Re a leboga!

Dumelang! Le kae??
Greetings all! How are you?

Everything is still going great here at St Marks. The grade 12's are busy with their Matric Exams (finals) and the rest of the school are busy studying and preparing for their exams which start tomorrow. Can't believe how quickly time has gone. It's nearly been a year since I was writing my HSC exams. It has really put the pressure of exams and life into perspective neh. My dream of coming to Africa that Ive had since the age of 6 is being fulfilled and yet almost over. However.... I have some great news!! I have totally fallen head over heals for this country and want to stay longer. Thus I have extended my visa for another couple of months! Therefore I will be staying most probably until early March. There is so much more that I want to do for the school and community and because I am not recommencing my studies until second semester next year I am going to make the most of the time I have here. I will still be travelling around the country and what what in Dec and Jan, but then will return to St Marks around the end of Jan and work for another month and a bit. I'm so excited.

Anyhoo, to all those doing their HSC at home my thoughts and prayers are with you. I know that whilst your writing it feels like they are never going to end and for some it feels like the end of the world. But seriously trust me, once you've done your best and they are over, they become just a memory of a challenge that you have overcome. You will be finished very soon and equipped with the tools that school has given you, you will be ready to chase those dreams you've had in the back of your mind over the last few years.

Anyhoo enough of my blabbering, I wish to dedicate this post to all the beautiful people in Australia who generously contributed to my fundraising earlier this year. Whilst on one hand, this money goes so far, on the other hand i wish i could have raised more because there is still so much more i would love to do for the school. Anyhoo, with some of the money from the blessed families, friends and local businesses I bought a sports uniform for the girls netball team and a boys soccer/basketball team. They turned out so beautifully and everyone is soo excited. Hence, both personally and on behalf of the kids and school, RE A LEBOGA!!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH!! I got a small Australian logo printed on the shirts, with a little kangaroo and Southern Cross so that they will always rememeber where the generosity came from.

The soccer team has since played various games against outside teams and they look so smart in their new uniforms! Similarly the girls look really beautiful in their new tops and skirts.

I have started an afternoon mixed netball competition at the school. It is sooooooo entertaining!! I seriously laugh the whole time! None of the boys have played before and its absolutely hilarious. It can get quite rough but they love it! Its a mixture of basketball, rugby and then netball! They've all learnt most of the rules now and stepping and shooting is particularly interesting....squashing the spider and shooting only on one leg!! hahaha. The grade 12 team (mainly big talented basketball guys) played the grade 8 team (mainly tiny girls) played each other last week. It was sooo great to watch. Played in such good spirit and they had a great time. It was so nice to see.

Thanks again! Lots of love

Mosopyadi

Mozambique!!

Ola!!


Last week we were lucky enough to have a week off and go to Mozambique. It was such an amazing experience with many memorable moments. We left school on Friday morning and caught a taxi to Nelspruit, a city near the Mozambique border. We had booked our bus tickets to leave Saturday at 12:30pm, only to find out that afternoon that you had to get your visa beforehand because the bus doesnt wait for you at the border. We rushed into town but the embassy was shut and wasnt reopening until Tuesday. We didnt know what to do, we certainly didnt want to turn around and go home. AFter speaking to just about every person who worked with the bus company, we just decided to try our luck and just get on the bus. Whilst travelling we met another 11 american students who also werent informed about the visas and who also needed to get them at the border. As soon as we arrived all of us ran for our lives to try and get to the front of the queue. It was soooo hot and muggy and we were all sweating like crazy, both from the heat and stress. The man at customs told us our visas were going to take about 3 hours but the bus was only waiting for another 20 mins. WE tried everything to try and make it possible to be done faster but he wasnt going to budge (or take bribes!). If the bus left without us it was another 45 minutes to Maputo and we would have been stuck there. AFter much negotiation and begging we managed to squeeze another 25 minutes out of the driver and we were so lucky that 11 of our visas were done. I was one of the lucky ones and was able to make the bus but he left without 5 of the others. By now it was dark and they had to catch public taxis into the city. It turned out that their visas were completed only 5 mintues after we left but there was no way the driver was waiting any longer. we were so blessed that he even waited that long for us. It was such a crazy experience, running around feeling like illegal immigrants; totally hilarious in hindsight though!

Finally we all arrived safely at Fatima's Backpackers in Maputo (the capital of Moz). It was such a funky little place, full of tourists from all over the world. I met people from America, France, Germany, Netherlands, Brazil and South AFrica. The language spoken in Moz is Portugese so it was quite difficult communicating with most of the locals as English is not spoken widely. But we made really good friends with one of the guys who worked at the backpackers and so he was able to translate for us.

