Back Home, But What a Trip!
Hi Everyone!
I am back at home and recovering from jet lag. But what memories! It is hard to cover all the wonderful experiences I had and to share with you just what I saw and felt.
There were times when I was frustrated that I could not either access the Internet or upload pictures to this blog while I was gone. My schedule was so busy!
Let me give you a bit of my schedule:
As you know, when I arrived in Johannesburg I stayed with one of the Embassy officers, Feng Hua Wang. She guided me through my visits to speak to school librarians in Pretoria (at the Embassy) and then to school librarians in Johannesburg. I also visited two schools in the township of Soweto. (The elementary school has a principal who has taken the initiative to find private funding so his school has a library, librarian, working and up-to-date computer lab with teacher, and a science lab. The high school had practically nothing in terms of facilities. Their library is used as a staff room now and they have almost no resources.)
Here are some pictures from the two schools.
(This is the elementary computer lab, funded with a grant from the Bill Gates Foundation.)
(This is from the high school - students were assembled to hear a speaker when we dropped by.)
(This is what used to be the high school's library. It is now a staff work room.)
From there we (me, Selaelo Ramoleta - the IRC Director in Joburg, and our driver Jacob) drove to Harrismith in Free State, met my friend Raspby and several of her colleagues for dinner. The next morning we visited two schools (in Qwaqwa) which received books from us, and presented to more than 65-70 school librarians at a workshop.
At the primary school receiving some of the books we sent I encountered the entire student body in the courtyard where they sang, danced, and held up posters of welcome and thanks. I also met their librarian, heard a little boy tell me one of the stories he read and listend as a little girl read one of the stories she liked.
At the high school receiving some books I met one girl (Puso Mamello) who really enjoyed one of the books we sent. She showed me a passage which impressed her greatly. At that school's "assembly" I heard a young man read a poem he wrote (inspired by one of the books we sent) which won him a poetry contest! An ensemble of students also sang a song they had composed about their desire to have more books as they don't have enough. Both the song and poem were in the Sotho (soo-too) language, but the gist of their contents was explained to me.
From Free State, I was driven to Bloemfontein airport (three and a half hour drive) through the Golden Gate National Park. (I saw two ostrich and some amazing scenery!) From Bloemfontaine I flew to Durban.
While I had two days and nights in Durban the time was tightly packed with activity. I was met by the driver for the Consul General who delivered me and MOST of my luggage to the Edward Hotel right on the beach. I was in a panic when I discovered he forgot to leave one bag containing my computer cables and speeches! Later I also realized my compter's CD-ROM drive was missing. (It was a most anxious night!)
The next morning I called the friend who had driven me to the airport - and she had discovered my drive in her car. It apparently fell out of my computer. Also, when I was picked up at the hotel for my morning adventures my missing bag was in the car. I spoke to about 30 school librarians and teachers at the U.S. Consulate in Durban then accompanied Feng Hua and the IRC Director (Thula) to a meeting with the Specialist Director at the Institute of Technology, Durban. From there I was taken to another college campus to open and attend the Kwa-Zulu Natal School Library Association conference. (I only had to speak ten minutes, but told them about the Illinois Library Study.)
It was a fun time because I heard two other presentations, attended their Exhibits Reception, participated in a surprise auction, and then was delivered back to my hotel. The next morning a delightful couple - Andrew & Di - friends of one of the KZN librarians gave me a wonderful tour of the Durban area. In the afternoon and evening I was driven around and entertained by a children's author from the same conference. I saw the extremes of Durban's population and living conditions as well as learned a lot of interesting facts about the city.
Thula and I flew out of Durban about 8:30 am for Johannesburg. From there we joined up with Feng Hua, Selaelo, and a driver and headed for Nelspruit where the LIASA library conference was being held.
I think I will stop here and continue more of the adventure later.
Thanks so much to all of you who kept me in your thoughts and prayers. They did make a huge difference in my adventure. God certainly was watching out for me and providing for all my needs - even before I knew I had any!
