Rugby

I have now been to two games at the "Shark Tank", more correctly the ABSA Stadium, to watch the Sharks play. First time was the opening of the series, and to be honest, I was a bit disapointed... It was a mix of rugby and tennis! Too much kicking the ball back and forward, and NOT enough wrestling! And the audience was a bit tired or absent minded or something... There was no action on the stands either! One of the guys in my Bible group plays on the team (when he's not injured..), and he said they were a bit disapointed with the audience that time. So it wasn't just me...
The second time I went, there was a lot more action, both on the field and on the stands! A friend, Carmen, and I sat right behind two couples and a little two year old girl. The guys were SHOUTING!!! I told the wife "That's called passion!", but her reply was "That's called embarrassing!!!" :))) The little two year old shouted on and off "Go Sharks!" How cute is that!
After the game the biggest BBQ, or rather Braai as it is called in South African ;), in the whole world takes place on the big fields around the stadium. A LOT of people bring their braais, camping chairs and drinks, and hang out with good friends and discuss the game and life in general :) Really nice!
And by the way, the Sharks won both games! :))) GO SHARKS!
Here are some pic's:


Pippa and me.
















A small scrum (I think it is called a scrum..)










Right before the guys go into a scrum. Fun! :)










A line up, where one throws the ball in, and the two different teams try to catch it by lifting one of their players in the air. Then they go into a face (!) where the other team tackles the team who caught the ball, by piling themselves on top of the poor guy who just got lifted..! Great fun! :D









After fighting the ball ovet the far line, the team can convert (no, not religion...). it means to kick the ball between these two poles and get another two points! Good fun!

Back to school.., or not?

Last time I told you guys what was going on, was after the riot, or rather the demonstrations, started on Monday. Now it is Friday afternoon, and this is what has happened:
Tuesday when I arrived at school, there were hardly anyone there. A couple of teachers were sitting in the staff room, and we were all wondering what was happening... Was there going to be school or demonstrations? Some students had told me the day before that they would be demonstrating also on Tuesday, but who knew what would really happen...
Then all of a sudden one teacher comes running, saying we must just all leave. A parent had told him that the students were going to come after him and his car, and set them both on fire! So we went to the circuit office 20 mins away from the school. That is where head of department is, and here we could present our case to the right people (whoever they are.., some leader of the schools in the area). So that is where we, all the teachers, remained for most of the day. Fortunately I had some school work in the car, so I could get a little bit of work done.
In the mean time the kids were burning more tyres and having confrontations with the police! This time the police had probably used all their tear gass, 'cause now they started shooting at the kids with rubber bullets!!! That is just insane and pure paranoia!!! If the police cannot stop the kids from demonstrating, they should just control them, use these plastic sheilds if they are throwing stones at them!!! The police are there to protect and control, NOT to attac!!! They are CHILDREN, for crying out loud!!! This is NOT the way to teach them! Some of the kids had to go to the clinick after the whole ordeal!
Well, we were over at the circuit office not knowing what was going on! So I prayed! And I prayed some more! And then I prayed again! At the end of the day, we decided to have a prayer meeting the next day! So Wednesday prayed for the kids, the police, for the school, for the new building to be errected, for teh ones in charge of the whole building project, for the ones sitting on the bag of money, and so on!
Later I got an sms, saying that we would be gong back to school and teaching the next day, Thursday. Yee-ha! :)
I only teach one period on Thursdays (so far, new timetable next week), and I was looking forward to it! The 9B that is normally 62 pupils were reduced to 16!!! How nice is that! ;) For once we could have a little discussion! But what had happened to the other 46?? Hadn't word gotten around to them that there would be school again? Who knows? Today, Friday, they were still just 16. Two girls came to me asking if I could not come to their class again, 'cause they were so few also today. They must have liked having actual teaching instead of "crowd control"..! ;) How about that! :))) My kids! :D I told them that if there was another period where the teacher didn't show up, which happenes ALL the time because no-one is filling in for those who are absent, they must come and get me! the next thing that happenes is that all my 8A-pupils are leaving the school!!! It's 20 mins before I'm going to teach them about uncountable nouns, and they are just leaving.., along with all the other pupils f the school!!! I asked them why they were leaving, but all they could say was "I don't know..", or "This one, mam...!", pointing at a fellow pupil as to say that he had said it was time to go home...
I come to the staff room, where I found out that the vice principal had just called it a day, just like that..! She had told the pupils, but not the staff... So we all go home, which is nice, but it also means that we have lost yet one more precious period of teaching...
Just hang in there, Mon!!!