We spent our first 2 days in Maputo, lazing on the beach, watching the locals play volleyball and soccer and break dancing on the beach and visiting the local fish and food markets. The fish markets are amazing places, full of local fisherman with their freshly caught seafood. I think there was every sea creature under the sun. We bought 2 large fish (2.5 kilos worth) and took it out the back and the locals cooked it traditional style for us. It was so dam good! They were grilled whole with lemon, coriander and spices. Mmmm, jealous? haha

The food markets are awesome too! Full of every fresh fruit, vege, spice and nut you could image. We always grabbed our supplies from here for our meals.



We headed north to a little beach called Bilene to escape the city. The taxi rides were so much fun. We literally had 25 adults, 3 children and 2 chickens packed into this 15 seater combi van. Say goodbye to personal space, and to add to that, one of the chickens laid an egg whilst we were driving!!!
You could call that taxi rides, a bonding experience if you like. There were body parts squished in every direction. If we were to crash we would have been perfectly fine with our personal airbags beside us (two very large women, with extremely large..hmm..assets).

The rural areas are gorgeous. Thatched huts under huge coconut trees decorated with bright traditional artworks. The beach was beautiful. Pure white sand lined with crystal clear water and pine and palm trees, spotted with small wooden boats. However the weather was poor so we only stayed one night and headed back to Maputo where there was more to do.

Spent alot of the time just relaxing with the people at the backpackers. SO good to just chill after such a hectic term at school. I met a lovely man who lived next door and spoke very fluent english (which he taught himself from books and tv). He offered to take us and show us around Maputo. We went for walks to the local art and craft markets and through the city. Its very underdeveloped with alot of the buildings in part ruins. The people are beautiful though. It has a lot more relaxed and safe feel about it than South AFrica.

Mateus (our friend at the backpackers), offered to cook us dinner traditional Portugese style. We bought 2 kilos of massive king prawns and 1kilo of calamari from the market as well as lemons, garlic, tumeric, coriander, onions, veges and rice. We all helped prepare and i was lucky enough to get the job of peeling the 35 cloves of garlic!!! Eish! I felt sorry for those other people in our dorms after the five of us had just consumed about 7 whole cloves each! Yo! It was sooo good though. Probably the best meal i have ever had. Well a huge change from the pap, chicken, bread and soup i have been eating!

Had a really great week. Shame about the weather but anyhoo, it was still alot of fun! I highly recommend if anyone goes to Maputo to stay at Fatima's. Really cool place.

Back at Jane Furse now. Got a huge term ahead of me. The Grade 12's start their final exams next week so i've been doing alot of preparation and revision with them. Im running a 'competition for the creative' this term. Involves poetry, public speaking and graphics. The majority of the subjects are all very content based and they dont often get a chance to express their creative sides and so i wanted to do something practical with them. Starting a new mixed netball competition, which should be alot of fun.
Also i want to thank those whoi donated money. The uniforms are sooooooooo beautiful. They kids were soooo happy. I will post photos asap. Also i have decided to use some of the remaining money to fix up Lesotho Chapel. It is a little hut at the school where the students run prayer and worship sessions, talk and motivate and guide each other . It is the heart and soul of St Marks. I go there every night and we sing songs, pray and talk about God and i always leave feeling totally inspired. Their faith, understanding and spirituality is amazing!! These kids are truly the children of God!
However the thatching on the roof is breaking and the rains are coming soon. The door has come off its hinges and it needs a repaint. So i am going to use some of the money to repair this special place.

I shall post some photos soon. All the best to those writing HSC exams soon at home. I will be thinking and praying for you. Those who have put in the work will be rewarded.

Lots of love and God Bless
xoxoxoxo

Words cannot truly express how much St Marks and the people here have changed my life. They continue to inspire me everyday. The resiliance, approach to life and maturity of most of the students is far beyond their age. Dont get me wrong, they are not all angels, we have our fair share of trouble makers but in general the kids are amazing. The schools commitment to education and spirituality is truly inspirational. These two factors are the key to true success in life and this is reinforced to the kids everyday. Each morning we have assembly at 7:30am. There is a reading from the bible and then we sing some hymns. Their voices give me goosebumps. It is the best way to start the day. Most of the songs are in Sepedi but i have learnt most of them and its so nice to be able to sing along with them in their home language. I have learnt a fair bit of Sepedi; the basics and the greetings. It is important to greet everyone you see, even if you dont know them, it is an imporant sign of respect. People get very surprised but really appreciate that I have learnt their language.

