education - Curious Karibella

2022-08-202022-09-09

A Recap of Staying at Thulani

Thulani was amazing!!!! It was my favorite place out of the first three places we stayed. First was Melvilla Guest House (in Johanessburg), then Cradle Boutique Hotel (in Cradle of Humankind), and then Thulani (near Hoedspruit, in Northeast South Africa)! I shared a room with Emmy right next to the pool.

The staff people were terrific! Kelvin was the game driver, and he helped with other things too. Charlene was the chef, and Nmbuso was the chef’s assistant. Charlene was amazing! She cooked the best foods and was super friendly and kind.

The pool was freezing! Like super cold. It felt nice on my face, arms and legs when we returned from Kruger, but otherwise, it was super hard. The rooms were excellent, and the bathrooms were awesome!

On the first game drive, we saw things like giraffes, zebras, and lots of antelope and wildebeest. Kelvin had prepared a sunset snack of mango nuts cocktails for adults and soda for kids. Yes, we did get to share a sprite and a Fanta. Mom will say yes to soda for the first time and probably the last.

On Tuesday we went to visit a school. On Wednesday, we went to a wild animal Rehabilitation center. There we saw lions, leopards, cheetahs, honey badgers, birds, and many more animals. It was sad to see how animals are badly caught in traps and wounded. Some of them die from their wounds. The rehabilitation center was fun and painful, and I would recommend it. It is called Moholoholo wildlife rehabilitation center.

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Spring of Hope and Visiting a School

kids covered in oranges in the back of a car

Today we visited NTSOELEMOLODI Primary School! We actually visited twice. The first time we went, we did a tour and gave oranges to all the students and staff! There were so many oranges. We started when Trygive picked us up and explained the school’s history.

We drove for quite a while, but we had to stop for gas. Before we stopped for gas, we went through town, and on the side of the road, there were so many people selling things. Among those things were oranges, and a lot of them. Trygive helped us pick a stand to buy from. It was run by a lady and she was SO happy when we bought ALL her oranges in on go. We piled them in the back seat which was where I and Bardez were sitting.

I and him got covered in oranges. It was actually kind of nice like a massage except one of my feet was bent in a painful position. When we got to the school I and Bardez started thinking about how we would get out when we were covered in oranges.

Thankfully others had a plan. As we went through a gate about 20 kids in uniform came out. There were also a couple of drummers! The children started marching in a circle around us. Mom told us to join them and as homeschoolers, we could not stay in the line very well. We eventually got into the rhythm but only for a short time because the principal signaled the students to stop. We got to meet the teachers and principal and there was a short welcome speech then the principal said there was going to be a traditional dance done by some of the girls. The dance was beautiful and I enjoyed it very much.

The principal took us into her office and talked about the school and grades. We then got to tour the school and classrooms. The classes were not small. Though they were organized. The school had grades kindergarten through 7. When the school had a huge garden with lots of vegetables and some bathrooms. It also had a new library except there were no bit chapter books for the older kids. It also had a netball court. Net Ball is close to basketball but pretty different.

I got to sit in the 5th-grade classroom with Bardez for a few minutes. It was a little awkward between the students and us but soon things slackened. After lunch, we played some violin and sang the national anthem of South Africa with the kids. Then it was time to go. None of us kids wanted to leave but we had to. We asked if we could come back for a day of school later that week. And we did!

The day at school was so awesome! I totally loved it! When we got there I went to the 6th-grade classroom, B went to 5th and Emmy and Zeb went to 7th. When I got in it was very awkward. I just sat at the desk in the front row next to a boy who had his book open. While the teacher was teaching I noticed a lot of whispering going on. I was okay with it. To them, this was a day at school where a new white girl was in their class and they were probably curious. Soon the atmosphere relaxed a bit.

They had been learning about electricity and how to save it. There was an activity where we had to get notebooks out. I had brought my notebook and I got it out of my backpack. I got good marks on my paper when the teacher checked it and I got high praise. I wasn’t sure if it was getting high praise because I was a guest or if it was the norm. At one point I started trying to figure out what one-third of 100 was. Then there was an activity where the teacher shared a poem he made then he asked me if I could write one. I told him about my little bear Poems. He asked me to write one. I was worried that I would not be able to write a good one but I did.

It took us a little while and in the end, when I read it the teacher asked the other students what it was about. I really enjoyed the rest of the class and I would love to go back. It was my first time in a classroom and my first day of going to a school (that wasn’t homeschooling). I really really really loved it!

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The Cradle of Humankind in Central South Africa

Cradle of humankind was interesting. It was cool to learn about all the history and see the animals. We stayed at the Cradle Boutique Hotel and the hotel rooms were little huts with thatched roofs. The first unofficial game drive we went on was a drive, then a walk. We saw antelope, wildebeest, monkeys, giraffes and a zebra. On the walk, we went to a cave that you had to crawl into. I was very scared of going into the cave but I had to. Mom was very encouraging even when I saw a bat hanging from the fall inches from my face. When we got to the bottom there was just enough room for 4 kids and one adult so mom and dad sat in the shaft thing. On our way out mom cracked one of the bones on the floor and it sounded super weird.

