate way:

• Grade R (Kindergarten): Storytelling by using pictures in a book
• Grade 1: Storytelling by using pictures in a book (though, it was changed to sight-word recognition by the teacher)
• Grades 2 & 3: Prepared reading (meaning, learners get to practice reading it before they present)
• Grades 4 & 5: Unprepared reading (though, it was changed to prepared reading by the teacher)
• Grades 6 & 7: Unprepared reading

Prepared Reading

There was a buzz of energy the entire day. This was so new, so exciting, so… different than what they had seen before. The educators were a bit hesitant at first because there were so many new things for them—a new style of rubric, unfamiliar schedule for the day, and new roles with new expectations. The committee leapt in charge of the day, though! They held judge’s meetings, purchased snacks and prizes, and even emceed, providing impromptu entertainment between participants. Despite a few hiccups (such as the slight changes in the activities for some grades), the day was a huge success!

Judges excited about a job well done!

This event was especially meaningful for me because before the event, as many PCVs will attest, I was struggling with my committee relying too much on me. They were always looking to me for the answer or waiting for me to take charge.

This competition changed something within the core of the SLC. They started to believe that they could do things on their own…and that was the greatest success of all!

The First Day of Summer

When I was a kid, I couldn’t wait for summer to roll around. Summer meant swimming, playing outside, ice cream cones at the ice cream stand… It was my favourite season.

The first day of summer occurred last week, and, with it, new traditions (for me). At my school, and many of the schools in my area, it’s a tradition for the teachers to dress up like the learners. Along with Mr. Thwala, I donned my school’s colours – grey and white – and borrowed a tie from one of my learners. The learners got a big kick out of our appearance.

Mr. Thwala and I dressed as learners.

The learners were allowed to dress casually, which meant that they dressed to impress. Mr. Thwala went so far as to allow the learners in his Grade 7 Maths class to teach the class. One brave learner volunteered. It was cute when her classmates greeted her like she was the real deal.

A Bunch of Learners Dressed to Impress

On this day a year ago, we were living in a different part of the province and they had different traditions regarding the start of summer. One involved water. Michelle and I had to dodge buckets of water while we walked home from Peace Corps training.

Thinking about next year, I told one of the male teachers at my school that we should dress up like female learners by wearing skirts. In a place with strict gender norms, it might take some convincing; but it’s worth a try.

What are your traditions for the first day of summer?

My Grade 5 English Class singing Somewhere Over the Rainbow by Israel Kamakawiwo'ole at Assembly

An American at a “Zulu-ized” Western Wedding

The weekend after the school year ended, Michelle and I had the privilege of attending a wedding.  I felt honored to be there, as I have only known the person getting married for about three months.  But that may only be my perspective seeing as how the person getting married was an educator from my school and everyone from school was invited.  It was the respectful thing to do.  Attending the wedding was as much a cultural experience as it was a celebration of the union of two people.

 

A Context:

Taking a step back: Christianity has been in South Africa ever since the arrival of the first Europeans back in the 1600’s.  With Christianity came Western ways of thinking.  In the case of a wedding, that meant the involvement of a pastor, vows, and rings.  Add the advent of TV, Westernization of traditional Zulu wedding accelerated significantly.  There were also some political underpinnings elevating the significance of a Christian/Western wedding.  According to the old, Apartheid government, weddings weren’t official unless they followed this precedence; thus, traditional Zulu weddings weren’t officially recognized during that time. 

Traditionally, in the Zulu culture, when two people get married, the groom’s family presents the bride’s family with something called a lobola.  Lobola is a gift to the family.  Historically, when a woman married, she went to live with the groom and his extended family.  This meant that someone who could complete work around the home in the bride’s family no longer lived with the family and thus could not provide her services.  As a way of offering something in return for the woman’s loss of services, the groom’s family paid lobola.  In the Zulu culture, that meant izinkomo (translated: cows) because they were of great value.  Lobola is still gifted today and cows are still of great value; however, the groom’s family usually gives a gift of cash.

After lobola is given to the bride’s family, the bride’s family visits the groom’s family to perform some songs and dances and present them with presents to show their gratitude.  Historically, presents would include sleeping mats and blankets.  In both families, the bride and groom would pray to their ancestors and ask for their blessing.  After these ceremonies were completed, there would be a grand feast with cow and goat meat.