Last week we were visited by the Mayor of Limpopo and the Arch Bishop of South Africa. It was such an honour to meet them both. They both have brilliant visions for the future of South Africa, especially for the youth. I was also truly honoured as i received my praise name last week. Some of the elder woman from this area were visiting the school and after talking to them (in Sepedi) and introducing myself as Carly, they looked at me and said Aowa (No), from now on you are known as Mosopyadi (pronounced Mo-shop-piyardie). It does not translate to a specific Sepedi word but is a very respectful name and is the name of one of the princesses from a local tribe. I was totally blown away. It was so exciting, one of the most humbling and special moments of my life! So now I am known here as Mosopyardi Carly Bindon.

Thankyou to all those who contributed to the money i was raising in Australia for the school here. I have put some of it towards buying sports uniforms for both a girls and boys team. There is sooo much talent here in netball, basketball and soccer, but just not many opportunities to use and show it. I hope that now they have some uniforms we can hopefully go and play against another school. Seriously if some of these kids, especially the boys, were in Australia, i swear they would be in the national teams for both basketball and soccer. The court and fields are in pretty poor condition but they still practice all the time. Most dont have sports shoes so play barefoot, but it doesnt bother them. I cant wait for the uniforms to be ready. I will post some pictures of the kids wearing them!

Last weekend was the Matric Dinner (Grade 12 Graduation dinner). I spent most of last week organising that and all of saturday cooking and setting up the hall. It was a very nice night. The grade 12's all looked so handsome and beautiful. We had a lovely meal and there were some speaches and then we danced the night away. It was so much fun!! Didnt get to sleep until 3:30am but it was worth it!

This week is my last week of teaching and then on friday we break for september holidays (10 days). However due to the teacher strike at the end of last term the department has cancelled the holidays for grades 10, 11 and 12. Thus they have to stay at school and only the primary and grade 8 and 9's can go home. We still get 10 days off though. We are thinking of going to Mozambique. It should be great! I am excited to see another culture and scenery! Excited for the beach too! We are only going for about 6 days though so that we can come back to help the grade 10, 11's and 12's with preparation for their final exams.

Anyhoo, all is gabotse (pronounced ha-boo-tsey, it means 'well') here! CAnt believe how quickly time is going though. Makes me sad to think that i am almost have way through my time at St Marks. The glass is half full though, not empty.
lots of love
Mosopyadi [haha, Carly :)]

p.s. i would love to get a msg from y'all at home. My number is 0765304711. Cant wait to here from you!

God Bless

Amazing!

The sunrise and sunset drives were absolutely amazing!! It was soooo dam cold but that didnt bother me! We got into the park at 4:30am for the sunrise drive. It was still dark so we had the spotlights on but we saw so many animals. there was a week old baby white rhino only 1m back from the truck. Our driver told us it was extremely rare to see a baby by itself, and he was right because after about 30sec a HUGE mamma rhino came out from behind a bush and deathstared us! The sunrise was absolutely breathtaking! On the sunset drive my dreams all came true at once! we were only about 3km into the park and there were 2 cheetah chillin on the side of the road! There had just been a kill so they were full and were resting. I couldnt believe that i was only about 10m from 2 cheetahs! We also drove down near a waterhole to see some hippo's and then across the waterhole we saw two female lioness' and a big male lion come down to drink and play. We watched another breathtaking sunset in Kruger Park! It was sooo beautiful! I couldnt believe how lucky i was. My lifetime dream of being in Africa, seeing cheetahs, leopards and lions and watching an African sunset had all come true in one day!! Felt so blessed.

After sunset we put the spotlights on and saw an abundance of animals again. I was literally about 5m away from a huge male lion. He had just had a big feed and you could see his full belly. He was sleeping and i was so close that i could him breathe! It was one of the most exciting moments in my life!!

Next day we went quadbiking.I was a bit hesitant on doing it because i didnt want to just cruise through a paddock of watever, but i was wrong. It was full on extreme dave type of stuff!! We did one quick lap to learn how to drive the 250CC bikes and then we were off. We climbed 30 degree rockyslopes, sped through orange orchids, down huge rocky mountains, through streams and mud and then sped 75km/h up the main road (No roadrules in South Africa!). I did a burn out too! By accident though because i was playing chase with our guide and he made a really quick right turn and i followed him and did a big burnout in the dust! Sooooo much fun!

That night we went to Shangaan Cultural Village. It was one of the most memorable nights of my life. We were greeted by the local Shangaan tribe and welcomed into their village. We ate crocodile and impala and tasted other local fruit and nuts. I got to meet the chief of the tribe and he welcomed me to sit with him at his hut. I felt so honoured. He introduced me to 2 of his 3 wives and 4 of his 36 children (African chief's are very fertile!). It was such an honour. we also met the tribes medicine man and he showed us some of his traditional medicines and diagnostic methods. Soooo fascinating! We then went into the centre of the village and there was traditional dancing and singing and story telling. It was amazing. I got up and danced with them and played the drums and then we had a traditional feast in the huts. best food! Pap, meat, vegetables, fruit, shangaan bread and nuts. Then there was more dancing and singing! A very memorable night!

