Sudwala Caves

I had the opportunity to visit a magnificent natural beauty; the Sudwala Caves.  The caves are located in the Mankelekele Hills, south of the town of Sabie.  These impressive caverns are filled with numerous stalactites and stalagmites, which have been built up through two million years.  The cave is filled with towering ceilings and walls and walls of rugged rocks.  One section of the caves, called Owen Hall, is 70m in diameter and 37m in height.  It forms a natural amphitheater which can hold up to 500 people.  Some of these towering caverns are considered to contain the oldest dolomite chambers in the world.

The most famous inhabitant of the caves was Somquba, the son of Swazi King Sobhuza I.  Somquba and his followers kept refuge in the caves while his brother tried to attack them.

 This link will offer you a more in-depth explanation on the history of the Sudwala Caves:

http://www.sudwalacaves.com

The following are pictures that I took while touring the caves.

Both pictures are of a view looking up toward the ceiling of the cave.

Formations found within the cave:

 

Hand-made tools found in the cave:

Devil's Rock - named for the warmer temperatures found in this area of the caves.

Tour guides have named the following formations, 'Lot and His Wife'; in reference to the Bible story of Lot's wife turning to a pillar of stone.  The formation on the left is a suppose to represent Lot and the formation on the right takes on similar characteristics to a pillar of salt. The second picture is a closer view of the formation called 'Lot'.

Formations and striations found on the walls of the caves:

Daily Science Questions:

Look up the following terms - stalactite, stalagmite, and dolomite.  What is the difference between these types of formations?  Go back through the pictures and identify which formations are stalactites and which ones are stalagmites.

Afrikaans

Afrikaans is one of the official languages spoken in South Africa.  At Holy Family College, the students begin to learn Afrikaans in grade 4.  For many of the students, this will be the third language that they will learn; with English spoken in the schools, and a variety of African languages spoken at home.

I have had the opportunity to sit in and partake in a couple of Afrikaans lessons thus far.  The first lesson was a review for the students.  The students had to fill in the blanks on the following worksheet.

Notice how the people in South Africa write the date; it is the day, month, year.  January with the 'ie' ending is how it is spelled in Afrikaans.  (And the J makes a sound similar to our Y sound.)

The first statement says, "I am a ___________________." The student is to fill in whether they are a boy or a girl.  This student is a boy, so he wrote the Afrikaans word for "boy".

The second statement says, "My name is ________________."  The student wrote in his name, which is Wandile.  (It is pronounced wuan-dee-le.)

Statement number three says, "My last name is ______________."

Statement number four says, "I am __________ years old."  This student is 10 years old, so he wrote the Afrikaans word for ten.  When the students said the word ten in Afrikaans, it almost sounded like the word "tin".

Next, the statement says, "I live in _______________."  This student put the name of the township in which he lives in.  (A township, here in South Africa, is sort of just like a smaller town which is located right outside of a big city)

The last statement says, "My favorite food is _______________."   This boy's favorite food is bread (He spelled it wrong.  The actually Afrikaans spelling is brood).


The next three pictures are from story books that are written in Afrikaans:

Can you guess what story this is?

Seasons of the Year; Summer, Fall, Winter, Spring:

South African National Symbols (Afrikaans word on the top of the picture and the English word below the picture):

Names of fruit (vrugte):

The following is a link to a website that will let you type in an English word and you can choose to have to spoken to you in Afrikaans.

www.translate.google.com

It might be interesting to you to hear how some of the words are pronounced; not all of the letters in Afrikaans make the same sounds as they do in English.

Terminology

Over the past couple of weeks, I have been noticing South African people using words and phrases that are not common in America.  I began to write down these different terms/phrases and I thought that I would share with you all the different terms that I have heard thus far.  The first column is the South African term/phase and the second column is the American equivalence.

costume = swimming suit

biscuit = cookie

petrol station = gas station

pigeon hole = homework cubby

tuck shop = a concession stand where the student can by food for lunch

chips = french fries

sms = text

biltong = beef jerky

braai = barbecuing/grilling

takkies = tennis shoes

toilet = restroom

jersey = sweater or lightweight jacket

cool drink = pop

purse = wallet

handbag = purse

serviette = napkins

robot = stoplight

track pants = sweatpants

pram = baby stroller

trolly = shopping cart

indicator = turn signal in a car

cutlery = silverware

varsity = college

hooter = car horn

dust bin = trash can
boot = trunk of the car

As I continue to hear new words/phrasing, I will include them in the list.