Keep in mind, historically, the couple’s villages were close together or the couple was from within the same village.  Further, time is more fluid in the Zulu culture than it is in a Western/American culture.

The Wedding:

Getting back to the topic first mentioned above: Michelle and I were invited to a wedding.  Before the ceremony started, the DJ played music to keep people entertained.  What was icing on the wedding cake (sorry, I couldn’t help myself) were the people that started dancing.  Because it was a sunny day, white parasols were provided.  The people held them as they danced, which made the scene look as if puffy clouds were floating by.  

Pre-Ceremony Dancing

The ceremony opened with a processional of the wedding party, including flower girls, page boys, bridesmaids, groomsmen, the groom, and finally the bride.  Following the processional, the ceremony emcee welcomed everyone (yes, there was an emcee).  The overseeing pastor led the ceremony with various readings of the Bible and a sermon.  The bride and groom then exchanged vows, rings, and a kiss.  Before the ceremony closed, a second pastor got up and spoke, offering his own selected readings and sermon. 

The Lovely Bride and Groom

After the ceremony ended, the wedding party exited and the guests were escorted to a hall.  After the guests were seated, the wedding party entered with a line dance, much to the amusement of the wedding party as well as the guests.  Various family members, friends, and coworkers gave speeches and well wishes.  Some performed songs as part of their speech.  My principal was one of the speakers.  When she went up to the stage, she had the educators and I join her in singing a song.  After the speeches were made, the bride tossed her bouquet, the cake was cut, and food was served.

Here’s a brief rundown of the timeline:

Scheduled Timeline	Actual Timeline
9:30am – The time we’re supposed to get picked up	10:00am – The time we actually got picked up
10:00am – The time the Western wedding was supposed to start	1:00pm – The time the wedding actually started
11:00am – The time lunch was supposed to be served	5:00pm – The wedding ceremony was still taking place, but we were encouraged to eat
1:00pm – The time the Zulu wedding was supposed to start	6:00pm – The wedding ceremony just ended; we’re taken home
5:00pm – The time the feast was supposed to start	1:00am (the next day) – The Zulu wedding ended

Cultural Observations:

Now, I know for typical US-Americans, they would have felt at least a little antsy about the time.  In full disclosure, although I have lived in South Africa for five months and know about the Zulu’s concept of time, I felt antsy.  I outline the timeline as one example to highlight one of many cultural differences between Zulus and Americans. 

Another observation was the influence of Western symbols of status on the Zulu culture.  Noting the décor, the details were intricate and decadent.  The fact that there were parasols showed that the bride and groom’s families were willing to pay for them.  The guests also provided a glimpse into the influence by the gifts they brought.  For example, the educators and I gifted some appliances for their kitchen.  I learned from talking with the educators that providing gifts was something new.  Historically, it was common for guests to bring food of some sort to the wedding, but these kinds of gifts were recent additions to the Zulu tradition.

The lengths of the speeches given during the ceremony were of particular note.  In Zulu culture, it’s common for the patriarchs of the family to say a few words during a wedding.  Taking this cultural practice and putting it in a Western context, the result was a wedding that took about six hours.  When I asked some of the guests at the wedding if it was normal for a wedding to last that long, they said no.  But because of the incorporation of a Western wedding, the length has increased. 

It is common for Zulus to complete both wedding ceremonies – Zulu and Christian/Western – if they themselves identify as Christian.  It shows respect to their family and ancestors, the former, as well as respect to their faith, the latter.  In the present case, the couple completed both ceremonies.  Unfortunately, our ride wanted to leave after eating, so Michelle and I weren’t able to able to attend the Zulu portion of the wedding.  I was actually hoping to attend that part because I would have seen something that was more traditionally (and more genuinely) Zulu. 

Reflecting on my experience attending the wedding, I hope that I didn’t place any specific value or worth on what transpired, but, instead, provided a view into the events that transpired.  Even as I write this, I don’t believe it’s possible to keep from being at least a little skewed in my thinking because I know I have my own personal bias and cultural values.  What I can say for sure is that the ceremony was beautiful, the bride and groom couldn’t have looked happier than when they kissed as wife and husband, and the guests seemed to be have a good time (even if they weren’t thrilled about how long things took). 