Tonight I'm going to my very first live rugby game!!! I'm gonna watch the Sharks, last year's winner of the series, play against the Western Force! Should be a GREAT game! I've been told... Watching a whole bunch of big guys hugging each other, (literally) pulling each others croaches, and running like a maniac! Will take pic's!!! :)))

Peace and Love

Riot!

Today we had a demonstration at the school, or rather just outside the gates of the school!

Let me give you some back ground info:
For a while now, the authorities have expanded the township (the vilage), which means more cildren. One thing that they had "forgotten" when they built a lot of these houses, was that children need to go to school! The only high school in that area, was Waterloo Secondary School. They have not expanded that along with the rest of the township.

In 2005 they started building a new school for us just up the hill from where we are. They started with 6 classrooms, and were supposed to bulid 6 more each year. That means there should be 18 classrooms there now, acording to my calculations...
Still just the first 6...

As I told you in my previous repport, we don't have enough rooms for all our classes. It is unbearable for the teachers, but even more so for the pupils! They spend every period in there!!! So they have had enough! Who can blame them??!! Seriously..!!!

So what they did today, was to go outside the gate of the school, and they set fire to several tyres! Massive, black smoke..!!! They were shouting and dansing and marching and singing! Then the ones outside the gate started throwing stones at the pupils still on the inside, because they should come out and join them! Nice invitation.. ;) A couple of cars got hit (Piet's BMW was not one of them), and I believe one of the pupils.., no serious injuri, though!

After a while they came marching/dansing (the Africans never march - they dance!) through the gate and over to the staffroom, where most of the teachers were "hiding"! They were shouting their slogans and waving their posters. That's when I got worried things would get out of hand... So I sent sms's to some prayer warriors, and the pupils "danced" their way back out through the gate! Just that second...

The police came to bring the crowd under control, since it was an "ilegal demonstration"... They did well until they started shooting at them with tear gass! Tear gass at children down to the age of 13!!! I'm shocked! Again!
Finally the pupils got tired of everything, assembled at the ground to give instructions about the demonstration tomorrow, and then went on their way...

I support their cause! Really! But the problem is, they are still a bunch of teenagers and it can easilly "snap" and go terribly wrong...!!!
I told them they must make a petition to take to the whole community to sign. It's their kids, so they should care! Then we would bring a newspaper reporter, and take all the lists to the office of those responsible! And lay down our claims!!!

I hope and pray tomorrow will go well, with no personal injury and no material damage...
And for those you who pray, please join me!

And by the way, I'm moving in to my little grannyflat (hopefully) next weekend! So ahead of time, for once...!! :)))

Love to all, and peace!

Mosquitoes and elephants...

I have already had too many encounters with mossies (mosquitoes) in this country, mostly at night. They somehow mannage to find their way in the dark, and they have NOT been invited! They leave marks like elephants, but I have yet to see a real elephant! I guess I should be glad they don't find their way in the dark... :) I will make my way, not in the dark however, but over Easter to a game park (safaripark, for dere nordmenn) a couple hours north of Durban. My parents come to visit, so I thought I should introduce them to some of the natives ;)

Since last time I wrote something on my blog, a lot has happened:

- Paul and Cecilie got maried :)

- Piet, a good friend, lend me his BMW

- I moved in with the Addisons, a WONDERFUL family

- I started working!!!

- I decided to move into the Jensen's grannyflat (at the end of Feb.)

- I decided to buy a Toyota!

Let me tell you all about it:

The Wedding.

It was a wonderful day, January 26. I put on my nicest dress, tried to get control over my hair, put on my stilleto's, and took off. Cecilie had spent even more time, and had professional help, and looked absolutely gorgeous!!! Paul didn't look too bad either! ;)

It was a wonderful day! The ceremony was nice, the first reception was also nice, with lots of nicely dressed friends and good food and good speaches, and the dinner reception was also nice. Even more good food! :D

Finally they are married, enough e-mailing between Norway and South Africa! Thank God!

The Car.

I am truly blessed! With good friends who have good cars! :D Only a few days after I arrived, I told my good friend Piet that I was picking up a rental car the following day. He said: "No, don't waste money on a rental car! I have an extra car sitting in my garage, waiting for some parts, and to be sold..! You can use that untill you get your own! It's a BMW.., I hope you don't mind?!" Who said missionary life has to be glamourless???!! ;)

The Addisons.

