I have had a very busy couple of weekends and have had barely any time to write a blog entry. Two weekends ago was the Round Square African Regional Conference, which was an awesome experience.  I want to tell everyone now that if you have a chance to go to a conference take it.  It was so cool meeting all of these people and seeing the area around Bridge House School.

The first day was cool because it was the opening ceremony and I got to see all the different schools.  Helen Thompson and I met up and talked about our exchanges.  It was nice to hear an American accent.

The second day started early with a speech from a man that had survived the Rwandan genocide, and then later made his way through Africa until he ended up in South Africa.  He started work as a car guard and petitioned the South African government to give him financial aid, even though he was a refugee.  Due to his high grades in high school he was accepted and majored in Physics.  After listening to him, all the delegates broke up into small groups to discuss his speech.  Then these groups went to various service projects.  I went to one of the local townships and played with the kids and then gave them a meal. After this we returned to school for an open mic night.

The next day we went to a local winery and did a five kilometer walk.  After this my group went to a water treatment plant and learned how water is purified.  It was very boring. Later we heard Lewis Pugh, the man who swam one kilometer over the North Pole, speak to us about following our goals.  Later in the evening we had a night market, with food from around the world.  The final event that evening was a disco which was very cool.

On Sunday we went on a hike and then returned for a series of presentations from people involved in conservation work.  One was a women working on reducing the trapping of leopards by farmers, one was working to reduce the poaching of Rhinos, and the final person was Ella Bella, who is the youth environmental ambassador to the United Nations.  Later we had the closing ceremony and then the next day we had a brief meeting then said our good-byes.

After a few days of school it was the weekend.  On Friday night there was a big hockey match.  Unfortunately Bridge House lost 1-0 but it was well fought against a very good team.  On Saturday I saw the Avengers but on Sunday my exchange partner, some friends, and me went up to the top of Table Mountain.  The view was amazing and I had a good time exploring up there.  I don’t know what I am doing next weekend, but I will keep updating you.

“Herluf on the Rocks” was a great experience because there were so many brave students that had prepared a song or even a few different songs to perform in front of everyone. I was tempted to do it but I already feel outside of my “comfort bubble” being at a completely different school.

The food here is very similar to back at home, but it is much more expensive to go out to eat so we usually eat at home. The food usually consists of some sort of meat, potatoes or rice, and vegetables or salad. This is also very similar to the food we get at school, but I happen to like it much better than at Athenian. There are WAY more options.

I forgot to mention a few things about the school. It was originally a Monastery built in the 1100’s but then turned into a school around 1560. This surprised me because while the buildings look extremely old, there are also a lot of modern things on campus. Some include a mini skate park (with a half pipe, a rail and some other ramp), a Ping-Pong table, a foosball table and a pool table.

Last weekend was a long weekend and Peter’s brother and sister came home from College in Copenhagen, so we got to hang out with them.  On Sunday we went to a zoo. This wasn’t any ordinary zoo. You would drive around the zoo in your car.  At each section where certain animals would be, you would enter a gate (in your car) and take a mini tour/path throughout the section with your windows up. In this way we were able to see different animals like tigers and wolves which would originally bite your head off. Other less dangerous animals like giraffes, ostriches, camels, donkeys, llamas, rhinos etc. were all out in the open fields and you would drive by. Except for the rhinos and giraffes, you could get out of your car and go up to the animals and pet them, which was pretty cool. A zoo isn’t exactly the first place I would think of going to while visiting a different country, but it turned out to be a great experience.

This next week is 6 days long, starting today which is Monday and ending Saturday. I’m quite sure there is some event similar to ‘Herluf on the Rocks’ this Saturday night, which should be fun.

This past week and a half has been such a fun time!! I had a normal, chilled week until Tuesday April 24th. That was the beginning of our pre-conference trip to Cape Town, before going to the Round Square African Regional Conference.

