The Eve before Student Teaching

With jetlag a thing of the past, Stephanie and I decided to venture out of the house and go grocery shopping!  Dr. Baxen graciously showed us where the local grocery store was and we stocked up on food for the week. We spent 300R each, which is only about $50 each.  The store was somewhat confusing and tight isles.  People were pushy and didn't take the time to look at prices; they just wanted to get in and out.  The food was very similar to the products we have in the states.  They had Dole, Head and Shoulders, and Lays, to name just a few.  But of course, Stephanie and I tried to expand ourselves to the Americanized brands.  Also, the American brands were more expensive.  I saw Lindt chocolate (YUMM!!) for almost 10 bucks!!! SO not worth it, although every time I see the commercials I am almost convinced it is.

Well it’s cold here, about 11 degrees Celsius, add 32 for Fahrenheit, for a chilly 43 degrees…brr.  My last entry said it was low 70’s…I didn’t convert it right. It’s cold. And it’s only going to get colder.  But as Emily Silverberg’s optimism says: ‘it’s just an opportunity to immerse yourself in the South African fashion earlier!’ which I ended up doing today. I bought a jacket, which was about $30 and I admit, it is warm.  With my trepidations on the jacket while in line, two ladies complimented me on my purchase.  Also, the woman in front of me was also buying it, as Dr. Baxen referred to her as Miss Grahamstown. (picture will be shown later; too much bandwidth to upload)

Well after we bought food, Stephanie and I had leftover beans and tortillas.  I burnt the tortillas, but the beans that Dr. Baxen made were still very good with it.  There isn’t a dishwasher, but thankfully Stephanie doesn’t mind doing the dishes if I cook.  Then for dinner I made pasta with marinara while Stephanie made the Ham and cheese sandwiches for lunch tomorrow.

So tomorrow I start school and Stephanie and I have been doing our research, with what we can find, about Victoria Girls Primary.  It’s a public school, but only girls.  The school goes until 7^th grade.  1^st and 2^nd grade goes from 7:30-12:30 on all days but Wednesday where they go until 1:40, and the 3^rd grade goes from 7:30-1:00 except on Wednesdays when they go until 2.  Yes, that means I will only be in school at most 5 hours a day… what a life.  I plan on taking on some extra-curricular activities, though.

Tomorrow after school Stephanie and I are going to find some wi-fi and I will put up pictures.  There is low bandwidth, so uploading takes a long time.  But! I did put up one for your viewing pleasure… it’s not of the house, but I thought the currency was cool and I know that in the US they do a unit of currency, so I thought it was important to take note.

Chao for now!

-South Africa Student Teacher