The Placement: Part 2

I previously discussed the actual school I will be in. I know you're very curious now about the area! To start off, I have a video to show. I apologize in advance as it is a cheesey tourism video, but you can see a lot of Port Elizabeth in it.

So, as you can tell, there will be a lot for us to do there! As the days become closer we are becoming more and more excited.

I know what you are doing right now. You're screaming at your screen demanding I tell you about my actual residence while I am in South Africa. Fear not, my dedicated follower! I come bearing pictures.

I will show you where I am living from the furthest out starting with the continent of Africa. If you do not know where Africa is...get a world map. It is south of Europe and is shaped like the map below. South Africa is the southern most country on the continent of Africa. (go figure!) If that is not a good enough direction for you, it is the salmon colored country directly south of Botswana, Nambia and Zimbabwe...and south of every other country in Africa. If you still cannot find it...you are on your own.

Real quick: The city of Port Elizabeth is on the southeast corner of South Africa, it is on the Indian Ocean side; it is west of East London and east of Mossel Bay.

The name of the apartment complex we will be staying in is Cape Marina. I have another google map for you to see (mostly because of how cool I think it is!). Cape Marina is the tall, white building on Bude Street. This gives you an idea of how close to the Indian Ocean I actually am!

View Larger Map

What is really cool is that this map may look familiar to you. I suggest you move the map southwest, you will get to my school! (to move the map, simply put your mouse on the picture, click and drag) From what Dr. Singh told me, it is less than a 10 minute walk from Pearson High School and a two minute walk from the beach. Some might say those seem backwards...I'd have to disagree!!

Ok, so now is the moment many of you have been waiting for...pictures of the inside of our apartment! A woman named Mariette Rossouw has been our real estate agent. She has been more than wonderful, and she found this apartment for us. It is a two bedroom apartment which is fully furnished. So, what you see in the pictures is what we get...adding two occupants, Gretchen and me.

This is Our Kitchen

Here is the Main Bedroom



This is the Second Bedroom



Here is the Lounge from the Kitchen



And the Kitchen from the Lounge



The View from Our Balcony

We were definitely not expecting something this nice. Make your reservations now, however, because dates are filling up with people visiting us!

Here are two other points of interest in our living accommodations: There is a golf course slightly southeast of where we are living which I hope to play on. Also, there is a shopping center near the apartment where we will buy our groceries and other necessities.

That is all I have for you now. My next post will most likely be from South Africa!

The Placement: Part 1

News has arrived. I have been placed at a school called Pearson High School in the city of Port Elizabeth. The country: South Africa. I know everyone is now wondering where that came from. Yes, out of left field as they say. COST was having trouble getting me placed in the countries I had marked, so they asked if South Africa would be acceptable. Acceptable? South Africa would be awesome! Or so I said. Everything I knew about South Africa, I am embarrassed to say, came from Lethal Weapon 2. So, I was incredibly nervous.

Now...

I am thoroughly excited. This will be a wonderful experience for me, and I cannot wait to leave. I will have to wait to leave, though, considering my visa has not come back yet and the lease on my apartment starts at the end of August!

I have decided to do this post in two sections, one about my school and student teaching, and another about my living arrangements and the city. There will be a lot of pictures, links and some videos as well.

First, my placement.

As I stated above, I am being placed in Pearson High School. I believe I will be with eighth grade students, but I have not found out who my cooperating teacher is as of yet. My contact there with Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (The COST cooperating school) is Dr. Prakash Singh. The high school is surrounded by Jenvy road. I will include this google map. Make sure you click on satellite in the top right hand corner as to see what the area looks like.


View Larger Map

As you can see, it is a beautiful area. The fields attached to the school are rugby fields. I am extremely excited to see the school's sports and other extra-curricular activities!

The last thing I will leave you with about the school, until I have more information is this:

Maxime Do Operam - I do my best, I give my greatest effort