Host families

On Monday we got up and the parents headed off on a four day tour to into the interior of South Africa to see the landscapes, people, vineyards, caves and to visit a meerkat preserve. The students went up to St. Cyprian's to meet their host families. It is a holiday so the students went off with their host families and spent the day getting to know each other and to get settled in their host homes. The Chadwick students went to their host families in pairs. The families here were so excited to host the Chadwick students that there were and extra 25 potential host families wanting to have one of our students in their home! It feels so nice to be welcomed and wanted. I am staying with Dave Carr the geography teacher, environmental educator and round square coordinator -- the other person organizing and hosting us - we are all doing exchanges!

Throughout the day the host families took our students on various adventures. Some students hiked, some went bowling, others went for a sail on the family's yacht, and others hung out at the house and swam.

In the evening all the students and host families met at a theatre in District 6 - we had dinner together and watched a show about Cape Town. We learned about District 6 and how all the people who lived there were forcefully removed and their homes bulldozed to make room for the whites. The show was wonderful - the theme was "Cape Town - one city three worlds" We saw how three different groups of people experience the city - the whites, the coloreds and the blacks. The dancing was wonderful and the actors had all the students up to learn a few moves. It was nice to see the Chadwick students with their host families they all seemed engaged with each other and very talkative - it is amazing how quickly kids seem to make friends.