We left school at 5:30 am in a small van and had to squish all 12 of us in with all our stuff. We drove for four hours from school in Limpopo down to Johannesburg and took a two hour flight from Johannesburg to Cape Town. In Cape Town we stayed at a hotel that used to be a prison and was within walking distance of the waterfront. We spent the afternoon shopping and walking around the waterfront and piers. The next morning we took the cable car up to the top of Table Mountain.  We also took the ferry out to Robben Island for a bus and walking tour. Both sites were super cool, Table Mountain for its view and natural life and Robben Island because of its sad but important history. That night we spent on the waterfront eating seafood and watching street performers. On Thursday we went to the Two Oceans Aquarium and had a talk on sharks in their ecosystem. From the aquarium we took our little bus to the beach even though it was super foggy.

Then we were on our way to the actual conference. We stopped in Stellenbosh, a little college town for lunch on our way to Bridge House School.

Bridge House School is in Franshloek in the Western Cape. Our delegation was 11 students, plus Rona McGaffin, the Round Square Coordinator. Five of us were exchange students from New Zealand, India and, of course, America. The first day of conference we registered and played African games with other delegates from all over Africa. Most of my group and I stayed in an off-campus boarding house where middle schoolers usually lived. The girls in our hostel, Huguenot House, were from two different schools: Penyrn College and St. Georges Grammar School. Thursday night was the Opening Ceremony, which included a flag ceremony and speeches by Heads and important leaders at Bridge House such as the Prefects and Deputy Head girl. We all started to learn the first conference song “Rain In Africa” before heading off to our hostel for the night!

On Friday we started the day with taking the conference photo. All of us got shirts with the conference logo and theme, Breaking Chains, Forging Links, on the first day. We listened to a keynote speaker, Mr. Pie Pacifique, who told us his incredible journey from Rwanda to South Africa to escape the genocide. We had discussions with our Baraza groups and went on a service outing in the afternoon. My Baraza group, Shona, learned gumboot dancing with some local boys and men. Gumboots are basically rubber boots (like rain boots) and you stomp and slap your boots in rhythm. We had an open mic night where local community children and delegates from each school performed.

Saturday we woke up early to do the Dela Draf which is a local 5km or 10km run. I walked the 5km, but then danced to Afrikaans music after it started raining. My Baraza group went to the Silvermines for our environmental outing. We hiked up a mountain and got to crawl in caves where you only fit if you lay flat on your stomach and army crawled. After a nice shower and lunch to refresh ourselves, we gathered to listen to Lewis Pugh.  He is an amazing speaker.  To raise awareness about global warming, he was the first man to swim one kilometer at the North Pole. I even got a signed copy of his book!! That evening we had a night market where local craft makers sold little souvenirs and they served hamburgers, Indian food, sushi, and pizza. There was also a “Disco” that night. 🙂

On Sunday we went on a hike with the entire group and created a rock formation on the hill. Then we drove to Drakenstein Prison, where Nelson Mandela walked free in 1991. I was in the group that toured the house that Mandela was held in. We had a typical prison lunch of soup and bread and then drove back to Bridge House School.  That afternoon three different speakers talked to us about sustainability and we discussed this in our Baraza groups. That night there was a Closing Ceremony with another flag ceremony, our final performance of “Rain in Africa,” thank you speeches, musical performances, and a slideshow of pictures from throughout the conference.

On Monday we had a short baraza meeting to discuss our conference pledge.  The pledge was then shared and mixed with other groups to create a final conference pledge to continue breaking chains and forging links beyond the conference.

Over all I had an AMAZING time on conference and I hope to do more!!

On Tuesday we had an Athletic Carnival, which is basically an all-school track and field day. There are four houses which compete for house points, similar to Hogwarts in Harry Potter. Of the four houses (Fox, Briggs, Nance and Dean), I am in Dean. The day started out with some early morning sunshine at around 8:15. I threw discus as my first event, about 20 minutes after getting to the track. I remembered Ray’s training and did the South African and the 1.5 spin throws and placed 5th in the Under21 Division A heat. Like always, I was the smallest discus thrower, but I earned a few points for Dean House. Since I’m an exchange, I wasn’t on the official roster for the races so I just filled in for two boys who were injured. The two boys were two of the most athletic boys in Dean House, so the events I was placed in were all in the highest division of competition. I did the triple jump, 200 and 400 meter sprints, and the 4 x 100 meter relay race. Although I was not nearly close to the fastest, I never came in last.

