Student Spotlight: Raymond Schneider

Meet Ray Schnei, the goofs and gags guy! Ray’s a nice fellow who makes sitting in the back seat of the cruiser and singing “Are You with Me” (Mexican Skies) look fun.

Ray grew up in State College, Pennsylvania, where his father, Dr. Donald Schneider is an astronomy professor. Ray chose to stay there for college despite the cold winters and is a junior studying Geography, which Ray describes as a hobby. For Ray, South Africa has always been a place of interest. As a human geographer, he is drawn into the rich history of the country and feels that “Africa is overlooked.”

Ray was the last student to arrive in South Africa. He spent 10 hours in the Detroit airport on his way here, which he used to research the country. As we went from the airport to the hotel on the first night, I was impressed by Ray’s knowledge of the country. Maybe his knowledge of the country, the boxers (short shorts) and a jersey (sweatshirt) he wears, or the way he responds “Ja!” are the reasons he gets confused for a real South African every now and then.

Ray has been really intrigued by the stereotypes South Africans hold of Americans. Most recently, we have been (wrongly) assumed to be billionaires with answers to all of the world’s problems Previously, it was presumed that we all were carrying guns. When we ate at a seafood restaurant, De Vette Mossel, in Mossel Bay, the restaurant owners played country music for us Americans, thinking that was everybody’s music of choice.

De Vette Mossel was a highlight of Parks & People 2016 for Ray. For one thing, the food was amazing! We had a multicourse meal that left us feeling stuffed. We shared dinner with our friends from Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU),George, who had been with us through the Karoo. Ray really connected with that group, and it was in the Karoo where Ray really adopted his South African persona.

Another highlight for Ray was our Science Fest at the Donald Woods Foundation. Ray loved seeing the group come together and put together the experience for the kids. Ray took lead in the coloring room and was quickly challenged by the language barrier, but made the most of the experience anyhow. Did I mention it was Ray’s 21^st birthday? He was in bed by 9:30 PM, per the usual.

While Ray has been mistaken as someone who doesn’t like the outdoors, he does. He didn’t particularly enjoy our camping outing because he would prefer to be back home by dinnertime. He now knows that sleeping under the stars is not his jam, and he would have preferred to be back in one of the cabins at home base. However, cooking dinner was a highlight of the experience. In particular, Ray still finds it funny that Keonna upended the freshly made pasta dinner before anyone had the experience to enjoy the fine cuisine. Don’t worry…Neil & I shared our pasta allotment and everyone got fed!

When asked for a quote about the experience, Ray kept it simple, "This trip was fun." 

Student Spotlight: Monica Betz

Throughout the trip, I’ve thought it would be neat for me to create student spotlights, but I never made it happen. As the students were working on a group project last night, they were trying to figure out how they’ll make their mark on social media. They jokingly asked me what I was going to do and it led to student spotlights. There are 12 students and 8 days left in the program. Here we go!

We’ll start with Monica Betz, a sophomore majoring in Energy, Business, and Finance with minors in Geography and Geographic Information Sciences (GIS). Monica is from Camp Hill, Pennsylvania. Before coming on Parks & People, Monica traveled to Jamaica with Neil Brown twice through LEAP.

It’s no surprise that Monica volunteered to be featured first. One would not describe Monica as shy. If I were to use three words, I would say “energetic, quirky, and positive.” Monica’s the most likely to ask a ridiculous question that gets the group laughing. She is most in her element when in a gift shop.

The biggest risk Monica took on this trip was snapping pictures of the great white sharks on her program phone. I’m happy to report that both Monica and her phone came back from that excursion unscathed. Monica’s top three Parks & People moments were:

1. Being in the first group to site a rhino in the Karoo. Without dung duty, this would not have been possible.
2.  Hearing children sing beautiful songs at the schools. Did I mention Monica was the lead kudu in our play? Her prancing is spectacular!
3. Traveling to TableMountain not once…not twice…but three times before enjoying its beauty.

