Yesterday was our last day of the third term at LUC Academy. Usually on the last day of term, we only have a half day and take the kids on an outing. We decided we would try to take the kids to a movie (namely A Monster in Paris, the only 2D animation showing nearby at an early time). Most of them had been to the movies before with their families with varying success. When planning the outing, we were all very confident and excited. However as the day drew nearer, we got a little more nervous. The rest of the schools were already on holiday and the theatre might be busy. What if our kids are loud, disruptive, and throw tantrums? I had resigned myself to the fact that I would probably be sitting outside the theatre with at least one of them.
Amazingly, the day went beautifully. One of the boys who usually tantrums when getting out of the car anywhere was amazingly happy to go. We arrived to the movie right on time, to an almost empty theatre. We all sat the kids down at the back of the theatre with their popcorn and drinks and sat back, wondering what was going to happen. The kids were surprisingly quiet, only a few small outbursts like random tacts or echoics from the movie (and occasional mands for more snacks, bathroom, etc.). One of our boys who would do anything for attention, and is usually constantly saying hello to us or telling us he loves us, was mostly quiet. Thankfully his therapist told him to whisper in the theatre (which he can do) so when he saw me as he was coming back from the bathroom he whispered to me "Hello Wendy". He also loves to dance to music (and loves telling us to do so as well) so when the music came on, he stood up, started dancing, and you could hear little whispers coming from his direction "Dance Catherine" (one of our therapists).
I think the keys to our success were the snacks and other supplies we brought for the kids if they got restless (threading for one, and clay and action figures for another). One of the boys manded for his beads during the movie and once he was threading, he kept quiet and happy. The other boy accidentally dropped one of his action figures during the movie, jumped from his seat, and for the first time independently manded for information in the natural environment by saying "Where Spiderman?". When he found him, he quickly jumped up and yelled "Spiderman!!!". I don't know if anyone told him to be quiet; we were all trying to keep from laughing. This boy was also asked earlier in the day where Wolfman (one of his action figures) works and he decided he worked in the Wolfman station (generalization from police station and fire station). We have heard this before from him; usually if he doesn't know where someone works, he says they work in [name/title] station. Poppa used to work in the poppa station until we found out where he actually worked and taught our action figure boy. Anyway, given this you can imagine how surprised we were when we asked him "Where does Buzz [Lightyear] work?" and he answered "No man, Buzz doesn't work". Lesson learned little man.
Overall the day went off without a hitch and now we really feel like we deserve a week long holiday. No pictures this time, to protect our kids' privacy.
Saturday 29 September 2012
Monday 24 September 2012
Sunday Stroll
Yesterday I went for a walk in the Klipriviersberg Nature Reserve just to the south of Joburg. My guidebook promised that animals (like wildebeest, hartebeest, and even zebras) definitely lived in the park and I just hoped I would be lucky enough to see one of them. As I entered the park I saw a little fox-like creature run across the path in front of me. If you remember from my visit to another nature reserve, the only animal I saw that day was the one that ran across the path in front of me as I entered the park. So naturally I felt a little disappointing deja vu. However, as I continued my walk, I saw what I suspected were wildebeest across a small river from me. I took about ten pictures, getting as close as I could without entering the high grass in front of me (for fear of snakes, whether a legitimate fear or not, I wasn't prepared to find out). As I continued along though, eventually there was a bridge so I could cross over to their side. They were all still in that field although they slowly moved a little farther away as they saw me coming, but I got some even better pictures from that side. I also discovered an antelope looking creature. With help from my guidebook and google images, I think I can semi-confidently say it was a bontebok.
After seeing these animals, I felt pretty happy about the day. However, my guidebook had also promised beautiful views of the city to the north if I climbed up the mountains. So when I saw a sign for "look-out point", I followed it. Unfortunately, I climbed the wrong mountain and my view of the city was blocked by other mountains, but I did still get a nice view of the park. I guess I will just have to go back and try again for my city view.
After seeing these animals, I felt pretty happy about the day. However, my guidebook had also promised beautiful views of the city to the north if I climbed up the mountains. So when I saw a sign for "look-out point", I followed it. Unfortunately, I climbed the wrong mountain and my view of the city was blocked by other mountains, but I did still get a nice view of the park. I guess I will just have to go back and try again for my city view.
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| Spring is here! Grass starting to grow where fires had burned |
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| Black wildebeest; just try looking at this picture without thinking: Stampede, in the gorge, Simba's down there!!! |
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| There were a few ruined buildings in the park, not sure what they were but here's part of one |
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| Bontebok with wildebeest in the background |
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| Possibly a dassie, there were tons of these little guys running around the rocks |
Sunday 16 September 2012
A South African Music Experience
Last night a couple friends and I went to see Johnny Clegg at the Montecasino Teatro. When I heard his concert announced on the radio a couple of weeks ago, I got pretty excited. Sure, I'd only ever heard one of his songs ("Dela"), and sure, the only reason I knew that song at all was because it was in George of the Jungle, but ever since downloading music was possible, I downloaded that song (yep, back in the Napster days) and added it to all my burned CDs. And now, it is on all my driving (aka sing-along) playlists. Last year, Nina (a friend from WMU) even caught me singing and dancing along to this song in my car on the way to a meeting. So to sum this all up, it's probably my favourite song ever.