Wednesday was a national holiday called ANZAC day. ANZAC day stands for Australia New Zealand Army Core. It was a day when many Australian and New Zealand soldiers and marines fought and died on Gallipoli Bay in Greece during World War I. It is a day meant to remind Australian citizens about the horrors of war. I woke up at 4:45am to go to a dawn service in Launceston honoring lost Australian soldiers. After the hour-long service, I had the rest of the day free to relax and catch up on homework.

On Thursday I had my first Australian rules football practice match. I played wing, which is the player that runs across the long edge of the oval field, defending players and catches. I made it through the game with a couple of touches and a few penalties because of me accidentally doing illegal moves. By the end of the game, I knew most of the general rules of football. Friday was just a normal day of school.

On Saturday our boarding house hosted a dance with a couple of other Launceston private schools. The dance had a flappers and gangsters theme. I wore a denim shirt, denim pants and a red plaid tie with red suspenders to match. I took a week of swing dancing lessons a couple of summers ago, so I was well prepared. I danced like there was no tomorrow.

The next day I went to my first professional Australian Football game. The Hawthorne Hawks (home) were playing the Sydney Swans. I went with the female captain of the boarding house, a ninth grade boy, and a few middle school girls that we were in charge of. I got to see how professional football is supposed to be played and learned more rules about footie. The Swans ended up scoring 3 goals in the last 7 minutes of the game to win it.

Yesterday I got to speak about this Australian book (The Crossing) that I read and about how it depicted Australia from an American’s perspective. The next day in English I had to speak about one of the characters and his participation in the Vietnam War. I went on to explain the Cold War (thanks Cold War Paper). I then learned some about Australia’s participation in Vietnam and the close Aussie/American military relations. Today in footie I got tons better at running and passing under pressure, but I still make the occasional illegal tackle.

This past week, I was fortunate enough to attend a regional Round Square conference at The Lawrence School in Sanawar, India. Five other delegates from the Vivek High School also attended the conference. The conference theme was “serve and find.” By this they meant by doing community service or helping one another, we not only benefit another person, but also ourselves.

We left on April 24, 2012 and returned the following Saturday. The Lawrence School is not too far from Chandigarh, and by car it only takes an hour and forty five minutes. To start my first Round Square conference, we attended the opening ceremony where they declared the conference officially open. Many people spoke, including the principal from The Vivek High School as the guest of honor. For the next few days I took part in many activities in my Baraza group (a small, designated gathering of students) and participated in discussions about what service meant to us. On the second evening, all the schools gathered together and performed for one another. Each school prepared a dance, song or skit and at the end we were judged on the performance.

The following day each Baraza group went off campus to different locations to perform community service. I had the pleasure of visiting a local orphanage about an hour from Sanawar. We painted the walls of their school, gardened, and white washed. The best part was at the end when we got to interact with the children and play alongside them. We would play soccer, play tag, or even just talk to them. It was just great to see their reaction and their great big smiles!

The last day of the conference we met as a group again. We discussed our experiences and had the chance to share our understanding with the rest of the groups. That evening we participated in the closing ceremony and finally a social/dance at night. Overall the conference was loads of fun! I got the chance to meet many people and make dear friends. I had the opportunity to see another part of India and gain another perspective.

I have had a hectic week in South Africa. That is what the South Africans say instead of crazy or intense, hectic. School has been fun.  To get a taste of something new I am taking interesting classes that Athenian does not offer. We did not do much during the week, but I had Rugby practice and that is a lot of fun. Rugby is similar to soccer and American football, but you have to pass the ball backwards.

On Friday night I went to a party and had a great time there but Saturday was the best day of my weekend. We drove into Cape Town and went to the Biscuit Mall market, which is an organic market that sells all sorts of products.  One section has street food and I had the most delicious steak sandwich there.  It was awesome. After that we went on the Red Bus.  This is a double-decker bus that you can hop on and off of, and it gives you lots of interesting information about the city. We got home early and everyone went to bed because we were all tired from a long day. On Sunday some family and friends came over and we had a very nice dinner. Today is my exchange host’s birthday and we are going out to dinner to celebrate.