For Monica, this trip will always be associated with the song “Are You with Me,” dubbed “Mexican Skies” by Parks and People 2016. I have heard rumors that someone keeps playing that song in the cruiser, but nothing is confirmed (It’s #8 on NOW 71 Disc 2 and #17 on Club Traxxx Volume 15 Disc 1).

Monica explained that she would pack differently if she were to relive the trip. She would not pack so many field clothes and would leave her yellow, bug-attracting, hat behind.

When I tried to conclude the interview, Monica felt that our time together was “ended abruptly.” When I asked what I was missing, Monica started rambling on about how this group is like little blushing ducks. When I asked her to explain for the average reader, Monica said, “I’m so glad we met in Parks & People. We became a family and I’m going to miss this. I’ve realized that I’ll never be in this country with the same group of people ever again.”

My favorite memory of Monica happened just last week, on March 15. We’d spent the day putting on the Science Fest for local kids and it happened to be Ray’s birthday. When I returned to our living quarters with Danielle in the afternoon, I heard Monica rapping from across the courtyard. I went over and got to hear the birthday rap she was perfecting for Ray’s birthday dinner. Partway through dinner, Monica gets up with sunglasses on and hair braided, and starts rapping for Ray. When I get the chance, I’ll upload the video for all to see.

Want to know more about Monica? Follower her on Instagram @shoesthatwalk

Module 6: Donald Woods --> The Haven

Yesterday (Thursday) morning we loaded up and left the Donald Woods Foundation (DWF). We really enjoyed our time there and met some amazing people. Thankfully, we're just down the road, so our time together isn't over yet. We've moved about 10 kilometers down the road to The Haven Hotel, which is located within the Cwebe/Dwesa Nature Reserve. This place is beautiful! I walked down to the beach yesterday and found a few friends (cows).

Today some of us went into Elliotdale for a high school summit, coordinated by the DWF. The drive from The Haven to Elliotdale took about an hour (maybe longer) and is mostly on gravel roads. It's interesting to be driving down the road and encounter a herd of cows. While the area is rural, there always seem to be people walking along the road, too. Ultimately, the land is fairly populous, but it is incredibly underdeveloped around Hobeni.

Walking into the summit was a bit overwhelming. The high school students were cheering so loud that I thought celebrities must be following us into the schoolyard. Really, the high schoolers were just excited to see us, and were also quite excited to be spending the day with the DWF staff. To welcome us, some songs were sung and speeches were made. The purpose of the summit was to dive into health issues directly affecting this population: teenage pregnancy, HIV/AIDS, TB, and drugs/alcohol. The high schoolers were separated by gender and our students sat in on the conversations. After the students discussed the problems, they were asked to come up with possible solutions, which they later presented to the entire group.

Neil, Danielle, and I sat in on conversations with the students. We heard a bit more about problems facing the school and were asked for help in addressing the issues. There is a misconception that all Americans have the financial means to do things like build hostels for the schools. The teachers said that 80% of the students are traveling long distances to get to the Elliotdale Tech Senior High School, which means that many learners are tired before the school day gets a start. Many of the students also suffer from stomach ulcers, caused by eating just one meal each day. The schools are stretched thin, and it always makes you wonder how you can help make the world better. While we may not have the means to set up a hostel (Oprah, are you reading?!), we can likely help the school in other ways. 

The school day closed with a play that symbolized the problems really happening in Xhosa culture, including early pregnancy, HIV/AIDS, and drug/alcohol abuse. While we couldn't understand the (Xhosa) words, we were able to interpret most of the message. The acting was excellent and hopefully meaningful for everyone in the audience. 

While we were at the summit I got a message from one of our students, Callie, who stayed behind today. Callie wanted to let me know that a monkey got into my room (through an open window...rookie mistake on my part) and was snacking on crackers. Housekeeping got the monkey out and there was no other damage/concern. The monkey could have at least used the bag's zipper ;)  

It's really hard to believe that we have less than two weeks left in South Africa. We've made it to our furthest point, The Wild Coast. We'll be here until next Friday (March 25), when we'll start our return trip to Cape Town.

