SOUTH AFRICAN FLOWERS NEAR CAPE TOWN...COMPROMISED BY THE BEAUTY OF MY WIFE, SVETLANA DAVIDEK!

Go ahead and agree with me...what else can one say? These flowers, name unknown to me, brought out the best in my wonderful, beautiful wife! And if you do not agree, then you must be either blind (they call that sight impaired these days, right?), you don't recognize things beautiful, or you are just plain ignorant of color and/or beauty. So, leave those comments and try not to be too dripping with superlatives!

SWEET WATER FROM THE ONLY SOURCE AT MAROBA HIGH SCHOOL--LOCATED IN A SMALL VILLAGE OUTSIDE OF POLOKWANE, LIMPOPO STATE

I've written about some of the poor schools in South Africa--the disparity in funding is obvious when one visits such a rural school. This is the only source of water at the school...the toilets are brick outhouses outfitted with "regular" toilets, albeit water. They were clean. Maroba H.S. is fellow Fulbrighter Pat McHugh's place of assignment--and he loved it! The school had about 600 learners, most of whom were eager to learn. There wasn't one white student and Pat was the only "white" teacher the kids had ever seen (he's actually part Latino). Ron Reese and I visited the school a few weeks ago and we went away pretty impressed with the friendliness of the staff/students. Ron said he would have enjoyed being assigned to the high school. Me? I wasn't so sure...

A LITTLE BIT OF RUSSIA IN SOUTH AFRICA: FOLK DANCERS GIVE THEIR ALL TO AN AUDIENCE IN PRETORIA'S STATE THEATRE!

At this writing, I do not have the name of this very talented group of Russian folk dancers that we witnessed in Pretoria a few weeks ago. They were from the southern part of Russia and they did not fail to impress a state theatre audience that unfortunately was at a venue that was only about half-filled. If you look closely at Ivan, he's half asleep; Svetlana is all smiles, of course. And me? Well, I was more than pleased to be surrounded by such beautiful, vivacious, youthful women! And the guys were just as spell-binding, what with their athletic moves and seemingly effortless foot speed. To make it an even more enjoyable evening, Svetlana managed to chat with their manager and the next thing you know she was walking away with free tickets for all of us! The invitation backstage was the "icing on the cake", no doubt...There was a catch. The eager manager wanted us to spread the word about the group's talents and bring them to Michigan. A tall order for Flint, but perhaps the group could attract a crowd in large cities such as Detroit or Chicago. Anyway, it was Russia in South Africa. What a rich, rewarding cultural experience!

TRY THIS IN AMERICA AND YOU'RE SURE TO BE STOPPED/ARRESTED FOR CHILD ABUSE...

A common sight in Africa, especially in the urban areas. Yeah, children
riding in the bed of a truck (they call such a truck a "bakkie"). Cops look the other way and no one seems to care about such methods of carting people around town. And when it comes to workers, I've seen bakkie's and every kind of open vehicle jam-packed with labourers. There a constant news articles about accidents involving vehicles that are loaded down with passengers--especially what refer to as a "taxi." A taxi is nothing more than a big van, a people-hauler, that in most instances is an accident waiting to happen. I'm sure it would be a "cultural" experience to ride in a taxi, but it might be one's last ride!

8TH-GRADERS: THE BANE OF MY EXISTENCE AT NORKEM PARK H.S.!!

It sure looks like a pleasant bunch of kids, right? Well, for the most part they were a (sort of) pleasant group. They could be, on any given occasion, little devils! The young girl sitting to my left is one of my favorite 8th-graders: her name is Petunia. Her parents could have named her after any flower--she was a wonderful, attentive youngster. Somehow I would read a look of consternation on her face most times when she was in my classroom. The look was there because of her peers who could have given two hoots about learning. Frankly, most of them were just there to have fun--and to see how they could challenge this American teacher to his wits end! Frustrating, but I still love 'em...

"UGLY DUCKLING" CONCRETE WALL/NOW A THING OF BEAUTY!

B

Because of "technical" difficulties (that infers my inability to get this right), there are three images! What the heck...three views give you a better chance to agree with my "ugly duckling" assessment (even though you can't see the original ugly, concrete wall. Things look even better as of this writing. Almost all of the small rocks are gathered in front of the wall...symbolizing the difficult nature of creating peace. The large stones have been placed in front of the two white, focus sections. They symbolize the strength of the persons who are quoted on the two sections (not completed yet). The tree in the background is an American Ash--donated by the Embassy of the United States of America. The opposite side of the wall features an indigenous South African tree. All the plants have been placed in the ground...in front of each of the eleven columns that support the ten sections.

You might not consider this a "thing of beauty", but I think it is much more than that! It offers hope for the future...and that definitely is a beautiful thing!

"UGLY-DUCKLING" CONCRETE WALL FAST BECOMING A THING OF BEAUTY...

It's Norkem Park High School's PEACE WALL-GARDEN, of course! And I'm not so sure about the reference to it "fast becoming" a thing of beauty. Six Saturdays in succession have been devoted to getting the wall to where it is today...it's a bit more evolved than these photographs detail.

Importantly, the (two) trees are in; the eleven plants in front of each of the columns are in the ground. The tree on the left side is an American Ash tree--donated through a grant from the American Embassy (please, no comments about the shift in Washington, DC to the Democratic (left) side!). The other side of the wall features an indigenous tree to South Africa.

I wanted the rocks/stones to signify the harsh reality of trying to achieve peace in the world today (hell, in ALL of history!). The blue walls, eight of them, are symbolic of the hopefullness of a blue sky--some say the blue is a "United Nations" blue. The white columns and two white concrete sections symbolize peace.

There is still much work to be done! I'm trying to negotiate with The Nelson Mandela Foundation to obtain an original quote on peace from The Man! If we are successful, then maybe Desmond Tutu will come through with something for us too. Then, I'd like to see a printed quote from Mohandes Gandhi and Dr. M.L.King Jr.

Ambitious? Yep, you bet! This has been a "labor of love" and well worth whatever criticism comes my way. Some around here have said, "Why did it take an American to do this?" Well, what the heck...who cares who thought of it! This is something that will, hopefully, be sustainable and maintained over the years. Isn't peace worth it?