Day 9: School and Pretoria Tour

Today was our last day of classes at school. Tuesdays have a funny schedule. There is a staff meeting at 7:20 and after that, instead of registration, there is a testing period from 7:40-8:40. The students do not take tests during their regular class periods; there are tests scheduled in the respective subject areas on a weekly rotation. After that, the regular schedule is followed, but classes are only 35 minutes long.

Attending school has been my favorite part of the trip for a number of reasons. The most important reason? Our students love it! When I pass by the American students and say hello, they don't even notice me! They aren't being rude; they are just so acclimated to the school environment and their South African peers that they don't seek out their American peers. With the exception of their attire, our students fit right in. They have made several friends outside of our exchange group and the S.A. students that I see in class constantly ask me about them. The CHC students genuinely want to get us and they really want us to enjoy our time here- which we have! They have been excellent hosts.

Today our students followed their hosts around from class to class; there weren't any special assemblies or any more "History Day"-like events to attend. I taught two sections of Grade 11 Life Sciences and a section of Grade 12 as well. I didn't see any of our students; however, my classes told me how excited they were with our involvement in tomorrow's Inter-House Athletics. It is a field day with track events and we have a lot of participants in the running events! Anyone not participating has been an active part in planning the outfits, flyers, and cheers. It is wonderful to receive this kind of feedback from the CHC kids.

A post from Mr. Kline's day at school:
"I went into the Grade 7 English classes today. The students were reading a novel, 'The Car,' which centers around a 14 year old boy from Cleveland, Ohio who takes a cross country road trip with two Vietnam Vets. I talked to them about Cleveland. They could not believe how cold it gets or how much snowfall we average. I also talked to them about the Vietnam War, especially the ill treatment of the veterans upon return."

After 2nd break (basically their lunch period), we left school for our tour of Pretoria. Our tour guide for the day was Mr. Simpson's father-in-law, a former history professor. He was a very friendly individual with a WEALTH of knowledge to share! I hope that the students caught bits and pieces of what he had to say, because they were excited to finally go out on a group excursion a week after the trip to Soweto. There was a ton of singing and dancing on this outing!

Our first stop was Jan Smuts' house in Irene. Many of us saw this house on Saturday because the Irene Village Market is located here. Jan Smuts was instrumental in the Boer War, World War I, and World War II. He actually is the only individual to have signed peace treaties for both world wars. He helped to create the South African Defence Force (SADF) and the Royal Air Force. In addition to being a war hero, Smuts served as the Prime Minister of South Africa from 1919 to 1924 and from 1939 to 1948. Early in his political career, he supported racial segregation. He narrowly lost the election in 1948 after he supported racial equality in South Africa (the 1948 election ultimately led to apartheid). As prime minister, Smuts wanted to stay at his home in Irene. Instead of living in Pretoria, he would walk 15 kilometers into work in the morning, then walk back to Irene in the evening.

We drove through Irene and past the concentration camp site. There is a concentration camp graveyard and memorial just inside the village gates. It is estimated that 2,000 to 3,000 died in the Irene camp; 26,000 total in all of the concentration camps (45 for the Boers alone). We continued on our tour of the Pretoria area...

The Voortrekker Monument Heritage Site was inaugurated on a hill just south of Pretoria on December 16, 1949. This memorial monument was constructed to honor the forefathers of the Afrikaner people who left British rule in the Cape, leading them into Africa's interior during the Great Trek. These Afrikaners travelled between 1834 and 1854. The people travelling were called Voortrekkers. The grounds include Fort Schanskop, which was constructed on the hilltop to protest Pretoria during the Anglo Boer War, the Garden of Remembrance, which is a masoleum of sorts for Afrikaners, and the Wall of Remembrance, commemorating members of the SADF who died in service between 1961 to 1994. We went inside the Voortrekker Monument, a massive, high domed hall constructed all in marble. Around the perimeter, there is the Hall of Hearoes and Frieze, which depicts the historical events from the Great Trek. If you look down in the middle, you can see the Cenotaph, "grave without bones," an empty grave that is the symbolic resting place of Piet Retief (one of the major forefathers). Every year on December 16th at 12 o'clock, the sun shines through an opening in the roof of the monument onto the words on the Cenotaph, "Ons vir jou Suid-Afrika," or "We for thee South Africa." We made the long hike up the narrow stone spiral staircase (we got so dizzy!) all the way up to the top of the cupola where the light shines in.

Our next stop was Fort Klapperkop. Klapperkop is one of the four forts built on the hills surrounding Pretoria. Constructed in 1898, it was "sophisticated" with a paraffin-powered generator for electricity and telegraph and telephone links. Klapperkop has a drawbridge and a moat- which was never filled with water! In 1979, it was declared a SADF war memorial. One odd part of its history: Mr. Simpson told me that in 1992, extremist groups upset with the imminent collapse of apartheid tried take over the fort. The SADF had to come in to remove them.

As the sun was setting, we drove down the hill, through Pretoria in the valley, then up yet another hill to the Union Buildings, the official seat of the South African government. The buildings are constructed in sandstone, making each and every stone it's own unique shape and color (GORGEOUS at sunset). There is a large garden leading up to the buildings, complete with rose bushes, fountains, statues, and many, many steps. The east and west sides of the buildings represent English and Afrikaans, and the center court unites them. The Parliament spends the winter months in Pretoria and the summer months in Cape Town. As we left, we drove through Arcadia, "Playground of Gods," home to the second highest number of embassies after Washington, D.C.

Tonight several of the students and their hosts got together for dinner at Primi Priatti, an nice pizza and pasta restaurant. A few others were going out to dinner with their families. It's nice to see them get along so well as their group of 26- sometimes 27 if we have both of Connor's hosts :) - but they also interact well in their host homes with their South African "family." I think, dare I say it, that this group is much closer than the China group- THAT was a tight-knit group of students. They are going to have so much fun together back in Chagrin Falls!

Inter-House Athletics tomorrow until 1:00, our afternoon is free, then we have our farewell dinner (can you believe it?) at Moyo's Fountains. One more day in Irene, then our two day trip- crazy!