(Below is an email Jenna sent 11/17. Btw, you can read more about the group Generation for Change that Jenna mentions at http://www.thegcg.org/. Posted by Jenna's mom.)
I tried to send an email to everyone in Cape Town, but I don't think it went through. So. Here's a quick update.
From my last email that I know got sent, I was in Eshowe. We went to an orphanage and a Zulu wedding both of which were absolutely amazing. After Eshowe, we left for Coffee Bay/ Hole in the Wall--but first as you all probably know, we saw Nelson Mandela (randomly). What?!? The story is insane. It sounds like that of a news reporter or something. But no. This is school. This is my life at TTS. As we made our way down the wild coast, we stopped at J-Bay, where we surfed and some girls shopped (and I did some homework). J-Bay was beautiful and a lot of fun. Then one of my teachers took her time off during mid-terms. Oh right. Mid-terms. They were so hard! But I did well and I got all A's (so even though we have a crazy life style here at TTS and we do amazing things, yes. We still have school and it's intense). The night before mid-terms, THE NIGHT BEFORE, South Africa won the rugby world cup, meaning that there was very loud partying going on in the background while we were trying to study and sleep. But it all worked out. After mid-terms, we were off to Cape Town to stay with our host families and work with a group called Generation for Change, which is the most inspirational group I have ever met. When you have a free moment, please find out more about them. They may change your outlook on things as they did to me. Once those two weeks were over, we all got back together which was like a huge family reunion or something. It was wonderful. I love everyone on this trip, so being away for two weeks seemed like forever. We had classes in Cape Town, we went to Robben Island, I played the piano, and we also went dancing with our teachers. Weird. But oh so fun. Cape Town was a lot of fun, but as our trip had to continue, we left for Namibia, where I am now. It is the craziest place ever. Just dry rocks in the land around. Nothing else. We went to a Ghost Town near Lutiritz (not sure if that is spelled right) which was an old German town that was abandoned and all the buildings are filled with sand. It was a great place to take pictures. And then we went to the dunes! Dune 45. Yes. I was there. The most famous dune in the world, and I climbed it. Today we get to sand sled on the dunes, which is going to be amazing.
So, there you have it. A very quick update of the past month or so.
Hope all is well,
Jenna
Saturday, November 17, 2007
Sunday, November 4, 2007
Southern tip of Africa
(Picture of the girls and teachers at Cape Agulhas, the southern-most tip of Africa -- the EXACT, or so they say, line that divides the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Enjoy! Posted by Jenna's mom.)
Reciting poetry to three continents at the same time ...
(Picture of English class in action at Cape Agulhas, the southern-most tip of Africa. The assignment was to shout the poems they each had picked out and studied, loud enough to reach India, Antarctica, and South America. Jenna is in the foreground wearing a lavender jacket.)
Friday, October 26, 2007
An introduction to the Indian Ocean ...
(Picture sent by one of the teachers of the girls' first encounter with the Indian Ocean. Jenna is on the far right.)
Thursday, October 25, 2007
The Story of "the most amazing experience"
(Below is a 10/25 email from Claire, Jenna's lead teacher and mentor the first half of the semster, about what Jenna has described as "the most amazing experience". It will be difficult to top.)
--------------------------
Here it is. The Story (deserving of a capital S, even).
I thought that my life as a history teacher had reached its pinnacle a few weeks ago when the girls spontaneously reenacted the Battle of Blood River on the actual battle site (I literally asked Heather how it could possibly get any better), but I have to admit that this recent event may have trumped it. Yep; it's big. But you probably already know how it ends. If you're so anxious you can't wait for the punchline, skip down to the * * *. Only if you're really anxious. It's got a pretty good lead-up...
Our story begins on a fairly normal Traveling School day: we were driving from Durban to the largish city of Umtata, and we had made arrangements to camp about thirty kilometers outside Umtata, in the small traditional Xhosa town of Qunu (famed for being the childhood home of Nelson Mandela). It was cold and windy: really cold, really windy. Maybe, just maybe, if our collective karma points were sufficient, we could sleep in the rondavels there. We crossed our fingers. When we arrived, we found that we could, in fact, sleep in the rondavels.
Excellent.
Umtata is home to the official Nelson Mandela museum, so we awoke early the next day planning to learn all about one of the most famous men in the world. We discussed who he was and what he did, and then we decided to spend the day contemplating the "genesis of greatness" (not my phrase, unfortunately; it is coined on the back of his autobiography), and we piled into the truck.