Later,
jane
I am back at home and recovering from jet lag. But what memories! It is hard to cover all the wonderful experiences I had and to share with you just what I saw and felt.
There were times when I was frustrated that I could not either access the Internet or upload pictures to this blog while I was gone. My schedule was so busy!
Let me give you a bit of my schedule:
As you know, when I arrived in Johannesburg I stayed with one of the Embassy officers, Feng Hua Wang. She guided me through my visits to speak to school librarians in Pretoria (at the Embassy) and then to school librarians in Johannesburg. I also visited two schools in the township of Soweto. (The elementary school has a principal who has taken the initiative to find private funding so his school has a library, librarian, working and up-to-date computer lab with teacher, and a science lab. The high school had practically nothing in terms of facilities. Their library is used as a staff room now and they have almost no resources.)
Here are some pictures from the two schools.
(This is the elementary computer lab, funded with a grant from the Bill Gates Foundation.)
(This is from the high school - students were assembled to hear a speaker when we dropped by.)
(This is what used to be the high school's library. It is now a staff work room.)From there we (me, Selaelo Ramoleta - the IRC Director in Joburg, and our driver Jacob) drove to Harrismith in Free State, met my friend Raspby and several of her colleagues for dinner. The next morning we visited two schools (in Qwaqwa) which received books from us, and presented to more than 65-70 school librarians at a workshop.
At the primary school receiving some of the books we sent I encountered the entire student body in the courtyard where they sang, danced, and held up posters of welcome and thanks. I also met their librarian, heard a little boy tell me one of the stories he read and listend as a little girl read one of the stories she liked.
At the high school receiving some books I met one girl (Puso Mamello) who really enjoyed one of the books we sent. She showed me a passage which impressed her greatly. At that school's "assembly" I heard a young man read a poem he wrote (inspired by one of the books we sent) which won him a poetry contest! An ensemble of students also sang a song they had composed about their desire to have more books as they don't have enough. Both the song and poem were in the Sotho (soo-too) language, but the gist of their contents was explained to me.
From Free State, I was driven to Bloemfontein airport (three and a half hour drive) through the Golden Gate National Park. (I saw two ostrich and some amazing scenery!) From Bloemfontaine I flew to Durban.
While I had two days and nights in Durban the time was tightly packed with activity. I was met by the driver for the Consul General who delivered me and MOST of my luggage to the Edward Hotel right on the beach. I was in a panic when I discovered he forgot to leave one bag containing my computer cables and speeches! Later I also realized my compter's CD-ROM drive was missing. (It was a most anxious night!)
The next morning I called the friend who had driven me to the airport - and she had discovered my drive in her car. It apparently fell out of my computer. Also, when I was picked up at the hotel for my morning adventures my missing bag was in the car. I spoke to about 30 school librarians and teachers at the U.S. Consulate in Durban then accompanied Feng Hua and the IRC Director (Thula) to a meeting with the Specialist Director at the Institute of Technology, Durban. From there I was taken to another college campus to open and attend the Kwa-Zulu Natal School Library Association conference. (I only had to speak ten minutes, but told them about the Illinois Library Study.)
It was a fun time because I heard two other presentations, attended their Exhibits Reception, participated in a surprise auction, and then was delivered back to my hotel. The next morning a delightful couple - Andrew & Di - friends of one of the KZN librarians gave me a wonderful tour of the Durban area. In the afternoon and evening I was driven around and entertained by a children's author from the same conference. I saw the extremes of Durban's population and living conditions as well as learned a lot of interesting facts about the city.
Thula and I flew out of Durban about 8:30 am for Johannesburg. From there we joined up with Feng Hua, Selaelo, and a driver and headed for Nelspruit where the LIASA library conference was being held.
I think I will stop here and continue more of the adventure later.
Thanks so much to all of you who kept me in your thoughts and prayers. They did make a huge difference in my adventure. God certainly was watching out for me and providing for all my needs - even before I knew I had any!
Later,
jane
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