I asked one of my friends here if she liked Johnny Clegg and if she would be interested in going to the concert with me. She said he was really good and we have to go, so last weekend she, her sister, and I bought tickets. Since we were a little slow on the procuring of the tickets, we were in the very last row of the very highest balcony. It actually wasn't that bad though. We still had a pretty good view, and a lot more leg room than most theatres I've been to. We also discovered that being in the last row means you can stand up to dance whenever you want, without fear of bothering the people behind you. Something that really surprised me about this theatre was that you could bring drinks (purchased from the theatre bar) into the show! Apparently this isn't a regular occurrence in South Africa though because the girls I went with were quite surprised by it as well.
The show itself was excellent. He played a couple songs that he said were from a new album but I think mostly he played his older, more well-known songs. I even recognized a couple from the radio here (so I actually did know more than one song). Almost all of the songs were great, happy, and easy to dance to. He also had some Zulu dancers come out for a couple of the songs and the Soweto Gospel Choir sang for about 5 songs. It felt like a real African experience. I had enjoyed the concert so much that by the time he had played his encore song and introduced the band, I had resigned myself to the fact that my song, the reason I came to the concert in the first place, wouldn't be played. But after the band introductions, the music started up again. I couldn't believe it. Dela was the last song of the night and I enjoyed every second of it!
I asked one of my friends here if she liked Johnny Clegg and if she would be interested in going to the concert with me. She said he was really good and we have to go, so last weekend she, her sister, and I bought tickets. Since we were a little slow on the procuring of the tickets, we were in the very last row of the very highest balcony. It actually wasn't that bad though. We still had a pretty good view, and a lot more leg room than most theatres I've been to. We also discovered that being in the last row means you can stand up to dance whenever you want, without fear of bothering the people behind you. Something that really surprised me about this theatre was that you could bring drinks (purchased from the theatre bar) into the show! Apparently this isn't a regular occurrence in South Africa though because the girls I went with were quite surprised by it as well.
The show itself was excellent. He played a couple songs that he said were from a new album but I think mostly he played his older, more well-known songs. I even recognized a couple from the radio here (so I actually did know more than one song). Almost all of the songs were great, happy, and easy to dance to. He also had some Zulu dancers come out for a couple of the songs and the Soweto Gospel Choir sang for about 5 songs. It felt like a real African experience. I had enjoyed the concert so much that by the time he had played his encore song and introduced the band, I had resigned myself to the fact that my song, the reason I came to the concert in the first place, wouldn't be played. But after the band introductions, the music started up again. I couldn't believe it. Dela was the last song of the night and I enjoyed every second of it!
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| Catherine, Eliza, and me in our seats in the very last row |
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| Johnny Clegg |
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| Zulu dancers performing a traditional dance |
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| Johnny Clegg, his band, and the Soweto Gospel Choir performing Dela |
Saturday 8 September 2012
South African Lingo
South Africa has 11 official languages, including English, Afrikaans, Zulu, Xhosa, and Sesotho, the five languages that make up their national anthem. And in addition to trying to understand all the different accents, there are also some vocabulary differences that have had to be explained to me during my time here.
Probably the most common and hilarious difference is that they call traffic lights "robots". So you may hear the instruction "turn left at the second robot" if you are driving in South Africa. I was warned about this before arriving though so I never had to wonder exactly what kind of robot they were talking about and why there was more than one. Another small point about traffic lights in South Africa is that the middle colour is apparently orange, not yellow.
Another hilarious difference is that water heaters are called geysers (pronounced geezer). So you may have to worry about your broken geyser, or figure out how to turn on your geyser while in South Africa.
Some of the more common differences are that fries are called chips (as are potato chips), a sink is a basin, cookies are biscuits, and the yard is the garden. These things don't really matter, it's usually easy to tell what someone is talking about from the context... but the differences do matter when you happen to be teaching language to children with autism. So I've had to adjust my vocabulary as well. I've been told by the therapists that a couple of the kids' new words even sound "American" (they can't hear the difference between Canadian and American, hell I barely can). I've tried adjusting my accent slightly when doing therapy, saying things like "banawna" for banana, and "wa-tah" for water when providing corrections and prompts so as not to confuse the kids. I'm not sure how much of a difference it makes, but it certainly provides entertainment for the other therapists.
Probably the most common and hilarious difference is that they call traffic lights "robots". So you may hear the instruction "turn left at the second robot" if you are driving in South Africa. I was warned about this before arriving though so I never had to wonder exactly what kind of robot they were talking about and why there was more than one. Another small point about traffic lights in South Africa is that the middle colour is apparently orange, not yellow.
| A South African robot |
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Another hilarious difference is that water heaters are called geysers (pronounced geezer). So you may have to worry about your broken geyser, or figure out how to turn on your geyser while in South Africa.