Heritage Day

Heritage Day is celebrated throughout South Africa on September 24th. It’s a time to gather, enjoy traditional food, sing songs, and dance; all while wearing traditional clothing. My school celebrated Heritage Day in grand style. All of the learners performed a song and dance by grade. As a special treat, some of the teachers performed a song as well. I noticed none of the male teachers got involved in the performance, so I asked them if we could in the future. They smiled nervously but agreed. After the performances, we ate a traditional meal. I brought chocolate chip cookies to share. The teachers were surprised to find out that I can bake. (In Zulu culture, men don’t normally cook).

Grade 7 Learners Performing a Song and Dance

Sitting back and observing this holiday in action was breathtaking. My school has at least a few learners from other areas of the country as well as from other countries, as I learned from talking with my colleagues and from seeing the clothing they wore for the celebration. I learned even some of the teachers come from other parts of the country. In addition to traditional Zulu attire, some people wore traditional Xhosa clothing.

A Teacher Wearing Traditional Xhosa Attire & Joe Wearing Traditional Zulu Attire

Michelle’s school also celebrated Heritage Day. Although she doesn’t have as many photos, she does have a poem to share. Her contribution to the celebration was to write a poem in English for a learner to recite.

Michelle's Poem

Experiencing Heritage Day reminded me about the International Festival that takes place in my hometown, Lorain, OH. Lorain has a diverse population, with people being able to trace their roots back to many countries. As families immigrated into the U.S., they settled in Lorain because there were several, large employers (e.g. steel mill, ship yards, car factory). As a way of celebrating the rich diversity, Lorain holds a festival where people can come together to share their heritage in fellowship. At the festival, one can eat food from Africa, Asia, Europe, and South America while enjoying traditional songs and dances. If you ever have a chance to visit Lorain, I would recommend going during the festival. It takes place during the last weekend of June. You’re sure to have a good time.

Here’s a link the International Festival website if you’d like to read more about it: http://www.loraininternational.com/.

Swearing In

It’s official… Michelle and I are Peace Corps Volunteers! Now, some of you might be wonderful why I’m saying we’re only volunteers just now when we’ve been in South Africa since July. Let me explain.

The first 2-3 months in country volunteers spend time training during what is called “Pre-Service Training” or PST. During PST, volunteers are referred to as “Peace Corps Trainees” or PCTs. PCTs learn the local language, culture, customs, and develop skills pertaining to their project. In our case, we have been learning isiZulu because we are in the KwaZulu Natal province of South Africa where isiZulu is the dominant language. Since Michelle and I are education volunteers, we participated in workshops on topics such as literacy, language acquisition, classroom management, differentiation, and many others. Peace Corps calls these technical sessions. Satisfactory completion of the workshops, in addition to passing an oral language exam and a couple of written exams, means that PCTs qualify to become “Peace Corps Volunteers” or PCVs.

Joe & Michelle Excited to Have Taken the Peace Corps Oath

If you’re already putting two and two together, then you might have already guessed that Michelle and I fulfilled all of the required described above. We completed workshops and passed our exams, which means that we qualified to become official PCVs with the Peace Corps.

It was quite an exciting day to Swear In. It’s called Swear In because all incoming PCVs pledge to serve the U.S., South Africa, and the Peace Corps diligently during their term of service. It was really cool because we raised our right hands, took the oath, which we heard from Michelle’s dad who was in the Air Force the oath was similar to that of the military, and were recognized by the Country Director.

Incoming South Africa 30 Peace Corps Volunteers Taking the Peace Corps Oath

Swear In was a cool rite of passage because it acknowledged the work the incoming volunteers and I had done since we initially applied to join the Peace Corps, including interviews, exams, workshops, practical teaching, and other training. Since Peace Corps’ inception, over 200,000 volunteers have sworn in to serve in more than 170 countries all over the world. We are now part of a network of people, both U.S. Americans and host country nationals, who committed themselves to improving the state of the world. In South Africa, this means we will be helping with education. In the coming months, we will learn about the state of our schools, develop partnerships with fellow teachers, and prepare to go into the classroom. It is an exciting time.