Since my last blog I have gotten much more comfortable at the school and I actually know where most of my classes are now! This would not be such a big accomplishment at Athenian because there are only 6 classes. Here at Herluf I have 11 different classes, which are Standard Math, Chemistry, History, Social Studies, English, Visual Arts, Beginner Spanish, Hard Spanish, Beginner Danish, Mentoring (basically a period long of advisory) and PE. Not only is it different having this many classes and not only is each class in a different room, but each lesson of each class is in a different room. One day I could have Math in a history classroom and the next day I could have Math in a Spanish classroom. Besides adapting to this unique system and the freezing cold weather, I’m having a great time and I have made a lot of new friends.

Last weekend was a long weekend so Peter’s dad took Peter and I into this little town inside Copenhagen called Christiania. I’m not quite sure how to explain it, but it is a very socialist, relaxed, somewhat “hippy” environment where about 900 people live. There is a beautiful lake in the middle of it and dogs are running around everywhere. If you ask a Dane where to go while you are in Denmark, the top place he will say is Christiania because it is so unique. They do not allow people to take pictures inside Christiania because there is so much tourism that the locals get annoyed. If you pull out a camera, expect a local to come up and start swearing at you in Danish.

Besides visiting different places on the weekends there are a lot of school-related activities and events. There was the ball two Saturdays ago that I wrote about in my last post. Last Thursday there was a rock concert at the school and, yes, this was on a school night. Tomorrow night is an event called “Herluf on the Rocks” which is another type of concert. It will be outside with a lot of different students performing, which sounds cool–but I might freeze. It’s been around 10 degrees Celsius every day which is around 40 Fahrenheit. This is MUCH different compared to Danville. I’m really happy I brought warm clothes. There is a very strict uniform rule if you are a Herluvian, but I am an exchange student so I can wear whatever I want. I have worn the uniform a few times just to fit in a little better and not get as many weird looks, but now I just wear my casual clothes because it’s much more comfortable.

By Tuesday I had become much more accustomed to the daily schedule of Scotch Oakburn. Breakfast went much smoother and getting ready for school was much more relaxed. When I got to school, I had my first Physical Science class. Most of the things they are learning, I learned in Chemistry and Physics at Athenian, but it should be a good review for me. At lunch I ran the 3000 meter race on the school’s Australian football field. I ended up finishing sort of close to last but nevertheless it was still fun. After school I went to my first Australian football practice. I got some great one-on-one lessons from one of the boys that was a bit injured, and improved heaps. I learned how to knock the ball to other players with my hand and how to drop kick the ball with the proper reverse rotational spin. By the end of the day I had run and sprinted quite a few meters and my legs were exhausted. I had no trouble sleeping that night.

I went through a normal day of school on Wednesday and got back to the boarding house at 4pm. I needed some football equipment and a milkshake, so a couple of friends and I skateboarded into town. When I got back to the boarding house, I was asking one of the other footie players named Will about how much footie boots (cleats) cost and which pair I should get. Will told me he wasn’t going to let me buy a pair of footie boots for such a short time in Australia.  He got up and grabbed me a pair of essentially brand new Nike cleats that he didn’t prefer. When I offered to give them back at the end of my stay, Will told me to keep them as “a souvenir or somethin’ like that.”

Thursday I had my second footie practice. A photographer from the school took some action photos of me passing the ball, kicking the ball, and catching. Having not played any competitive ball sports in the last five years, I was terrible at catching the ball. One time I jumped up to catch the ball and it fell through my hands and hit me in the head. Another time I jumped up to catch it and stubbed my right ring finger, swelling it up to about twice its normal size, and ending that day of practice.

On Friday I had the opportunity to go to the Global Leaders Convention hosted by World Vision. When we got there, about 125 kids total were sitting in an auditorium watching an episode of Iron Chef. The ingredient was truffles. We did a massive simulation to experience the way trade affects the many people involved in growing, farming, distribution, and selling of goods. I learned how farmers who grow the actual food get paid less than .5% of the final selling price of the good and how poor they are forced to become. We watched numerous videos of first person perspectives of hunger in Ethiopia. The six kids from Scotch Oakburn that went to the Conference got a much better understanding of the very real problem of worldwide hunger.