First Week of School

During my staying in South Africa, I am volunteering at a Catholic school.  The school is located in Johannesburg.  It is called Holy Family College.  Located on the campus are grades R (kindergarten) - 12th grade.  I am helping in the grade R-grade 5 classrooms.  The school is a rather small school.  The class sizes are similar to that at St. John's in Jordan.  The students do not actually live in the city; they live in surrounding townships.  The parents must find means of transportation for the students.  The school does not offer busing for the students.  For most of the students, English is their second language.  Most of the students would speak Zulu or a different African language at home.

The school day begins at 8:00 am, but some students begin arriving as early as 6:30 in the morning.  The academic school day ends around 1:15 pm. The subjects taught at school are similar to those taught in America and all of the subjects are taught in English.  The only difference is in grade 4, the students begin to learn Afrikaans.  Afrikaans is one of the three national languages in South Africa.  (English and Zulu are the other two national languages.)  After the end of the academic school day, there is an hour of what is called extra-murals.  During this time, the students have an opportunity to receive extra assistance in math or reading, make crafts/play board games, or participate in a variety of sports.

Their school year began last week (January 14th).  It was a typical first week of school experience; much organizing of supplies, going over procedures/rules, and reviewing concepts taught from the previous year.  During the first week, I had an opportunity to assist in grade 3, grade R, and grade 5.  The following are pictures I took in each grade.

Grade R (kindergarten) pictures:

Grade 3 pictures:

 

Grade 5 pictures:

 






St. John's students, if you have specific questions about the school experience here in South Africa; either ask your teacher to email me questions and I will try and answer them the best I can, or post a question in the comments section of this blog and I will respond back.  I will continue to post a variety of pictures and information about my volunteer experience at Holy Family College.

Scenery from Durban

I thought that I would share a couple of pictures that I took while in Durban and of the surrounding areas.

The ship harbor (Durban is one of the busiest ports in South Africa):

Skyline view of Durban:

Beach/Indian Ocean:

Cathedral Peak, located in-between Durban and Johannesburg:

Driekloof Dam:

Lastly, your daily math question :)

Celsius is used to measure the temperature here is South Africa.  If the high tomorrow in Johannesburg is going to be 31 degrees celsius, what temperature will that be in degrees fahrenheit?

The Wedding Ceremony

Serisha's wedding ceremony actually consisted of two separate ceremonies.  The first ceremony represented the Christian traditions/beliefs, and the Hindu ceremony followed.

The Christian ceremony was spoken entirely in Afrikaans. I knew exactly three words that were spoken; Christ, Jesus, and Father :)  Therefore I will be sort of guessing as to what exactly took place during this portion of the services.  My best guess is that the minister (dominee is the Afrikaans word for minister) began the service with a prayer.  I believe that he then moved into a rather long homily like portion.  Following that, there was an exchanging of the rings, the vows, and some more blessings.

Pictures of the bride and groom during the Afrikaans ceremony:

A picture of the bridesmaids:

After the Christian ceremony, we moved inside to begin the Hindu portion of the proceedings.  The Hindu ceremony was spoken in English and the brahmin (Hindu priest) explained portions of the ceremony as they were taking place.  The family also distributed a handout explaining each portion of the ceremony.  The following are excerpts from that handout:

Ganesh Puha -
The wedding day starts with a prayer to Lord Ganesh.  He is believed to be the remover of all obstacles and the Ganesh Puja is carried out to ensure successful completion for the day's itinerary and successful marriage life for the couple.

Kanyadaan -
This is the giving away of the bride.  The bride's parents announce that they are entrusting the groom with their daughter who represents Lakshmi (the Goddess of prosperity).  The bride's parents then place their hands in the grooms for what is know as the hasta melap.  The couple then vows to accept each other in an equal partnership of love and respect.

Agni Puja -
The priest lights a small fire in a copper vessel known as the Agni Kund. The fire is invoked to act as a pure and sacred witness to the vows that are to be taken by the couple.  Nine seeds are also offered to derive blessings from the nine planets.  Hindus believe that the stars and planets have a profound influence on the paths we take during our lifetime.  The Graha Shanti is a prayer to the nine planets of solar system to bless the bride and groom with inner strength, courage and peace of mind.

The copper pot (Agni Kund) where the fire was lit is in the right-hand corner of this picture.  The picture also displays other items that were used throughout the ceremony:

Mangal Fera -
The couple will circle the fire four times.  Each round represents one of the four ultimate goals of life: Dharma (righteousness), Artha (wealth), Kama (desire), and Moksha (salvation).

Laaj Homa - The couple offers rice or barley into the agni kund.  They do this each time they circle the fire; praying for long life, health, prosperity and happiness in return.