The food at the hotel was super good. I had the best risotto in my life there and I tried an ostrich! They also had a kid’s drink called an Appletizer. It is basically their version of Martinelie’s or sparkling apple juice in a can.

Visiting a Famous Cave and Museum

On Saturday we went to the famous caves. They were really big and cold and there was a lot of history about all the bones found there. The second cave was just a museum; there was no actual cave. It started with a water ride that is just floating through tunnels. It was fun but not thrilling. Then you went through a vortex tunnel. A vortex tunnel is a tunnel where you go in and stand on a platform and the walls are a tube around you and the tube around you spins so it feels like the platform is falling sideways. They are really cool! The rest of the museum was pretty cool but one fact that stood out to me a lot was that there were 5 massive extinctions and could we be the sixth? Could we also bring our own extinction upon ourselves? This thought was intriguing and scary. I do not think that the extinction of humans will happen in my lifetime but it could. There was a thing called a kiddies cave and what I imagined was a playroom but it was a literal cave.

The Glow of a Wildfire, Just Over the Hill!

That night as we were eating dinner we could see a huge wildfire just over the hill that was just one mile away from us! The next day we went for a game drive and we got to see the amount of burnt land. There was a line of black. Burnt, not burnt, burnt ground not burnt ground. There was still some smoking ground. It turns out the fire was started by arsonists who were attempting to burn down a movie set for a movie about a Zulu king named Shockra. They did not succeed in burning down the set or coming within three hundred feet of it. But they did succeed in burning down 2,000 hectares of ground.

Cradle of Humankind was my third favorite place in the first three places we stayed. I would recommend it as a weekend but not for too long.

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Apartheid Museum of South Africa in Johannesburg

Today we went to the Apartheid museum. It was probably the most interesting thing in Johannesburg we did. For those of you who do not know what Apartheid is, I will explain.

What was Apartheid?

Apartheid was a system that oppressed all non-whites. It was used in South Africa to ensure that the minority white population was dominant in everything. There were black political parties but black people were not allowed to vote so none of the black political parties would ever win. Apartheid was a horrendous and terrible way of controlling people and redistricting their rights.

My Individual Thoughts from Inside the Museum

These are some notes I made inside the museum. I put them in separate paragraphs because I like to think of them as individual thoughts.

Predicting the Future or the Future, Predicted

Here is a quote made by Nelson Mandela in 1952, I find it funny and inspiring. Nelson Mandela said ”One day I will be the first black president of South Africa”

This is my reflection on the quote.

I like to think that instead of him “predicting the future” he was saying “one day I will be president” and he meant it like “I will work hard to become president and it will happen.”

Escaping the Danger by Becoming the Danger

I read a story in the museum about a black man who was constantly being brutally harassed by the police. He wanted it to stop so he decided to become a policeman himself. I was a little shocked by this because why would a black man become a policeman? He would probably be sent to hurt his own people. I think it was because they felt like they needed to escape the danger by becoming the danger. It made me sad to think of this, but some people I think are softer than others and succumb to the enemy.

I Did Not Know about All the Others

I realized, while I was looking through the Museum shop, that before coming to Africa and listening to A Long Walk To Freedom, I only vaguely knew about Nelson Mandela and I did not know at all about Apartheid or Walter Sisulu, Oliver Tambo, Winnie Mandela, or Mandela’s children. Joe Slovo, Albertina Sisulu, George Bizos, Govan Mbeki, Ahamed Kathrada (also known as Kathy), Andrew Mlangeni, Raymond Mhlaba, Dennise Goldberg, and Bram Fisher. These were all people who were in Mandela’s life and helped him become the man he was.

I Look Up to Nelson Mandela Very Much

I was so Awed at how Mandela always knew what to say, his words were just full of wisdom and it’s like he just knew what to say to make everybody feel confident or sad or whatever emotion he is going for. He knew what will calm or please or rile up the crowd. He carried himself with such confidence and poise and dignity. He is definitely someone I look up to. When I see him in a video or picture I think of leadership, pride, prowess, calm, and reassurance.

History Everybody Needs to Learn

The Apartheid Museum was a very good place for us to visit. Even though I read Long Walk to Freedom, I never imagined police brutality was so bad. It was even worse than America. In Nelson Mandela’s Book, he talks about how bad the police were but in the videos at the museum, it showed the police being more violent than anyone could imagine. Even though the museum is sad and it has a painful history, I think it is all history that everybody needs to learn. Everybody in the world.

2022-08-092022-09-10

Constitution Hill Museum in Johannesburg, South Africa

Today was a day at Constitution Hill. Constitution Hill was a jail turned into a fort, then turned back into prison, then turned into a museum. Since it was women’s day, the museum entry fee was zero dollars. We went down into a room with a video interviewing former prisoners. The things that the warders made them do were horrendous. Completely inhumane!

One of the things that I read that stuck with me was the food service. The jailers would not give Bread to black people because “it would hurt their stomachs.” The number of silly things that the warders would say was innumerable. There was also ridiculous brutality in the jail, and you could be punished for the smallest of things and even things you did not do. Constitution Hill was a great museum, and I hope we get to go back to look at the Women’s section of the museum. I enjoyed