Thanks Mrs. Proctor's class for reading the blog and sending me a message!
Have you learned more about what they are, yet?
As for the fruit, it appears it was mostly apricots - sliced differently - and mango. I felt really foolish not knowing! : )
You also mentioned an iron man race and a film festival. Did you see any of the races?
I saw a little of the running part of the race. They began promptly at sunrise; and the hotel restaurant was even open at 4:30am to accommodate the participants.
What is the time difference between there and Raleigh?
I am 6 hrs ahead of you. Presently it is almost 7pm. You're probably just coming back from lunch.
Please tell us more about the beach. Is it sandy like NC or rocky like the CA beaches? What is the water like - clear or cloudy? Is the water temperature warm?
The beach was very similar to the beach in North Carolina. Be sure to check my Twitter Feed on the home page. The tweets finally loaded. I was disappointed that it was a day delayed. The wifi is a little 'choppy' and my tweets uploaded out of order too! Ugh! Technology is great when it is working! No worries though....the water is slightly cloudy and the beach is about the same size as NC. The biggest difference was the lack of sand dunes. I also haven't seen many shells. The tide is high. So high actually, that the 'iron men' didn't get a chance to do the swim leg yesterday of the race. The water was too choppy.
Today was full of activity! Hopefully, the tweets will upload and you can get a full sense of what I witnessed today. We visited the St. Henry's K12 School. It's one of hundreds of Marist Brothers private Catholic Schools. The day began with their daily school wide outdoor assembly. The whistle was blown once and everyone lined up with their classes in neat rows. Announcements were made, and the students were dismissed to their classrooms. We had an opportunity to visit classrooms, meet teachers, and speak with students. I visited 1st grade, 2nd grade, 3rd grade, 5th grade, 7th grade, Media and Drama class rooms. They stood to greet us formally as we entered each classroom. I was particularly excited to speak with some of the students. They asked questions about our school and particularly what music the students listen to, and what sports we play. They play Cricket, Rugby, Soccer, Tennis, etc....very similar to the United States. They even had a competitive lap pool on their campus. We, however, have much greater access to technology. They don't have laptops to use to conduct research; and they were overwhelmed and excited with the thought of using Google Classroom. The school also has a strong commitment to service and mission work. They partner with a "Liv Well" community of orphans and spend time with the children who attend the schools there. I'd love to tell you more about it! The student choir from the "Liv Well" community also stopped by and sang for us. After a delicious lunch of "Bunny Stew" (Curried Chicken in a Bread Bowl) we went on a cultural tour. We visited the home where Ghandi lived (Ghandi's Phoenix Settlement at Inanda) during his 21 years in South Africa. While in Phoenix, Gandhi lived close to John Langalibalele Dube, the first president of the South African Native National Congress; a major political party in South Africa. It was in a building next to Dube's memorial that Nelson Mandela cast his vote in the first presidential election following the end of apartheid. It was an emotional moment to stand where Mandela stood and to know what that moment must have meant to him. We all truly stand on the shoulders of our elders who have traveled this journey before us. We ended the day with some shopping at the Victoria Market. It was closed yesterday because of the Iron Man Race. The sun sets promptly at 6pm. It is now 7:20pm and I am going to dinner. I just checked my Twitter account and my Tweets are still trying to post! Until tomorrow! Wishing everyone the best on their EOG testing!!
-Mrs. Jarrett