And as we were driving back out our little dirt road, Japhet our driver, slyly asked me, "Did you know that he's around here?" I did not know that he was around there. No one knew that he was around there.
WHAT?
So I did the only logical thing to do: I leaped out of the truck and sprinted back down the little dirt road to ask the woman of the complex what exactly was going on. She told me that Nelson Mandela (yes, THAT Nelson Mandela) was in town ("town" being an exaggeration), that he was meeting up with the ex-president of Zambia (Kenneth Kaunda, another legend), and that she knew where they were. At this moment, just for divine effect, I imagine, three police cars drove by, sirens blaring.
WHAT?
She sent her friend to guide us, and we embarked on a most ridiculous chase. (Cue to racing, adrenaline-inducing background music.) Imagine, if you will, a truck the size of a large U-Haul making its excited way toward Nelson Mandela over the winding dirt roads of rural South Africa. Seventeen female faces plastered to the windows of this truck. The screams. The exclamations. Four teachers marveling at how this could possibly actually be their job. Thirteen girls marveling at how this could possibly actually be their lives.
And then the truck stopped.
We were in a tiny parking lot in the middle of nothing but rich and rolling hills, and 300 yards away from us, a group of about fifty people were massed around what looked to be a memorial of some kind. We sat in the truck and waited. In silence. Absolute silence. We were far enough away to be unobtrusive, but we were there, nonetheless. And as we sat in our pulsing silence, a small black car, escorted by a few police cars, passed our truck. We could just make out the shadowy figure sitting in the back seat.
"That's Nelson Mandela," everyone felt the need to whisper at least twice.
The car passed us, joined the mass, and then. Oh, then. A white head, THAT white head, emerged from the car. "That's Nelson Mandela," we all whispered again, just for good measure.
And then a policeman told us we could go closer, if we wanted to.
IF WE WANTED TO?
We quickly (still magically silently) disembarked and virtually tiptoed our way toward the famous white head. We got to the group, and people moved to let us in. And then we just stood there, all of us wearing the typical Traveling School outfit (some kind of fleece, mildly stained pants, and flipflops), and watched. There he was. THERE HE WAS. He spoke to a few reporters, and moved to his car. We were on one side of his car; he was on the other. NOTHING between us but his sleek black car.
We stood ten feet away from him.
Him, NELSON MANDELA.
* * *
WE STOOD TEN FEET FROM NELSON MANDELA.
* * *
And he stood there, and we stood there, and the surreality of it all was overwhelming. Astounding. Inspiring. Bewitching.
He got in his car. Throwing decorum to the wind, we waved frantically. (The windows were tinted. We have no idea if he waved back. We've decided that he did, though. He seems like the kind of man who would wave back.) The car departed.
And that was that.
Unbelievable.
Just thought you guys might want to know the full story...
In high praise of serendipity,
Claire
--------------------
(Here's a link to the ceremony referenced above, http://www.dispatch.co.za/2007/10/09/Easterncape/aking.html. And, the next post has a picture of the U-Haul sized safari truck they travel in. Jenna's mom>
--------------------------
Here it is. The Story (deserving of a capital S, even).
I thought that my life as a history teacher had reached its pinnacle a few weeks ago when the girls spontaneously reenacted the Battle of Blood River on the actual battle site (I literally asked Heather how it could possibly get any better), but I have to admit that this recent event may have trumped it. Yep; it's big. But you probably already know how it ends. If you're so anxious you can't wait for the punchline, skip down to the * * *. Only if you're really anxious. It's got a pretty good lead-up...
Our story begins on a fairly normal Traveling School day: we were driving from Durban to the largish city of Umtata, and we had made arrangements to camp about thirty kilometers outside Umtata, in the small traditional Xhosa town of Qunu (famed for being the childhood home of Nelson Mandela). It was cold and windy: really cold, really windy. Maybe, just maybe, if our collective karma points were sufficient, we could sleep in the rondavels there. We crossed our fingers. When we arrived, we found that we could, in fact, sleep in the rondavels.
Excellent.
Umtata is home to the official Nelson Mandela museum, so we awoke early the next day planning to learn all about one of the most famous men in the world. We discussed who he was and what he did, and then we decided to spend the day contemplating the "genesis of greatness" (not my phrase, unfortunately; it is coined on the back of his autobiography), and we piled into the truck.
And as we were driving back out our little dirt road, Japhet our driver, slyly asked me, "Did you know that he's around here?" I did not know that he was around there. No one knew that he was around there.
WHAT?
