The students were excited and looking forward to this week, after having heard from their peers just how amazing South African cuisine is!  This week’s group tasted Cape Malay cooking, made a Malva pudding at the Westin 5 star hotel and munched on traditional isiXhosa food as well.

South Africa’s melting pot of people means that our cuisine has something for everyone!

This week our students rotated and had the chance to experience the Language Excursion that their peers experienced last week.  They were able to try their hand at some art, test their musical ability, and then their hand-eye coordination!  And they did all of this whilst speaking ENGLISH! Awesome!!

This week we had two Language Excursions taking place at the same time to guarantee an ideal Language Learning environment for our 26 students! Our second group of students had the chance to try some uniquely South African cuisine.  They visited a Cape Malay resident who cooked up a storm of tantalizing treats, followed by a true Ethiopian spice experience and finally, they rounded off the week with a taste of isiXhosa dishes in one of Cape Town’s townships.

This week our students including our FEJO group experienced all the good things in life, so to speak!  Cape Town’s art scene, it’s unique music and it’s love of sport, did not disappoint!

The students visited Studio 41, took part in a drum workshop in Gugulethu and visited Cape Town’s prized soccer stadium! What a way to see Cape Town!

The environment is everything that isn’t me.
Albert Einstein

This week our students were given the opportunity to explore Cape Town from an environmental perspective.  Much of what they learnt included how we can improve the spaces we live in and in turn, make a cleaner and healthier space for everyone who lives in Cape town.

On Tuesday the students visited Intaka Island, a rehabilitated island in the middle of a shopping precinct, on Wednesday -Camissa, to discover the secrets of Cape Town’s water, and on Thursday -Green Point Urban Park to learn more about the city’s green areas.

A building is hard to judge. It takes many years to find out whether it works. It’s not as simple as asking the people in the office whether they like it.
Helmut Jahn

This week our students had the opportunity to experience the theme “Building Cities”.  This weekly theme explores how South Africa started in terms of infrastructure, where we are now and how we are going to continue to build our cities so that they connect people to each other as well as to the resources they require.

We started off the week by visiting Kuyasa in Khaylitsha to see a solar panel project that is not only helping a disadvantaged community but is also building a city where people are proud of where they live.  On Wednesday we headed to Mannenberg Waterfront, a project hosted by the NGO, “Proudly Mannenberg” where communities have taken the responsibility of changing where they live into their own hands.  Lastly, we finished off the week with a canal cruise down to the V&A Waterfront to discuss the history of Cape Town as a city as well as opportunities Cape Town city has to look forward to with regards to how to make spaces that connect people with each other.

This week our students had the opportunity to take a look at the awesome work some people are doing in their communities. They started out with a visit to “Learn to Earn in Khayalitsha, followed by a visit to Imam Dawood who runs a school for girls and a soup kitchen in the disadvantaged community of Parkwood and lastly to a  shelter in Langa who grow vegetables and support the poorest in their community, to complete the week.  The students were able to empathise with both the people who run the institutions as well as the people who need and use them.

This week our students were privileged enough to be taken out into authentic situations to learn about South Africa’s environment. On Tuesday we went to Lyndoch, a sustainability institute, where students took a a look at how the residents here are trying to live in harmony with our environment. On Wednesday the students had the opportunity to follow Cape Town’s water down Table Mountain and learn about the “place of sweet waters” or “Camissa” as the Khoi called it. Lastly, the students enjoyed an insightful and mind opening tour of the Green Point Urban Park where they took a look at biodiversity and learned about medicinal plants and healing.

All in all a great week of discovery and exploration in the beautiful city of Cape Town!

With our weeks Language Excursion theme being “Food & Cuisine”, students started out their South African food experience by visiting firstly, a spice shop and then moving on to a home in the Bo-Kaap area, where they were treated to real, authentic Cape Malay dishes.  From snacks all the way through to dessert, the students were utterly astounded at the variety of flavours the cuisine had to offer.

This week our students had the opportunity to explore Cape Town from the perspective of how the city was built and how structures affect society.  The students went on a City Futures excursion where they took a canal cruise which highlighted the cities vast amount of water.  They also visited the Cape Town Station where they were able to experience both the new and improved façade, but look too at the abandoned back rooms from times gone by. The students also had the opportunity to visit Kuyasa, a project in Langa that through solar heating is bringing great pride to an otherwise very disadvantaged community.  Finally the students visited the Mannenberg Waterfront, which is a community project that looks at reducing crime through community involvement.  They would like to create something that members of their community can be proud of and somewhere where their kids can play, that is not on the streets.

Want to know more about our Language Excursions?  http://kurus-english.com/programme1.htm

Do you have a sweet-tooth or do you prefer food that sets your mouth on fire?! Whatever the case, South African cuisine has something to make your mouth water!

South African cuisine is sometimes called “rainbow cuisine”, as it has had a variety of multicultural sources. In order to understand a culture, we must first understand what they eat!  The students were given the opportunity to taste Cape Malay Cuisine (as well as try their hands at making samoosas!), create their own malva puddings at the 5 star Westin Grand, and experience shisa nyama a traditional Xhosa style of eating, in an authentic township setting.

Now there’s a bit of food for thought!

Jessica

The first thing one notices when one arrives in Cape Town is it’s beautiful environment. It’s stunning landscape, fresh waters, picturesque mountains and clean air, distinguish it from other famous cities around the world.  This week Kurus English, along with Coffeebeans Routes,  worked together to provide our current FEJO group with an orientation of the environment “in our neck of the woods”, so to speak!

