Day 2: Jeppe Boys School

What a fun day we had! This morning, we met in front of the school at 8:00. The CHC school bus took all 15 of us and Mr. Simpson, the CHC headmaster, to Jeppe School in Johannesburg. With the morning traffic, it took us about an hour to get there. Jeppe is just outside the city center, but very difficult to find. We arrived about 10 minutes late because we kept driving around on back streets looking for the campus. Once we got there, you could tell it was a school with a rich tradition.

If you look at one of the previous posts, you can get some background information on Jeppe. It was originally founded in a tin building as a school for the gold miners' children. Once the land was set aside for the school, students would ride on horseback to get to campus- they had stables on the school grounds. I really don't think that the website does the school justice; I, for one, was very impressed with it's background and current state. We were greeted at the main gate by Eugene and Robert, two teachers who are also alumni of the school (classes of '97 and '98 respectively), as well as their headmaster. Eugene and Robert were excellent tour guides because they know the school inside and out. We started at the main gates, which are considered a national monument. Each side of the gate is a memorial to students who died while serving South Africa in World War I. We walked inside the gates and there is a large rotunda with a fountain in front to honor students who died while attending the school, everything from illness to students who lied about their age to enlist in the army.

Students at the school are currently "writing," or taking, their exams (this time of year they are ending what would be their first semester). Our tour took us around the perimeter of the school until the first exam period was done at 11. On campus, they have 5 different rugby/(field) hockey fields and 1 hockey field that has turf. We were thrilled to get to try to take a couple shots on the school's hockey goalie- it is MUCH harder than it looks! They also have an outdoor pool for water polo and a training house for their rowing team with two different small pools. Jeppe is built on the hillside, so there are beautiful views of the suburbs of Johannesburg.

We also had the opportunity to visit one of the houses on campus. The students are split into houses, even those who do not board at the school. They compete against one another in friendly competitions for athletics, academics, and school spirit. It was interesting to see how the boys lived. The house we went in was gorgeous. Eugene gave us it's interesting background- the school founder won it in a game of cards. The boys bunk in rooms of 3 to 5, depending on the size of the room. They showed us the rooms, but apologized for the messes- during exams, all the focus goes into studying rather than cleaning. There are nice sun rooms that the boys study together in, usually by grade level.

As we walked around, we developed quite the following. Several students who were done with exams or waiting for their noon exam started following us around and engaged in conversation with our students. A couple of the boys will be on the Jeppe trip to Chagrin in September. It was great to see everyone click right away. BBM pin numbers were exchanged and before we knew it, they were talking non-stop all day. In fact, when we were driving to lunch, one boy sent a BBM to Maddie that said "you are all legends!" So the American students were a big hit!

We had a little bit of time left until we could tour inside, so some of our boys played pick-up basketball with the Jeppe students. A few also learned the rules behind rugby (and got to play a little later). Others who chose not to play continued to socialize with the 10 or so boys who started to follow our tour. We learned all about their sharp school uniforms- black blazers with white stripes. The boys have different ties to chose from based on what grade level they are in, wear different color scarves if they are on a varsity sports team, earn patches for their blazers depending on their various clubs or sports, or may even have different color blazers based on their achievements. For example, students with the highest marks, or grades, earn an academic blazer that is white with black stripes. Needless to say, these students looked very stylish.

Once the first exam period was over, we walked through their main hall. Our students said it was just like something out of Harry Potter- it was all dark wood, old pictures of championship sports teams, paintings of past head masters, and their school shield and motto in stained glass. Because the hall is so large, they use it for exams- kind of like how Chagrin used the gym and rec center for AP exams. We went into a few of the classrooms, one of which was an art room, which was very interesting. The art teacher had tattoos all over his head and neck- our students either found that intimidating or cool... I'm honestly not sure.

At the end of our tour, we said goodbye or "see you in September!" and many of the Jeppe students followed us out of the gate. Eugene and Robert accompanied us on the Jeppe school bus to Sandton City for lunch. Sandton City is located right by Johannesburg and it is quickly becoming the new economic center. It is a very nice area. We drove by the hotel where Michelle Obama and her daughters are staying during their visit (they apparently caused a traffic jam last night). We went to Nelson Mandela Square, a large space surrounded by a library, office buildings, and upscale apartments. Around the square, there are a variety of restaurants. Inside the buildings, the first 3 floors make up a large shopping mall. We took a group picture in front of the Nelson Mandela statue, then went to lunch at Lekgotla, which serves African cuisine from several nations. We washed our hands at the table with vanilla water, had our faces painted with tribal designs, and ate platters of Naan bread, Senegal calamari, peri-peri curry sauce and chicken liver, hummus, sausage kebabs, and other intriguing items (some of the things sound weird, but rest assured- no one left hungry). We had an hour after lunch to shop and I hope that the students shopped for family back home because they bought a LOT! A couple of them purchased vuvuzelas (the horns from the World Cup) which may get confiscated sooner rather than later...

The weather was perfect today and everyone had a lot of fun. We are VERY excited for the Jeppe visit to the U.S. in the fall. It was great to see everyone make new friends so quickly. I hope that each day continues to be as good as this one, if not better! Tomorrow we head out to the Apartheid Museum in the morning, then we are off to the Lion Park in the afternoon.

Cheers!