Module 6: Donald Woods Foundation (Part II: Science Fest)

"Everyone you will ever meet knows something you don't." - Bill Nye 

On Tuesday we held the 2^nd Annual Science Fest at the Donald Woods Foundation (DWF) headquarters. We worked with 6 local schools and invited 30 6^th and 7^th graders to join us for a day of science fun. Tuesday morning came and we found out that a few schools were in need of transportation. No problem! We were prepared to shuttle the schools. Neil and I headed out and picked up the school kids and one teacher from each school. Neil had a further distance to travel, so I picked up my school and made it back first.

When I arrived with my group of students I was pleasantly surprised to see our students interacting and playing games with small groups of kids. Knowing that we would need a filler, I dug into my student affairs bag of tricks and thought about a few games for us to play. I could see that there was going to be a communication barrier, so games without words were going to be most successful. For the first game, one person would show off a dance move, then the circle would mimic the move. Everyone in the circle would take a turn, just to give us some good laughs. There were two favorite moves amongst the kids: spinning in a circle, waving their arms, and saying “wooooh!” and a hopscotch-like move.

The day was off to a good start! Kids were having fun and our students were engaging. On to level two of games…The Look-Up Game! Everybody stands in a circle and looks down. The leader counts to 3, and at the count of 3 everybody looks up into the eyes of another person in the group. If you make mutual eye contact, scream, then exit the circle. I was uncertain if the kids understood the directions, but the teachers assured me they did. 1….2…3… Screaming, laughing, only Parks & People students understood the directive to leave the circle. We tried to repeat that this was an elimination game.  1…2…3…Screaming, laughing, only Parks & People students left the circle again. So, we kept playing for a few more rounds. Since the game wasn’t going to come to the traditional ending with just 1-2 people left, we began clapping, “Wahoo! Wasn’t that fun?”

Next up, we tried to separate into small groups and do introductions. This was very difficult for our students because the children seemed hesitant to engage. Did they understand our accents? Were they apprehensive about interacting with us? Were they resentful that we weren’t speaking in Xhosa, a language we don’t know? Was there something else?

When Neil returned, we officially started the Science Fest with the help of a translator. Neil encouraged the students to think like scientists: observe, ask questions, and experiment. Then, our students performed the play for the very last time. Next, we split the students into three groups for rotating activities. Neil, Laekin, and Connor taught about camouflage in the rondavel; Callie, Shakira, and Erica taught about adaptation outside; and Ray, Keonna, Charlene, and Luba taught a bit of geography inside before going through a coloring exercise. Initially, we didn’t have translation in all of the spaces, but we quickly found out that it would be imperative to translate our words. We got everything sorted and carried on with the sessions. I was very proud of our students and how they handled the adversity of a communication barrier. 

Lunch time was next and we took part of the lunch break to play soccer/football with the kids. We had a good time kicking the ball around the circle.Then, we got back together so the students could act out the play. We were impressed by how quickly some students volunteered to act. As always, we enjoyed the acting!

Before closing, each student was given one page from our play book to illustrate. We’ve put books together and made one copy for each student. We’ll be delivering them to the schools later today.

The closing was a real highlight of the day. We were lining the students up for a picture when they started singing and dancing for us. While we couldn’t understand the traditional Xhosa songs, it was fun to see the students in a more comfortable element. Finally, we (kind of) did a balloon drop. To our surprise, the students popped the balloons right away! We thought they might want to keep them, but there were no balloons to keep.

While the day was challenging, it was affirming to hear the praise of the teacher I drove back to her school. She had been teaching in the area for 23 years and said she learned new teaching methods from our students. The reality is, we learned just as much from the 6^th and 7^th graders as they could have learned from us. 

Thank you to Grace & Monica for sharing your photos! 

Module 6: The Donald Woods Foundation (Part I: C.H.O.W.s)

A smile has no language barriers.

When we pulled into The Donald WoodsFoundation (DWF) parking lot, I was entirely unsure of what adventures awaited us on our South African journey. I knew very little about the last module, but knew it would be an eye-opening experience. This module is driven by the question, “Is Xhosa culture sustainable in our changing world?” We’ll be at the DWF until the 17^th and in the area until the 25^th. We already have so much knowledge about this topic, but will our time here be enough?

