Meet My Little Munchkins

Grade R

Here in South Africa, we use the term Grade R instead of Kindergarten. In my Grade R class, I have eight students. There are six boys and two girls. 

The school year here in South Africa goes from the second week of January until the first week of December. They will then have summer vacation from December until mid January. The reason behind this is their summer season (HOT season) will begin here in September and will continue until February. At the end of this school year (December), I will have two of my student moving on to first grade. The other six will remain in Grade R with me for another year. The reason behind this is because some students simply aren’t ready for Grade 1 yet. Also, some of my students are only 4 years old. Along with the 2 students moving to Grade 1, I will be getting a handful of new students. I have not been told an exact number yet.

Below you can find an individual picture of each of my students!

Sbulelo

Ntando

 Olwethu

Junior 

Bonga

 Zandiesiwe

 Lincoln

 Lihle 

Each of my students are truly such a blessing and I look forward to spending everyday with them. They have all already grown so much and I cannot wait to see where the next year takes us! 

Peace and love to all  ♡

Allison Shade

Welcome to Hope Valley Farm School

On |Friday September 11^th|, I packed up all my belongings once again, moved out of my Reps house in the city of Pietermaritzburg, and headed out into the sugarcane land! When closing the door behind me, so many thoughts and emotions rushed through my mind. Yet another new set of faces and new places that I would now be calling my family. What would my room look like? What is life on a plantation like? What if I don’t understand my new parents? How many other people will be living with me? The questions flooded my head and my thoughts began to take off.

We drove approximately 100km out of the city and as I looked out my window, I saw a Rhino to my right and an ostrich to my left. I looked in front of me and behind me, and all I saw were rolling hills and valleys of nothing but green sugarcane fields. At this point in the drive I smiled and said, “Welcome home Allison!”

I’ve been to a lot of places in my lifetime, but never somewhere as gorgeous as Eston, South Africa. They call this place “The Valley of A Thousand Hills,” and I now understand why. The never-ending green sugarcane up against the bright blue sky is unexplainable. No matter which tree you look in, you will find a monkey with a stick of sugarcane hanging out of its mouth. The smell of fresh tropic flowers is overwhelming and the distance between the palm trees is just wide enough for a hammock! I am overjoyed to call such a gorgeous place my home.

Upon my arrival, the electricity was actually out. Here in South Africa they will turn the power off in certain locations for a few hours each day to help save energy. This is something call “load shedding” and is very common all over Africa. Needless to say, I was unpacking and setting up my new room by candlelight!

When I woke up on Saturday |September 12, 2015|, I walked to my school. The school that I will be teaching at is actually located on the same property as my house. Each morning throughout this next year, I will be walking approximately 15 minutes through the sugarcane to get to my classroom. Below you will find a picture of the school grounds.

When I arrived, I was taken to my classroom - a single room building with four concrete walls, a tin roof, and 1 table. Below you will find a picture of my classroom from the outside as well as a “before picture” of the inside.

After two coats of fresh paint, 2 days of cleaning and a lot of reorganizing, I finally completed my first classroom and it is ready for my students tomorrow! I am beyond excited to meet each and every one of them. There will be eight in total between the ages of 4-6. Check out the picture below to see the final product and one happy teacher!

Well, that’s a wrap for now! Check back later this week for more on my first week living on a plantation as well as introductions/pictures of each of my students.

Peace and Love to all  ♡
Allison Shade

“And as we let our light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same”

SAWUBONA

TIA

This Is Africa

A week ago today I woke up in an different place, yet everything seemed oh so familiar.

Petermaritzburg, South Africa:

A place that is swarming with 405, 385 people during the day.
A place where you hear nothing but crickets and frogs after sundown. 

A place where you wake up to children walking to school outside, airplanes hovering right above my roof and kombis (taxis) blaring house music at the highest volume possible.
A place where children enjoy going to school.
A place with an abundance of different scents.
A place where monkeys roam wild.
A place where the Rand is 13:1 with the U.S. Dollar.
A place with exotic birds... EVERYWHERE.
A place where the winter season is just ending, and spring has just sprung!
A place where children chase you down the street yelling, "umlungu!" (aka white person)
A place where I am considered a minority.
And a place that I now call home ♡

Last Thursday, I landed in Durban, South Africa. From there, my wonderful REP picked me up and drove me to my house in Petermaritzburg. I am currently staying at my REPs house which is located inside of an old prison that is now called Project Gateway. Project Gateway is a school within the prison walls that educates students from Grade R (kindergarten) to Grade 7 each day! (Check out the link provided to find out more about PMB Old Prison/Project Gateway and the history behind it. (Nelson Mandela was actually behind bars here for several nights a long time ago...) PMB Old Prison )

Throughout this week, I have been introduced to some of the basics while living in South Africa. I have also begun my Zulu lessons (Yes, this is a "click" language!) at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. Along with the orientation and language classes, we have also been using our time wisely to explore the city and the culture that comes with it! 