Back at school now for the past 2 weeks. Been very busy with teaching, coaching, tutoring, learning, counselling and dancing. Always lots to do and have been extremely busy.
Still loving Africa so much. Have made so many wonderful friends.
Sending lots of love home
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxooxox

Kruger Park!!

On wednesday i arrived in Hazyview, a town just outside Kruger National Park. Staying in a backpackers and went on a full day Safari!!! We were picked up at 6am and got into the park at 7am. We went in a big open vehicle, like what you see on tv! So exciting! I saw giraffe, elephants, wildebeast, zebra, a pack of white rhino's, impala, kudo, a leopard (which is quite rare), monkeys, baboons, wildpigs (like Pumba from Lion King!), hippos and heaps of birds. There have been heaps of fires so alot of the park is burnt which is such a shame. I didnt get to see a lion or buffalo which i was very disappointed about but tomorrow i am going on an early morning and then sunset/night drive so hopefully will see them then!
Today i am going on a 2hour quadbiking ride through the forests and then tonight attending the Shangana evening festival. It is an traditional African performance and feast. It is all flame-lit in the chiefs village where the history of the Shangaans is presented through dance and singing, then we have dinner in the huts! I am really looking forward to it. Should be an amazing cultural experience!
I miss everyone (all my kiddies and friends) back at jane Furse but will return on Sunday. Not as much as i miss everyone in Australia!
Lots of love from Africa xoxoxoxoxox

3 week anniversary!

Have been in South Africa now for 3 weeks. It has been the best three weeks of my life. I am working very hard, there is soo much to do, but it is very enjoyable and everyone is so appreciative. There was a three week teacher strike at the end of June and so the students missed out on alot of work. We have been busy trying to catch up, especially with the grade 12's. To add to that, the Department only advised us the night before that students were to start writing exams the next day. It was horrible. How are they meant to do their best when they havent even been taught the content or had any time to prepare?
The students resiliance is so admirable though. Some have been staying up until 4am to try and study as much as they can (and thats even the Grade 8's). That is on top of classes beginning at 8am and finishing at 2:30pm for lunch. Then afternoon classes starting again at 3:30-4:30, breaking for supper and then evening classes (Prep) again from 7-8:30pm. They work so hard.

This weekend i have come to Polokwane (the closest city). We caught a public taxi (a minivan packed with 15 people). It was a very entertaining ride. Each taxi has huge speakers and pumps the best music. You sing and dance the whole way. I am visiting some friends and then tomorrow attending the Manche Masemola pilgrimage. It is a big service and worship day with about 2000 people. The mass goes for 3 hours and then there is a picnic lunch on the veldt. It should be an awesome experience, really looking forward to it.

Lots of love,
Carly

p.s. to all those who are studying or at school at the moment. Do not take education for granted. Make the most of it because you seriously so not realise how wonderful we have it in Australia. Do not waste our amazing resources and opportunities because trust me, there are thousands who are far far worse off than you.
xoxox

Thobela!!!!

Absolutely loving it here!
I have found my second home!!

Totally settled in. My classes are gorgeous. I am teaching grade nine english and grade eight science. Tutoring grade 11 n 12 boys chemistry n biology n helping with english.The grade eights r a challenge. So noisy but that is ok. They are so dedicated to learning and so polite. My classes are huge. About 35-40 children with about 15 desks. They all have to share with about 4 to a desk n often some have to stand. But they work hard as they do not take education for granted.they realise how important it is for their future.

I have made some amazing friends. My school is just one big family. Everyone looks out for each other its beautiful.When I am not teachng I work in the office typing n writing exams. They start on monday.Yesterday another school from polokwane came for the day. There was a welcome dance done by the students, followed by games of netball, soccer n volleyball. I played in our netball team it was sooo much fun.the students thought it was hilarious n were dancing nsinging for me the whole game.

There was music playing all day n we all just danced. Wherever there is music, everyone moves. Such an awesome vibe here.Before they left there was a gospel performance n dancing. I got up n started dancin with them n they thought it was the funniest thing they had ever seen. One girl actually came up n grabbed my skin n said, ' r u sure ur white, because white ppl can't move like that!' hahaha it was soo much fun.

Josey, thabi, tears n ngeni (my four brothers from other mothers) have been teaching me sepedi. I now know most of the basics. Its fantastic being able to communicate with them in their language n they appreciate it a lot.

Hope everyone is well.
Gtg now I have work to do but ill try to update more often.

Sala gabotse!
Xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo