Day One

Tuesday, June 9th

I arrived in Johannesburg, South Africa this morning after a long journey that had me in 3 countries on 3 different continents in 24 hours. My route was Chicago - Raleigh/Durham - London - Johannesburg. I spent a few hours in London with a JET friend catching up, seeing the theater district, Trafalgar Square, Leicester Square, and eating Korean food. It was a nice way to spend a 12 hour layover. Thanks Jamil.

My flights weren't too bad. They still serve meals on international flights and the British Airways flight had a TV with many movie and music choices for each person individually. (Why is it that every non-American airline I've ever used is so much nicer than an American airline? Although nothing beats the video game controller that popped out the side of the seat on an Asian flight I took once.)

We are in Johannesburg for only one night until we fly out tomorrow for Swaziland. The South Africans I've met so far have been friendly and helpful. The security guard down the street appreciated that I smiled and stopped for a few minutes to chat with him.

The picture is my first meal here. I bought it at the supermarket down the street. It's not particularly African, but I have no idea what African food is yet. I will find out and share. Note that I had to pay for the plastic bag she packed my groceries in. Maybe we'd waste less if we had to pay for our bags at the grocery store. I don't know how much I paid though because I don't understand the money yet. I just held out my hand and let her take the right coins!

Off to Mbabane to see Stephanie tomorrow!

Packing for a Trip

I am leaving next Sunday for Swaziland, South Africa, and London. I started gathering things I want to bring with me today. You would think I'd have the art of packing perfected, but it seems more difficult every trip I take. This time, I am determined to pack as light as possible forgoing fashion and extras luxuries. I hope I succeed. (My running shoes will make the cut...I can't lose everything I've worked for after 26.2! Besides the Bix and the Rock 'n' Roll Half Chicago are waiting for me.)

I called the hotel I booked for the first night to arrange airport transportation this morning. When a woman answered, I realized that none of my extra languages will work in South Africa. I quickly remembered to slow down my English to communicate with her. In the end, she told me that she had my reservation and to call back tomorrow to give someone the details of my arrival. As native English speakers, we are lucky. Many people in other countries do have some English ability. We call these countries assuming someone can help us in our own language. But, can others assume that about our country and their language?

Other preparations include buying extra health insurance and sharing my emergency contact information with the friends I am traveling with. My friend Amy brought these things to my attention. She looks at travel differently now that she has a career in a study abroad program for a university. We never thought about these things throughout all our Asian escapades.

I am getting excited for our plans to visit a game park, go diving/snorkeling on the coast, and learn about African culture in general. I hope to post updates and photos here when I have internet access. Thanks for reading!

Going to Africa - I need your input.

Mbabane, Swaziland
picture by Stephanie Marton

I am going to Swaziland in Africa for three weeks in June. Yippee!! A good friend of mine is a pediatrician in Mbabane, and I am fortunate to have the opportunity to visit her. Her experiences have been amazing, and I am excited to see her life there first hand.

When the idea of taking a trip to Africa became a reality (thanks to frequent flyer miles), I realized that I want to do more than just tour the country. I want to learn about education in Swaziland, connect with African teachers, share my skills and possibly turn this project into an independent study credit to complete a master's degree in instructional technology.

At the Illinois Computing Educators conference in February, I attended Sharon Peter's session "Professional Development Without Borders". Her presentation started the process of thinking about what I can offer teachers in Africa (and what they can offer me). She gave me many great ideas like bringing flash drives full of teacher resources. The schools Sharon worked in had computers, but bandwidth was an issue. She recommended downloading what I can here and bringing it on flash drives. I take my broadband connection for granted knowing I can download what I need when I need it. But, schools in Africa are not so lucky. I hope I can make contact with teachers in Mbabane before I go, so I can learn about challenges they are facing and how I might be able to help.

So, I need your help. Do you have any contacts who can help me? Do you have ideas or advice? I am still in the brainstorming phase and I also want to tailor what I do to match the needs of the area. With that in mind, this is my current to do list. It may change, but I wanted to share it so I can make it better with your input.

1. Connect with Swazi teachers by searching for blogs. (K-12 and/or university)
   
2. Download free teacher resources to put on flash drives.
3. Download open source software that is useful for teachers and bring on CDs or flash drives. (Open Education Disc)
4. Start a PayPal account and take donations for flash drives, flip video cameras and inexpensive netbooks (XO or others).
   
5. Put together materials for professional development workshops for teachers (focusing on technology integration and/or science/math.)

Please help me solidify my plan. Thanks PLN!