I will continue to live here in Petermaritzburg with my REPS where I will finish my "in-country" orientation and Zulu lessons until next Friday (September 11th, 2015). On the 11th of September, I will be going to my host family and home for the next 10 months located in Eston, South Africa (A valley that is so small you can't even find it on the map!)

While in Eston, I will be living on a sugar cane plantation. I will also be teaching English to Kindergarten at Hope Valley Farm School. Hope Valley Farm School was built for the farmers that work/live on the sugar cane plantation so they could send their children to a public school within walking distance of the farm.

With all this being said, I am loving my time here in South Africa. I have already learned so much and am looking forward to what's waiting ahead. I am more than anxious to get to my school and meet all my little students, as well as see what life is like on the farm!

Thank you again for the continuous love & prayers. Words cannot begin to show how much I appreciate it.

Peace and love to all ♡

Side note: I apologize for the "lack" of pictures as well; it is frowned upon for me to take anything valuable with me outside of the prison walls and into the city for I am seen as a "target"! Once I arrive on the farm, I will be snapping away!

"I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear."
-Nelson Mandela

THE TIME HAS COME

TODAY IS THE DAY! 

Myself and two other SALTers (Check out their pages with the links on the right hand side of this page! Dominik Berthold and Melinda Norris) will be boarding our plane at Dulles International Airport this afternoon around 5:00pm and will be departing around 5:40pm. Believe it or not, this is a direct flight to Africa. Yes, that is right... 18 hours without stopping. 

We should be landing in Johannesburg, South Africa around 5:15pm on the Thursday the 27th (which is approximately 11:15ET). Once we land in Johannesburg, we will board a smaller plane where we will then fly to Durban, South Africa, hopefully arriving around 10:00pm (approximately 4:00ET). 

Once we arrive in Durban, we will meet our Country representatives. 

From here, I am unable to answer many of the questions that most of you may have. In fact, I may actually be asking myself the same questions that you are. 

I don't know where I will be living.

I don't know how to speak Zulu.

I don't know who my host parents are.

I don't know my students.
I don't know how I will adapt to this culture.

I don't know what kind of food I will be eating. 

But, there is something I do know, and that is this...

This has been my calling and I am ready to learn as I go. I am ready to hopefully impact the lives of others. I find excitement in the unknown & am ready to embark on this journey of mine. 

I cannot thank you all enough for the endless love, support and prayers so far on this adventure.  I please ask that you continue to keep myself as well as all the other SALTers traveling overseas these next few days in your thoughts and prayers. It is greatly appreciated! 

I'm not sure when I will be able to update you all again, but will be sure to post a few pictures when I get the chance! 

Thank you,

Peace and love to all  ♡

"live a life of expectancy, rather than a life of expectation"

The Danger of a Single Story

Today, I'm not here to tell you about the lessons I've learned or to count down the days until I leave for South Africa, but to simply share a story with you. I was shown a brief clip earlier this morning called "The Danger of a Single Story," and while watching it, even I myself, was feeling extremely guilty.

I think more often than not, we as Americans usually classify different people & their cultures according to where they're from in the world with "that ONE story" we have all been told. For example: When telling people that I would be moving to the country of South Africa for 11 months, I received many different reactions, such as: Will you be living in a hut? Will you be riding an elephant to school? Will you have to go to the bathroom in a hole?...and you laugh, but I'm being serious. Because, unfortunately, that is all these people know about Africa. It's all they have ever been told. Forgetting about all of the beauty it has to offer. Many of people had said to me: "What a great sacrifice you will be making!" When in reality, I see this upcoming journey as a privilege, and an honor.

We may also call all of this a stereotype. Or, a "single story." And the problem with that, is this: The single story creates stereotypes, and the problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete. They make ONE STORY become the ONLY STORY. And the consequence of the ONLY STORY is this: It robs people of dignity. It makes our recognition of our equal human difficult, and it emphasizes how we are different rather than how we are similar.

Please take a few minutes and watch Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie briefly explain some of her own personal stories about the "Dangers of a single story" - I guarantee you too, will be in the same shoes as I was this morning while watching it: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9Ihs241zeg

Thank you,

Peace & love to all ♡

"When we reject the single story, when we realize that there is never a single story about any place, we regain a kind of paradise."

A New Perspective

Just a brief update on how my upcoming journey has begun. I know many of you thought I was actually flying out of the country yesterday, but I am still here... in Pennsylvania! I will be spending the rest of the week in Akron, PA with the rest of the volunteers. At this time, we will have a general orientation on leadership and expectations while serving. From here, we will all fly out on the 26th to all of our assignments and go our own ways. Once I arrive in Durban, South Africa I will have another week of country specific orientation. Here I will learn all about South Africa (Safety, Norms, Etc.). Following my orientation in Durban, I will have two weeks of language classes where I will learn how to speak Zulu.

Following all the goodbyes yesterday with my parents and family, we jumped right into our welcoming orientation. Now you might be asking yourself, who "we" is? The unique thing about Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) is that they offer several different programs for young adults between the ages of 18-30.