So I did the only logical thing to do: I leaped out of the truck and sprinted back down the little dirt road to ask the woman of the complex what exactly was going on. She told me that Nelson Mandela (yes, THAT Nelson Mandela) was in town ("town" being an exaggeration), that he was meeting up with the ex-president of Zambia (Kenneth Kaunda, another legend), and that she knew where they were. At this moment, just for divine effect, I imagine, three police cars drove by, sirens blaring.
WHAT?
She sent her friend to guide us, and we embarked on a most ridiculous chase. (Cue to racing, adrenaline-inducing background music.) Imagine, if you will, a truck the size of a large U-Haul making its excited way toward Nelson Mandela over the winding dirt roads of rural South Africa. Seventeen female faces plastered to the windows of this truck. The screams. The exclamations. Four teachers marveling at how this could possibly actually be their job. Thirteen girls marveling at how this could possibly actually be their lives.
And then the truck stopped.
We were in a tiny parking lot in the middle of nothing but rich and rolling hills, and 300 yards away from us, a group of about fifty people were massed around what looked to be a memorial of some kind. We sat in the truck and waited. In silence. Absolute silence. We were far enough away to be unobtrusive, but we were there, nonetheless. And as we sat in our pulsing silence, a small black car, escorted by a few police cars, passed our truck. We could just make out the shadowy figure sitting in the back seat.
"That's Nelson Mandela," everyone felt the need to whisper at least twice.
The car passed us, joined the mass, and then. Oh, then. A white head, THAT white head, emerged from the car. "That's Nelson Mandela," we all whispered again, just for good measure.
And then a policeman told us we could go closer, if we wanted to.
IF WE WANTED TO?
We quickly (still magically silently) disembarked and virtually tiptoed our way toward the famous white head. We got to the group, and people moved to let us in. And then we just stood there, all of us wearing the typical Traveling School outfit (some kind of fleece, mildly stained pants, and flipflops), and watched. There he was. THERE HE WAS. He spoke to a few reporters, and moved to his car. We were on one side of his car; he was on the other. NOTHING between us but his sleek black car.
We stood ten feet away from him.
Him, NELSON MANDELA.
* * *
WE STOOD TEN FEET FROM NELSON MANDELA.
* * *
And he stood there, and we stood there, and the surreality of it all was overwhelming. Astounding. Inspiring. Bewitching.
He got in his car. Throwing decorum to the wind, we waved frantically. (The windows were tinted. We have no idea if he waved back. We've decided that he did, though. He seems like the kind of man who would wave back.) The car departed.
And that was that.
Unbelievable.
Just thought you guys might want to know the full story...
In high praise of serendipity,
Claire
--------------------
(Here's a link to the ceremony referenced above, http://www.dispatch.co.za/2007/10/09/Easterncape/aking.html. And, the next post has a picture of the U-Haul sized safari truck they travel in. Jenna's mom>
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Safari truck
(Picture sent by one of the teachers of the safari truck that is the group's mode of transportation for the semester, including their wild ride to find Nelson Mandela (see "The Story" above). Btw, Jenna is in the middle with an orange tank top and cream-colored skirt ... doing dishes?!? :-).
Saturday, October 6, 2007
Writing from Africa.
It's been one month since I left, though it feels like only a week has gone by. The Traveling School is ineffable. It's so fun, though it's still a lot of work. The girls are great, and so far we've all gotten along. Some of my favorite activities we've done so far are: Kruger NP, but that's somewhat of a given... we saw all of the big 5, and that's supposed to be pretty lucky I guess. We rock climbed through out the first 2 weeks, and we also did a crazy rapell (about 300 ft) right next to a waterfall. We also swam in the waterfall, which was literally the coldest water I've ever felt. We visited the Battle field of Blood River, and we acted out the war all over again, WITH the teachers. We threw water ballons at each other--at 5:30 in the morning. It was awesome. Recently, we did the Amphitheater hike, which was beautiful, and on that hike we saw the world's second highest waterfall, but due to the drought South Africa is having, there was hardly any water. This week, we visited an orphanage, which was probably one of the most eye opening experiences I've ever had. We played games with the kids, and spent the rest of the afternoon with them. It has inspired me to donate or do something for these kids, because they were absolutely great. And I got some pictures, so yeah. Look forward to seeing those. We also went to a Zulu healing ceramony. It was in a small hut, completely filled with locals. They spoke Zulu through out the entire ceramony (obviously), so we didn't understand anything, but it was enough just being there and watching it. They were very into it, and I have rarely seen that kind of excitement at home. Today we are going to a traditional Zulu wedding, and I can't wait... we also get to see the indian ocean today! Looking forward to writing my next post to let you all know how/what we are doing at The Traveling School!