Family Farewell Function

We knew the day would come when it would be time to say good-bye to our host family. They hosted Michelle and I for two months while we completed training with the Peace Corps. When we first arrived, we referred to them as our “host family”, but shortly thereafter we dropped the “host” part of it because they truly became our family. We affectionately called our host-mom “Mama” (and still do).

Joe, Mama, & Michelle

As a way of saying thank you to our family, along with all of the other families that hosted volunteers during Pre-Service Training, Peace Corps, the volunteers, and we coordinated a farewell function that consisted of traditional Zulu attire, dancing, singing, speeches, awarding of certificates, and, of course, food. The families had a wonderful time.

Several of the male volunteers and I surprised our families by wearing traditional Zulu pants to the function. One of the language instructors found a tailor who could make the pants, which was really cool. When I walked out of my bedroom on the morning of the function, Mama was giddy to see me wearing the pants. Mama surprised me in return by getting me a (faux) traditional Zulu shirt (I say faux because the real ones are made using animal skin, which apparently is very expensive). Mama also got Michelle a traditional Zulu shawl, necklace, and headband.

Joe & Michelle in Traditional Zulu Attire

Several local, youth performance groups came to the function to sing, dance, or both. The children were quite talented. Many of them performed a dance called “gida”. Historically, Zulus performed gida before they engaged in battle. It was the equivalent of “puffing up one’s chest”, which was meant to intimidate their opponent. Over time, though, gida evolved to become a dance. Now, gida is a great show of pride for the Zulu culture.

The "Gida" - A Traditional Zulu Dance

Michelle sang a rendition of Here Comes the Sun by The Beatles with a group of volunteers. It was great! Two volunteers within the group translated some of the lyrics into isiZulu so that all who listened could enjoy the song; even if only a small portion.

Rendition of Here Comes the Sun by The Beatles

I was selected by the language instructors to give the speech of appreciation to the families. I was honored to be selected, as well as nervous because the speech was entirely in isiZulu. After a couple of months studying the language, I have learned many words; however, looking at the speech, I saw that there are many more to study. I rehearsed the speech many times; sometimes alone and sometimes in front of the language instructors. The instructors were able to give me feedback, which helped immensely because I got better after each rehearsal.

Joe Giving the Speech of Appreciation in isiZulu

The speech went over very well. I heard from several families that they could understand me. Some of them even commented that they thought I had been speaking isiZulu for much longer than a couple of months (if only!).

The function ended by awarding each family a certificate. They were excited to come up to the stage to be recognized. When Michelle and I spoke with Mama after the function, Mama shared that she was initially afraid to bring strangers into her home. She went on to say, though, that she was glad she did because she loved getting to know us. She soon thought of us as her own children.

Mama, our family, Michelle, and I were sad to see the day come when we had to leave for our permanent site. Many happy memories were made with our family. Michelle and I are excited to say that we’re going to visit them over the summer holidays (Dec-Jan). We look forward to seeing them again.

Day in the Life of a PCT (Peace Corps Trainee)

It’s been about a month since Michelle and I arrived in South Africa and so much has happened. The days are starting to blur together. Michelle and I thought we would attempt to give our followers a flavor of what our day is like:

• 4:00am-7:00am - The first rooster crows; followed by a goose; then other roosters
• 6:30am - Watch the sunrise
• 6:35am - Use the latrine (outhouse)
• 8:00am - Language lesson (2-4 hours daily)
• Depending on the day - Riding the komvi (taxi van)
• Depending on the day - Sessions (cultural, technical, safety & security, medical) (2-4 hours daily)
• Throughout the day - Seeing the izingane izinkomo nezimvu [translation: baby cows and sheep]
• 5:30pm - Watch the sunset
• Depending on the day - Do chores (wash dishes, hand wash clothes, sweep our room, cook)
• 5:45pm - Bucket bathing
• 6:15pm – Study isiZulu (language)
• A couple of hours everyday - Spend time with family
• 8:00pm - Watch Generations (a popular soap opera; just about everyone in our village watches it)
• Before bed - Gaze at the Milky Way (so many stars!)
• 9:30pm-10:00pm - Lala kahle [translation: goodnight]

Umndeni wethu lapha eSouth Africa [translation: Our family in South Africa]

This is a typical day. It varies depending on random events. For example, recently, our cohort learned about the Zulu king’s wedding to a Swazi princess, so we asked to attend the ceremony. According to Zulu culture, anyone can attend the king’s wedding (it’s kind of a big deal). Our Training Director, Mr. Baker, made arrangements for transportation, and, voila!, we went to the wedding. (Disclaimer: traditional Zulu weddings last for a few days, and we only saw part of one of the days).