Because Cecilie's family was coming down for the wedding, Paul and Cecilie kicked me out of their flat...!!! True friends.. Ha-ha! Paul's mom, Rosemary, had found another place for me to stay, namely at the Addison's recidence! And to be totally honest, no offence Paul and Cecilie, I prefere staying here! :) The 4 Addisons have totally included me in their family, I can come home to a prepared dinner, I get my laundry done, they have a wireless broadband internet connection - and a puppy! His name is Bino! It will be a bit sad moving out at the end of the month..! :(

I started working.

My first day at work, at Waterloo Secondary School, was Tuesday January 15. I was told by the principal to meet up at 0730. That's when teachers are required to be there. Not being a mornig person, I dreaded the thought, but knew it was probably going to be like this... I'm there on time, but no-one else..., not even the principal. He shows up around 0900 :) That's African time for ya! He has now gotten SO much better, and I have started to slack...

The whole first week is, for me - a first-timer with SO many things there, totally caotic! The pupils were supposed to come before the end of lat school year, in December, to register (sign up for the school and the class), but most of them come now. And they keep coming the next week, as well... Yesterday, Friday February 8, I got another new pupil in one of my classes!

I have started to learn some names, or rather practice the pronounciation of names, but I still have no idea who these names belong to... I'm telling you, Zulu names are REALLY difficult for a Norwegian. The really cool thing about them, though, is that they all mean something. One means "Our family has increased", another "Mother of education", another "The one who brings blessing", and yet anohter " We have had enough"!

Discipline is close to non-existant. The kids are read the rules, and several teachers cary a stick, as is custom in rural Africa, but there is no consequence severe enough to make the children obey. I thought the children had much more respect for their teachers here, but oh, how wrong I was!!!

I am teaching English in grade 8 and Life Orientation in grade 9. The 2 grade 8, were suposed to be A, B and C. However, because we don't have enough rooms at the school for the amount of pupils, they merged and made A and B. This means I have (flippin') 75 kids in each class! I don't have to convince you that it becomes like a sauna in those classrooms! With 30 degrees outside, close to no wind blowing through and no fan in the ceiling, it is close to unbearable! Not so much for me as for the pupils, who sit as close as fish in a barrel! It is litterally PACKED in those rooms! Not at all ideal for teaching! So the kids struggle to concentrate, they start talking to each other, some fall asleep, some get a head ache, and it is boiling in my head! On top of that comes the fact that they don't know me, I don't know them, they are not at all used to hearing ONLY English in English class, and they have not learned to put up their hand if they want to say something! Need I say more..?

However, a few weeks have passed, we have had some cooler days, we're starting to get to know each other. I've also had the vice principal coming in to tell them, in a very authorative way, that they need to behave. (That was the short version!) That sure helps!

There are MANY things that are different. Some things are just that - different, but other things could very well change! I have tried to walk quietly (can u say that in English?), and not to burst out with all my wonderful ideas, but just go and have a little chat with the principal. And my contributions are "HIGHLY appreciated!" One thing that I have done, is to donate notice boards to the staff room, so that information can be given to all staff in a clear and easy way! Still waiting for the care taker to put them up...! ;)

My collegues have welcomed me in such an awesome way! I feel very safe there, like one of the staff, and I can ask them and talk to them about ANYTHING! It's a gratefull thing for a newly educated teacher, from a different culture, different climate, different language, different mindset... God is SO faithful!

New adress and new car.

I have decided to rent a little flat on the other side of the pool from paul's parents. It is perfect for a young, good looking woman like my self, and I will have my South African "parents" just across the lawn! It's even bigger than my own flat in Bergen... If I could have 19 people in my flat at home, I'll be able to invite at least 40 people to this one!! :))) We'll have a pool-party! As I mentioned, who says missionary life has to be glamourless..??!!!

I will also get my very first own car. it's a slightly scary feeling, but I'm a big girl! :) I need a car to get around here, and to get to and from work. I will show you a picture when I have it in my posession! ;))

Well, that was a long report.., but a LOT has happened! Read one paragraph each day, if it's too much at once! :))

As you can see, I am really fine! :)) Altough it can be tough at school sometimes, I still like it, and I'm not ready to quit just yet..! God is SO, SO faithful and loving! He REALLY is Jehovah Jireh, the Lord who provides! I have been taken SO well care of by so many people here. They ask me how I am doing, ask me over for coffee and lunch, and want to pray for me and my work! Being a child of God, I have SUCH a HUGE, HUGE family! When my own family and friends are far away, God provides! Glory to Him!

Alright, going out to get some food!

Have a good weekend everybody!

Love