Until the next post...
Jenna
It's been one month since I left, though it feels like only a week has gone by. The Traveling School is ineffable. It's so fun, though it's still a lot of work. The girls are great, and so far we've all gotten along. Some of my favorite activities we've done so far are: Kruger NP, but that's somewhat of a given... we saw all of the big 5, and that's supposed to be pretty lucky I guess. We rock climbed through out the first 2 weeks, and we also did a crazy rapell (about 300 ft) right next to a waterfall. We also swam in the waterfall, which was literally the coldest water I've ever felt. We visited the Battle field of Blood River, and we acted out the war all over again, WITH the teachers. We threw water ballons at each other--at 5:30 in the morning. It was awesome. Recently, we did the Amphitheater hike, which was beautiful, and on that hike we saw the world's second highest waterfall, but due to the drought South Africa is having, there was hardly any water. This week, we visited an orphanage, which was probably one of the most eye opening experiences I've ever had. We played games with the kids, and spent the rest of the afternoon with them. It has inspired me to donate or do something for these kids, because they were absolutely great. And I got some pictures, so yeah. Look forward to seeing those. We also went to a Zulu healing ceramony. It was in a small hut, completely filled with locals. They spoke Zulu through out the entire ceramony (obviously), so we didn't understand anything, but it was enough just being there and watching it. They were very into it, and I have rarely seen that kind of excitement at home. Today we are going to a traditional Zulu wedding, and I can't wait... we also get to see the indian ocean today! Looking forward to writing my next post to let you all know how/what we are doing at The Traveling School!
Until the next post...
Jenna
Rappelling
(Although Jenna isn't in this picture, she did do this rappell as she mentions in her post from 10/6. Gulp! I'm glad I didn't see this picture beforehand. Jenna's mom)
Monday, October 1, 2007
10/1/07 email update
(From email Jenna sent 10/1 and pictures sent by one of the teachers. The picture above is at the Ampitheater summit that Jenna mentions below. Jenna is the one wearing the striped hat on the right. Enjoy! Posted by Jenna's mom)
Hello everyone!!
I'm alive and well. The Traveling School is probably the coolest thing I've ever heard/been a part of. Time flies by SO FAST. I can't belive it's already been a month. The teachers are awesome and totally inspiring. Sorry if I spell things wrong, but it's hard to see with this computer. I really like the girls, and we are all getting used to the Traveling School life. We've been to many amazing and beautiful places, and experienced crazy things. Classes are going great, and I'm learning more than I ever have. We always have fun no matter what the conditions are. For example, we had to camp outside in the pouring rain, and we ended up having a talent show...just because. The Traveling School motto is: flexibility. And we are all reminded of that every day. When we were at the Ampitheater lodge, we were in the middle of history class (which is so interesting) we decided to instead go on an intense hike in the mountains because the rain stopped. We are always busy, and we DO infact, have a lot of homework. So even though it's kind of like a camp, it's still a school. Check out the places I've been. You'll be impressed. Also, I've taken LOADS and LOADS of pictures, so don't worry. you'll see them. And finally, a great story to end the email. When we were in Kruger, we saw a LION...attack an IMPALA!!! WHAT!?!?! crazy. pure madness. we saw the big 5, which was really lucky. But seriously. A lion attacking an impala right by the road. helloooo national geographic.
(typical southern African sunset)
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Students and teachers
(This post is from Jenna's mom.) Here's a picture of Jenna, her classmates and teachers. This was taken in DC before their 17 hour (!) flight to Johannesburg, South Africa. Looks like a great group of young women!
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Sponsorship
Help support me and this opportunity by sponsoring me
Items:
-Extended Trip Backpack
-Headlamp
-Clothes
-Boots
-Journals
-Binoculars
-Hats
-Rain gear
-Water purification
-ipod
-memory card for cameras
If you would like to sponsor me, please email me at well.that.was.easy@gmail.com or comment this post and I will give you more information on how you can sponsor me. Thanks!
Items:
-Extended Trip Backpack
-Headlamp
-Clothes
-Boots
-Journals
-Binoculars
-Hats
-Rain gear
-Water purification
-ipod
-memory card for cameras
If you would like to sponsor me, please email me at well.that.was.easy@gmail.com or comment this post and I will give you more information on how you can sponsor me. Thanks!
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