Later that day I went took a three hour long bus ride to St. Helens, which is in North Eastern Tasmania. Jye, Julian, and I were heading up to Julian’s mom’s beach house. When we got to the house at around 9pm, I was absolutely shocked at how beautiful the house was. Lynn, Julian’s mom, was an interior designer, and had coordinated every item in the house together. The wood-themed interior, soft angles and glass walls created an absolutely amazing house with an unaltered view of the ocean. That weekend we went to the beach in the rain and spent many hours in the hot tub observing sunsets and stars alike.

On Monday I had my first real footie practice where I got to participate in drills with the skills I had learned last week. I managed to get a couple of good kicks and passes in and received a few complements from the coach. Footie is definitely the second best sport I have ever played–next to wrestling of course. Tomorrow is the school’s athletic carnival, which is essentially a track and field meet between the four houses in the school. I am in Dean House, which consistently does the worst in athletic events, but I plan on racking up a couple of points for our team tomorrow!

It has officially been a full week for me here at the Stanford Lake College! I am enjoying school here despite its differences.

A typical school day here goes like this: I get up at 6:25 and get dressed.  Some days I wear the Stanford uniform and some days I wear casual clothes. A quick breakfast of toast, coffee and cereal from 6:45 to 7:00. Back to hostel for room inspection and to get my backpack ready. Classes start at 7:30 but most days we have mentor, which is basically advisory, or an all-school meeting in the amphitheater. After that there are 4 classes before tea. During tea there are sandwiches, tea and coffee served in the dining hall, as well as snacks sold at the “tuck” shop. Then there are two more classes before lunch. Here they eat lunch at around 1:30 and only have half an hour to eat and do clean up crew. Typically there is one or two classes after lunch depending on the day. After school there are sports practices for either hockey or netball, rugby, mountain biking or adventure. Dinner for girls is at 5:45 and for boys at 6:15. Then back to hostel before 6:30, otherwise you may get locked out. At 7:00 the first Prep period starts; Prep is an hour long block where you have to be in your room doing homework. At 8:00 there is a break, then the second Prep period. Quiet time starts at 9:30. Repeat the next day.

At Stanford we have six classes every day and on some days seven. On Wednesdays and Fridays, school gets out early, and often there are sports matches.  Last Thursday, after school I went to netball practice. Netball is basically like basketball except you can’t dribble or move with the ball. There is a lot of passing and when someone is shooting the goal defender’s feet have to be at least 3 feet away from the shooter. I’m still getting the hang of it. Because it is the beginning of term, at practice we did a lot of conditioning, which they call “fitness.” Friday there was a netball match, which we won. The teams are split into first team (Varsity), second team (JV), under 16s, under 15s, under 14s, etc.

Over the weekend, I stayed with my host’s aunt’s house in Tzaneen, which is 45 minutes away from school. We did homework and watched TV and chilled at home for most of the time. On Saturday I went with Chikho’s cousin Fezi to the mall in Tzaneen. It was fairly similar to our malls at home, pretty crowded, with lots of shops and people, but because it was the weekend all the shops closed at 3:00 in the afternoon. On Sunday there was a scheduled power outage, so we didn’t do much until the power came on at 5:00.

Monday we woke up extra early in order to drive to school on time. My new roommate, Arshia, who is also an exchange, arrived. She is from the Vivek School in India. Monday after school was another netball lesson, it was hot hot hot and we did fitness on the upper field.  Needless to say, I was sore on Tuesday. On Tuesday I had my first culture period. Culture is like an elective period and I chose to do Debate. We got the motion and discussed the topic, which was essentially Black Economic Empowerment. On Wednesday, I left school early to go to the debate. We drove to a library in another town and debated against one of the schools there. It was really cool, even though I didn’t completely understand the topic as it was very specific to South Africa.

I can’t wait to see more of South Africa, especially on the Round Square Conference I will be going to next week!