The first program that I am going to tell you about is the SALT program, which is also the program that I am going to South Africa through. SALT stands for Serving And Learning Together. This is a year-long, cross cultural service experience. Through SALT, young adults from the U.S. and Canada serve internationally in a wide variety of positions in fields like education, agriculture, health care, information technology, peace and more. During their assignments SALTers are immersed in another culture, living with host families or communal settings such as dormitories or teacher housing in Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin and Central America and the Middle East. 

The second program that I will tell you about is the IVEP program. IVEP stands for International Volunteer Exchange Program. The international Volunteer Exchange Program is a yearlong work and cultural exchange program opportunity for young, Christian adults. Every year, 60 IVEP participants come from more than 25 countries around the world to volunteer in the U.S. or Canada, where they live with a local person or family. Since its beginning in 1950, IVEP has emphasized peacemaking and building understanding across cultures. 

So, with all this being said, this week at orientation, there are 52 SALTers here from all over the United States and Canada, along with 36 IVEPers from countries all around the world. On the 26th of August, all 52 SALTers will be flying out of the States to their assignments all over the world, while the 36 IVEPers will be dispersed to their position in either the States or Canada. 

The neat thing about this is that I am actually able to meet several individuals from Africa, that just recently made their flight to the States (many for the first time ever) and will be serving with the IVEP program. As we are able to share with them things to expect during their time in the States, they are also able to share many stories about life in Africa. 

Even though I have only been around these individuals for about one day, I have already learned an abundance of information from them and also many new things about myself. I think its more often than not that we become so caught up in whats happening in our everyday life, and forget about what else is out there. Just in these past 24 hours, I have been exposed to so much more than I could have ever expected, and I haven't even left the country yet. 

My taking away from today: I know and believe that I am neither inferior or superior to the people around me. 

We are all entering an area of uncertainty within the next week, whether it be in the States or one of the other 60 Countries that MCC serves. We all also have one thing in common, and that is we are all here trying to make some kind of a difference. And even though we know we cannot save a whole country, we can still make some kind of an impact. And thats my goal through this all. 

Peace & Love to all ♡

"Not all of us can do great things, but we can do small things with great love"

How I Got Here

On August 19^th, I will be saying goodbye to my familiar life here in the States and moving across to world to a tiny village known as Eston, South Africa for the next 11 months of my life!

I spent the past five years of my life studying Early Childhood Education (k-4) with a dual major in Special Education (k-8) and a minor in Adapted Physical Activities at Slippery Rock University, which is located North of Pittsburgh.

As I started my last semester at college Student Teaching earlier this spring at Pittsburgh Public, I began to realize how much of a passion I have for helping underprivileged children and teaching in general.

As the semester moved along, I really started to think about what I truly wanted to do with my life post graduation. Graduate school had crossed my mind… for approximately 10 minutes, until I decided I was crazy for even thinking about 2 more years of school at this point in my life!

I began to apply for the Peace Corps and then realized that 27 months away from my family would be a bit too long but still knew that volunteering somewhere overseas was truly where my heart was being called.

As I looked into more volunteering programs, my mom mentioned MCC, which stands for Mennonite Central Committee. When I first looked at MCC’s webpage, everything looked AWESOME, except the deadline for applications had passed and I instantly became discouraged. I called my mom in a panic and she told me that I shouldn’t lose hope so quickly and that I should call first thing in the morning.

After a phone call the following day, I was told there were still positions available and they would be willing to still consider my application! The very same day, I selected three teaching positions located in South Africa, and sent in my application. Very much to my surprise, I had my first interview with MCC the following week!

About two months later, endless paperwork and interviews, I had my final two-hour interview via Skype with South Africa. Later that afternoon, they offered me the position with five days to make my final call! I knew instantly that if I didn’t accept the offer right away, I never would.

With this being said, I accepted a position with Mennonite Central Committee as a Kindergarten teacher at Hope Valley Farm School where I will be focusing on the English language alongside a Zulu speaking teacher. I will also be organizing a peace club for the school as well as coaching.

On August 19^th, my parents will be dropping me off in Akron, Pennsylvania at MCC’s headquarters. I will be spending a week in Akron with the 55 other volunteers where we will have an “in-country” orientation. On August 26^th, I will be boarding a plane and flying 16 hours across the world to meet my new family and be welcomed to my new home.

At this point, I do not know much about my time in South Africa. I do know that I will be living with a host family during my time there and will be able to experience South African culture on the weekends.

The school I will be teaching at is very rural and all the other teachers at the school are volunteers as well from all around the world.

While overseas, I plan to stay in touch with everyone. Please feel free to message me with any questions you may have. I will be updating my blog weekly with new pictures and stories for all!

I cannot thank you all enough for all the support, love and prayers that I have already received. I would greatly appreciate you to continue to keep me in your prayers as I set out on my adventure serving God and his children of South Africa!