Some of the more common differences are that fries are called chips (as are potato chips), a sink is a basin, cookies are biscuits, and the yard is the garden. These things don't really matter, it's usually easy to tell what someone is talking about from the context... but the differences do matter when you happen to be teaching language to children with autism. So I've had to adjust my vocabulary as well. I've been told by the therapists that a couple of the kids' new words even sound "American" (they can't hear the difference between Canadian and American, hell I barely can). I've tried adjusting my accent slightly when doing therapy, saying things like "banawna" for banana, and "wa-tah" for water when providing corrections and prompts so as not to confuse the kids. I'm not sure how much of a difference it makes, but it certainly provides entertainment for the other therapists.
Sunday 2 September 2012
Cradle of Humankind
Yesterday I went to the Cradle of Humankind, a UNESCO heritage site where many important fossil discoveries have been made, including "Mrs. Ples" and "Little Foot". I don't think I'd heard of these fossils before coming here, so don't feel bad if you haven't either. In any case, they are early hominid fossils that have helped to piece together our evolutionary history.
I started at Maropeng, the visitor's centre at the Cradle of Humankind and museum. I arrived just before a tour was starting so I decided to join them, even though you can go through on your own. Our guide told us about the history of the universe and about the Cradle of Humankind site. There are 13 excavation sites on the 47000 hectares and two additional sites that have been added because of additional discoveries. The museum was alright. It started with a boat tour going through the four elements of life, which was mostly disappointing. The exhibits were nice, but some of the interactive parts weren't working properly and most of the information was reminders from biology or anthropology class. The fossil exhibit was cool since there were actual fossils, some of which had been discovered nearby. After exiting the museum though you can climb up the building and check out "the best view in Gauteng". It was a very nice view and you could see for miles in every direction.
After Maropeng, I headed to the Sterkfontein Caves, the actual site were Mrs. Ples and Little Foot were discovered (and where they are actually still trying to properly excavate Little Foot). The caves were very cool. I think our guide said we went 60m underground. Our tour guide was awesome, kind of sarcastic and really funny. He did tell us a serious story though about the lake in the caves that has been rising for the past few years. Three students from Wits University (I think) went on a scuba diving expedition to determine how far the lake went. They swam for kilometers and never found the end. And on the way back, one of them got lost and died from hypothermia. Since then, they haven't allowed any other divers in the lake.
The way out of the caves was a pretty tight squeeze. I thought they were kind of exaggerating when they said that at the beginning of the tour so they couldn't be liable or anything, but there were times when I went through on my bum, squatted and did an "ape walk" (as the guide called it), or bent over to make it through.
I started at Maropeng, the visitor's centre at the Cradle of Humankind and museum. I arrived just before a tour was starting so I decided to join them, even though you can go through on your own. Our guide told us about the history of the universe and about the Cradle of Humankind site. There are 13 excavation sites on the 47000 hectares and two additional sites that have been added because of additional discoveries. The museum was alright. It started with a boat tour going through the four elements of life, which was mostly disappointing. The exhibits were nice, but some of the interactive parts weren't working properly and most of the information was reminders from biology or anthropology class. The fossil exhibit was cool since there were actual fossils, some of which had been discovered nearby. After exiting the museum though you can climb up the building and check out "the best view in Gauteng". It was a very nice view and you could see for miles in every direction.
After Maropeng, I headed to the Sterkfontein Caves, the actual site were Mrs. Ples and Little Foot were discovered (and where they are actually still trying to properly excavate Little Foot). The caves were very cool. I think our guide said we went 60m underground. Our tour guide was awesome, kind of sarcastic and really funny. He did tell us a serious story though about the lake in the caves that has been rising for the past few years. Three students from Wits University (I think) went on a scuba diving expedition to determine how far the lake went. They swam for kilometers and never found the end. And on the way back, one of them got lost and died from hypothermia. Since then, they haven't allowed any other divers in the lake.
The way out of the caves was a pretty tight squeeze. I thought they were kind of exaggerating when they said that at the beginning of the tour so they couldn't be liable or anything, but there were times when I went through on my bum, squatted and did an "ape walk" (as the guide called it), or bent over to make it through.
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| Maropeng, the visitor centre of the Cradle of Humankind |
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| Jean LeCastor finally makes an appearance! For those of you who don't know Jean, check out my facebook album Jean LeCastor Tours Europe. You might also be able to find him in Florida, spring break 2012, and occasionally in Michigan. Here he is at the entrance to the museum. |
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| Jean LeCastor on top of the museum for the "best view in Gauteng" |
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| Our tour guide, apparently named Maropeng, at the Sterkfontein Caves. He was showing us how to use the sun dial. |
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| Elephant shaped rock structure inside the caves |
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| Jean LeCastor in front of one of the excavation sites at the Sterkfontein Caves |
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