VIP Passes to a Zulu Royal Wedding

Royalty Performing a Traditional Wedding Dance

Michelle and I are enjoying ourselves. Our fellow PCTs are a great support. The Peace Corps staff is very knowledgeable and work diligently to make sure we can be successful. We have a wonderful host family.

At the same time, we’ve been experiencing the up’s and down’s of the U-W curve of living in a new culture (push up your nerd glasses). For example, we’ve had moments when we’ve really missed family, friends, the convenience of a flush toilet, or ice cream. There’s ice cream in South Africa, but not in our village. In the same day that we might be missing someone or something, we might also experience a break through in learning the language (for example, understanding how noun classes work) or see the wedding photos of our host mama (which was so cool!)

Overall, our decision to join the Peace Corps is affirmed regularly because of the connections we’re making with the people.

A Grand U.S. Road Trip

Fourteen days and 3,890 miles.  In two legs, Michelle and I drove from Tacoma, WA to Lorain, OH and then to Springfield, LA.  There are a few highlights of the drive that we want to expound.  First, it felt so good to see family.  Michelle and I got to spend five days in Ohio visiting my family.  One of the cornerstones of the visit was Stephanie’s graduation.  After years of hard work, Stephanie earned her Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration.  It was so cool to see her walk.  Congratulations, big sis!  Michelle and I also enjoyed eating a traditional Polish meal, complete with paczkis, and trying to polka at the Polish dinner as part of Lorain’s International Festival.

Another highlight of Ohio was simply spending time with my parents, siblings, relatives and a few friends (shout out to Dave Vale, Kathy Petras, Doug Kirk, Adam, Holly, and li’l Tate Trifiro, and Dr. Melampy and Nance).  Michelle and I didn’t have to worry about being anywhere in particular nor set an alarm.  It felt nice just talking, laughing, and being.  Thank you for that!

Along the way, we got to see Erin Vandenburgh get hitched to her boo, Brandon, in Idaho; grab cinnamon roll French toast at Silver Grill Café in Fort Collins, CO with good friends (shout out to Shelby, Tyler, Stephen, Cassidy and li’l Channing, Kate, Cynthia, Emily, Steve, and Amanda); visit with the Dalton’s and stay for breakfast in Omaha, NE; laugh a lot and enjoy scrumptious Chicago-style pizza at Giordano’s with Joe Levy, Brittany, Rhonda, and Ade; spend the night with Michelle’s sister, Anne, and her partner, Justin, in Cincinnati, OH; eat at the delicious Loveless Café and get a driving tour of Nashville, TN with Kari George; have a quick stop in Huntsville, AL to see Michelle’s cousin, Danica, before capping off our drive in Springfield, LA.  In LA, we’re going to spend our last days in the U.S. with Michelle’s family (future post to come).

Driving from Washington to Ohio and then to Louisiana showed us that we live in a very beautiful country.  Several mountains ranges give way to canyons flowing with white water and eventually mellow out to fields of green as far as the eye can see.  America, the Beautiful.  It’s cliché, but true.  Michelle and I were fortunate to get in some cragging in Vantage, WA and touring the Mammoth Cave in Kentucky on our second wedding anniversary, but there were many more places that would have shown to be cool adventures.  New climbs, hikes, white water rafting, and others that we look forward to doing when we get back.  We’ll be looking for others to join us. ;)

We’re growing more excited about our upcoming adventure with the Peace Corps and we’re elated to be going to South Africa because we’ve read and heard wonderful things about it.  In the mean time, we’re grateful to see have seen so many people and we’re honored and humbled to have been able to see so much of the U.S.  By the time we get on the plane for South Africa, we’ll have driven through 17 states.