After over 18 hours on a plane and 10 hours of layover, we made it to Cape Town and to bed! We woke up after a few hours sleep, had breakfast and were off to visit the Southern Penninsula School. Schooling in South Africa, is a little confusing, there are public schools and private schools. The public schools are either free or you have to pay a student fee that could be hundreds (maybe even more) of dollars. The Southern Peninsula School is a public school that charges about $600 in student fees (not the most but somewhere in the middle of the pack in fees). Their students do very well and most go on to college. Alternatively, the students at the free public schools do not do well because pretty much you get what you pay for. They have no supplies and many of their teachers are unaccredited. We think we have problems with our school funding but it is nothing compared to challenges in South Africa. The haves still have and the have nots haven’t a chance except for luck. SP, through an non-profit organization, provides scholarships for 25 students per grade to come to their school and we met with these students. The students gave us a tour of the school and Tristan, my guide, was a freshman who wanted to have his own business. We visited a few classes, spoke with a few teachers , and then listened to a few songs from their jazz band which haas been asked to play next year’s Cape Town Jazz fest. It was interesting seeing all the students (dressed in Gryffindor colors) as they went about their day, no cell phones or any personal technology was present - teenagers without earbuds… an interesting sight!
After SP, we went to lunch at Harbour House at Kalk Bay, the bay is supposedly full of sharks but, unfortunately we didn’t see any. Next was a trip back into Center City and to an arts group called Rainbow Academy (http://rainbowacademy.co.za/). There was singing and dancing. The youth were very talented: their dance moves looked as fluid like water and their musical skills very impressive.
A long day was ended by dinner at a Portuguese restaurant MareSol and then back to the hotel.
I was impressed with the students at both SP and Rainbow Academy. They were very welcoming and had ambition to transcend their current life in Cape Town. The joy with which the Rainbow Academy students performed was infectious. They sang and danced song after song and never seemed to lose their enthusiasm. It was a beautiful sight.
Thanks for Reading!
After SP, we went to lunch at Harbour House at Kalk Bay, the bay is supposedly full of sharks but, unfortunately we didn’t see any. Next was a trip back into Center City and to an arts group called Rainbow Academy (http://rainbowacademy.co.za/). There was singing and dancing. The youth were very talented: their dance moves looked as fluid like water and their musical skills very impressive.
A long day was ended by dinner at a Portuguese restaurant MareSol and then back to the hotel.
I was impressed with the students at both SP and Rainbow Academy. They were very welcoming and had ambition to transcend their current life in Cape Town. The joy with which the Rainbow Academy students performed was infectious. They sang and danced song after song and never seemed to lose their enthusiasm. It was a beautiful sight.
Thanks for Reading!