On Friday (the 11^th) we went into the community with the Community Health Outreach Workers (C.H.O.W.s). Locally, the program is known as Health in Every Hut. Overall, there are approximately 120 C.H.O.Ws, many of whom are young women. This is partially because the majority of young men have migrated to places like Cape Town for work. The men try to earn a living and send a paycheck home to their families, called remittance. Remittance is the primary source of income for Xhosa families, and from what we’ve heard, social grants (welfare) are likely the dominant source of income for Xhosa families in this area.

Health in Every Hut aims to identify and assist with medical treatment for ongoing disease, like diabetes, epilepsy, hypertension, and HIV. We were told that many people are open to initial treatment, but maintenance is the biggest issue. C.H.O.W.s make referrals to clinics, and while people usually make the initial visit, it is often difficult to maintain treatment because of the required trips into town. Few families have cars and walking is not an option (the distance is too far), so most people rely on taxis (covered pickups with LOTS of people squished in), which cost 50 rand round trip.

The C.H.O.W.s might get dropped off at their territory, but once they are unloaded from the pickups (with toppers), they walk to all their homes, mostly rondavels. Callie and I were paired with Doomy (who was not doomy at all, but really quite cheerful) and took off on foot to the rondavels. As we walked along the road, Doomy greeted most everyone we saw. We followed Doomy into homes and were greeted with open arms. Doomy speaks English and was able to help translate a little for us. Unfortunately, the language barrier kept us from speaking much with the families, but I was amazed by just how much we communicated with the families. A smile has no language barriers.

Callie and I visited about five rondavels before the rain came. While Doomy would have trudged on, we waited inside a hut for the rain to slow. When it didn’t, we returned to the DWF. Callie and I were both disappointed and felt that we were a burden to Doomy. We understand her hospitality, but hated to hold her back from her work when she was doing us a favor.

Katie, who works for the DWF and oversees the C.H.O.W.s, joined us for a follow-up conversation after we had been in the community. When we shared our driving question with Katie, she said she believes Health in Every Hut does change Xhosa culture, but with the ultimate goal of sustaining the culture.

There is so much more I wish to share about the C.H.O.W.s, the social grants, our day with the beading ladies, and tomorrow’s science festival, but I’ll hold off. Good night from Hobeni!  

Moving On: Conservation Academy --> Gonubie (East London) --> The Donald Woods Foundation (at Hobeni)

“Give people the knowledge to ask questions.” – Wendy Sadler

During our final days in the Grahamstown area, we visited SciFest Africa. We reconnected with Basil, who took us for a hike on the Discovery Trail. 

We purchased what remaining tickets we could scrounge up for SciFest sessions on Friday and enjoyed the day learning about science and taking in the culture of the festival. Most of our group attended a session by two high school seniors, who encouraged their peers to get active and pursue the sciences. It was neat to see such young adults researching and inspiring others. 

We were thrilled to be invited to the United States Consulate General’s V.I.P. reception on Friday evening. Not only did we get to meet Consul General Teddy B. Taylor, but we also met the astronomer, Dr. Eric Wilcots, who appears on Season 1, Episode 13 of Bill Nye the Science Guy! After the reception, we stayed with the V.I.P. crew for SciFest Africa’s opening ceremonies. With a reach of 15,000+ South African children, it was amazing to think about what SciFest Africa has achieved in twenty years.

I really enjoyed learning from the keynote, Wendy Sadler. Her presentation, Science Made Simple, focused on using demos as a means of communicating science information. Two quotes from the presentation resonated with me, “Break myths, don’t make them.” When we use demos to teach, we need to talk about what is really happening, instead of deferring to magic. When we take the time to teach, we engage children, building interest in science.

The other takeaway from Wendy Sadler’s presentation was the quote, “Give people the knowledge to ask questions.” In Parks & People, we give our students a wealth of information and experiences, with the goal of empowering them to take charge of their own education. It’s been amazing to be part of this experience and watch the students grow in our seven weeks together (and three remain).