Mangal Sutra and Sindoor -
The Mangal Sutra  is a necklace that the groom gives to his bride.  It is usually made of gold and small black beads which represent the sacred union between them.  This physical symbol makes the woman recognizable to the world as married.

Shilarohana -
The bride places her right foot in front of a stone and vows to be strong in order to protect and preserve the peace of her new home.

Saptapadi -
The couple then takes seven steps together, making the following seven vows:
1. sharing the responsibility of providing for their household
2. strengthen their minds, bodies, and souls to accomplish life's needs
3. accomplish wealth and prosperity through righteous means
4. acquire happiness through mutual love, respect and trust
5. raise strong, virtuous and courageous children
6. spiritual values and longevity
7. stay best friends in this lifelong wedlock

Aashirwad -
The married couple takes final blessing from both sets of parents and any other family elders there by touching the couples feet.  This concluded the ceremony.

A picture of the Hindu priest (brahmin):

Pictures of the bride and groom during the ceremony:

                             
The ceremonies were both very beautiful and filled with much love and spirit.  I felt honored to be able to take part in such an experience.

Nalangu and Mehendi - Beautifying the bride

My first weekend in South Africa was filled with celebration.  I attended a Christian/Hindu wedding.  My aunt Julie's niece, who is an Indian Hindu, married an Afrikaans man. (The Afrikaner people descended from predominantly Dutch settlers who first arrived in South Africa during the 17th and 18th centuries.)

The weekend consisted of both traditional Christian and Hindu ceremonial activities.  The activities started with a function called Nalangu.  The Nalangu is a ceremony of cleansing for the bride.  The bride-to-be sits next to her brother; Julie's niece did not have a brother so a boy cousin sat next to her. Women come forward and rub turmeric paste on the bride-to-be.  It is rubbed on her face, arms, hands, and legs.  The turmeric is suppose to help provide her skin with a glow for her wedding and is a cleansing paste, taking out toxins in her skin.  The ladies also sprinkle oil on the bride's head and place flowers in her hair.

This is a picture of Julie's niece, Serisha, at the Nalangu.  The yellow you see on her face is the turmeric.

After the ladies adorn the bride-to-be with the turmeric paste, flowers and oil, the bride awards the ladies with little gifts.  Serisha presented each lady with a betel nut and leaf.  The betel nut and leave is offered as a sign of respect toward that person.

Once the Nalangu was completed, a final blessing was given to Serisha and then a lunch was served to all of the guests.  After lunch, the Mehendi took place.  At the mehendi ceremony, the bride has her hands and feet intricately patterned with a paste of henna, oil, lemon juice and tea. The application of mehendi or henna takes about four hours to complete. The bride should not wash her hands until the paste has completely dried. Female friends and relatives also apply mehendi to their hands. Mehendi signifies the strength of love in a marriage. It is believed, the darker the mehendi, the stronger the love.

Mehendi was applied to my hand.  This picture was taken right after it was applied and is still wet.  Once it dried, the darker color flaked off and it turned brownish in color.  It is suppose to stay on for about two weeks.

Witnessing both the Nalangu and the Mehendi rituals was a fascinating experience for me.  I felt very honored, grateful, and blessed to be included in the festivities.

Introduction

Hello and welcome to my first ever blog.  I am not exactly sure how to create a blog, but I will give it my best shot.  The purpose of this blog is to inform family, friends, and my St. John's students back home of my experiences while I am here is South Africa.  With that said, I am planning on designing this blog mainly as an educational tool for St. John's students to use.  Therefore, this blog will be rather kid friendly in both content and language.  But I do hope that both the young and old will enjoy the information recorded on this blog.

I arrived to South Africa on Dec. 31 and will be staying here for three months.  While here, I will be staying with my aunt and uncle in Johannesburg.  However, for the first weekend of my stay, I stayed in Durban. Durban is located on the coast, about a 6 and half hour drive from Johannesburg.

For each post, I am going to try and provide one or two educational problems for my students to solve.  This is the first of such problems.

In South Africa, the metric system is used.  Therefore, distance between places is measured in kilometers, not miles.  1 km = .62 miles.  If there is 589 km from Durban to Johannesburg, about  how many miles is that?

The people of South Africa were so excited upon my arrival, that a huge party was taking place with fireworks and much celebration.

This was the view outside my window upon arrival to Durban.  I am sure it was for my arrival and not because it was midnight on New Year's Eve :)

I'm very excited about the adventures that are yet to come and look forward to informing you all of my travels and experiences!