We left the Conservation Academy on Saturday, March 5, for the Bluewaters Hotel in Gonubie. Our time in Gonubie provided some much appreciated rest and relaxation along the Indian Ocean.

We left Gonubie on Tuesday (March 8) in steady rain. We had been warned that we may need to avoid the main roads due to protests and were also informed that the gravel roads may be washed away. According to Google Maps, the drive from East London to Hobeni was expected to take about 4 hours and 30 minutes. Given our travel history (frequent bathroom breaks, slow going up hills, etc.), we were prepared for a full 8 hour day of travel. Surprisingly, the travel went very well and we got to Donald Woods in 6 hours, even with 3 stops along the way.

Since arriving at the Donald Woods Foundation, we have been spent quite a bit of time in the classroom. We concluded last night by watching the movie, Cry Freedom, about Donald Woods and his role as a newspaper editor informing South Africans about the injustices of the Apartheid. Donald's son, Dillon, will be joining our group tonight, and we're really looking forward to meeting him! 

We were able to connect with a group of students from Penn State Berks who are on an Alternative Spring Break Trip to Belfast, Ireland. Betsy, one of the staff members in Ireland, assisted with the Parks & People program in 2014, and came up with the idea of our students engaging. Many of the students on our trips strive to become global citizens and the social problems each group is studying have similarities. Each student was encouraged to post with #psuthisisourclassroom to showcase our experiences online. 

We have many great experiences awaiting us in our final module of the program. We will be in Hobeni until we start our journey back to the Western Cape on March 25.

Module 5: Conservation Academy, Born Free, & Lalibela (Part II)

“The only man I envy is the man who has not yet been to Africa – For he has so much to look forward to.” – Lalibela Game Reserve

Today is March 1, the first day of the last month of Parks & People 2016. It’s amazing to think about what we’ve achieved in one and a half months, and w still have so much to see and do in South Africa.

Dr. Carter Hunt, from Penn State’s Recreation Park Tourism Management (RPTM) department, joined us at the Conservation Academy to teach about ecotourism. His presentations have nicely supplemented the program and have sparked some good conversations about our tourism views.

On Saturday we went to the Born Free cat sanctuary, which houses lions and leopards that cannot be released back into the wild. Glen, our guide, likened Born Free to a retirement community for animals that were previously used in circuses, mistreated in zoos, or were tamed when young.

While it was neat to see the lions and leopards up close, it sparked some questions from the group. One thing I really appreciate about this group is the healthy debate they have in informal conversations. Students feel comfortable sharing their perspectives and contradicting each other freely. Yesterday, our healthy debate led us into a conversation where we attempted to rank the game reserves we had seen so far with regard to their overall ethics. There was some disagreement, but good reasoning and conversation.

Sunday was our final game drive at LalibelaGame Reserve. This game drive felt the most vacation-like. We cruised around in search of “The Big Five” and did not linger with the smaller, more common animals. We were excited because we saw all of “The Big Five,” which includes buffalo, elephants, leopards, lions, and rhinos. In fact, we got to see all of “The Big Seven,” which adds two ocean animals: the great white shark and the southern right whale. WOOHOO!

As guests who have experience with the more common African animals, the group didn’t mind so much, but certainly noticed this difference. This game drive let us see the most and was the most adventurous, but it also came at the expense of the animals. No animals were harmed, but we could feel the tension of the animals as we drove close to them. Overall, Lalibela was beautiful and the lunch we had was amazing.

We have also watched a few films lately, including Milking the Rhino and Born Free. The more informed we become, the more questions we ask. It’s neat to see how all of the pieces of this program come together, leaving us with the puzzle we call Parks & People.

In my free time I have been reading a couple of books that Danielle lent to me, Khayelitsha:uMlungu in a Township and BitterDawn: A Search for the Truth about the Murder of Anni Dewani. Both books are about true stories that happen in Cape Town and have informed me about the origin of many South African stereotypes, like corruption, poverty, and tourism. I appreciate having the context that helps me understand these books, but I am grateful that my experiences with Parks & People have proved these stereotypes wrong.

We’ll be here at the Conservation Academy until Saturday, when we depart for East London and the most rural area of our trip.