We visited Intaka Island - a wetlands and bird sanctuary situated right in the centre of the Mother City, learnt about the Reclaim Camsisa project, which is an NGO that focuses on creating a sustainable approach using CT’s natural water system and last but not but not least paid a visit to Cape Town’s own recently opened Greenpoint Urban Park. Due to rain, we were forced to run for cover, but we didn’t let it rain on our parade and we weathered the storm with a drink in hand at Sotano with a spectacular view of the ocean in front of us.

Did you know that there are more species of plants on Table Mountain alone than in the whole of New Zealand?!  Talk about Bio Diversity!

Jessica

Culture may be defined in many ways, but we have learned that there is a strong link between culture and history.  This week we fused the two together with the hope of getting common ground on what effect history really has on South African cultures and to our surprise, it worked… No matter what the story might be, somewhere, somehow the effects Apartheid had in South Africa always surfaces when talking culture; and this was proved when we visited a Xhosa township and the District Six Museum where we got a rude awakening on what really went on during the Apartheid era and the the shock waves that it still carries today.

(Simnikiwe)

Youth and Education played out some interesting opportunities for us to see what non-governmental organizations are doing to bring about change in the lives of the youth and communities living in poverty.  We visited projects such as Christel House, Learn to Earn, and the Green Point Urban Park.

(Simnikiwe)

This week we lived out our new Language excursion route, ‘Tasters’. It was interesting to see how change occurred in the city and how most buildings still have their original designs.

Simnikiwe

Cities have been built, plans and policies formulated, and urban renewal programmes are being carried out!  This week we had a varied mix of visits and some interactive walks on how and why certain structures came to be. For example, what other plans are in place and how they will be implemented. We also got to understand the significance of private public partnerships and the importance of community involvement when it comes to proposed developments.

Simnikiwe

Our students are an enthusiastic, fun and inquisitive group with an incredible sense of  humour accompanied by challengingly interesting inquiries. The Language Excursion, Food and Cuisine, not only kept them munching, but it showed us that their participation stems from genuine interest and willingness to interact.

(Simnikiwe)

Our Language Excursion this week circled the norms of current to future developments in and around Cape Town. We visited the major structures and areas, inquired and now understand the need and cause for these structures to come into existence. Cape Town did not just become what it is today without past occurrences, ideas (good and bad), current developments, and future plans that are already in place for economic, social, and developmental purposes.

Simnikiwe

Mid-March is considered to be boiling hot in Cape Town, South Africa. So Coffeebeans Routes and Kurus English decided to wire things up, taste them, and air them! All of was made possible by Streetwires, Honest Chocolate, and Radio Zibonele FM a radio station in Khayelitsha. This week our students were granted an opportunity to create their own key holders, make organic chocolates, first of its kind in Cape Town, and visit a Xhosa radio station in the townships!

(Simnikiwe)

This week our students expressed themselves using different forms of media. We experienced expression in print media, hosted  by Hazel Allies from Athlone News, one of Cape Town’s Community Newspapers. Thereafter we visited CherryFlava,  a world famous marketing multimedia company based in Cape Town, South Africa; and finally ending off with Lo and Behold a locally and socially conscious magazine created in Cape Town from the editor’s 8th floor apartment! It is no lie that there are various ways to express one’s state of mind, and we at Kurus English ensured that this was achieved in a fun-filled, interactive way.

(Simnikiwe)

After a long week of learning, we are glad to say that we no longer have a our “backs” to the future, but have come to understand and bridge the gaps of ignorance. Today we face the future with a smile and a mirror in-hand because it is through our language excursions, with Kurus English, that we now understand the livelihood changes and steps that have brought us to Cape Town’s today, and the plans that are in place for tomorrow.  This week’s heading was “Back to the Future“, hosted by Coffeebeans Routes. We visited Cherryflava, Formula D Interactive, and the Green Point Biodiversity garden where conversed and created memorable experiences.

Simnikiwe

Nowadays one often wonders whether education and the youth could ever be closely linked, especially in Africa. This week Kurus English confirmed that regardless of the current challenges, the two are still very closely linked and that there are different forms of education available to the both the affording and the disadvantages communities.  Our students not only visited proactive institutions and projects but also got to understand the meaning of the terms “affording and disadvantaged” communities as they engaged in direct conversation with youth from the areas that we visited. The following phrase is our students’ summarized understanding of education: Inception, digestion, and Implementation.

If one fails to follow the given principles the end result will indeed be ignorance. Our lesson for this week is that language on its own  is a major role player in education and that English is still the main tool in cross-cultural communication.

Simnikiwe

This week Coffeebeans Routes and Kurus English dazzled the students with a fresh combination for the language excursion line up. Who would have thought that tripple Ms would be so fun-filled without a magic wand? We did and we were quite right. The feedback and pictures that were taken during these outings have given thumbs up to the new idea. The standing point is that the students have said that they now not only know that there are popular South African dances such as Gumboot and Pantsula, but that the fair text provided to them before going on the excursions also gave them a lot of insight about the experiences that were to follow. Music, movement and magic. Learn, dance, and stay intrigued. We speak English in the classroom and beyond.

Simnikiwe

For the month of February 2011, Kurus English is delighted to have hosted 2 different groups of students at one time. As a result we were faced with having to run two different Language Excursions for both groups at on time.  The focus was on Entertainment and Leisure and South African history.  With it being our first time rolling out 2 Language Excursions at once we have learned and ways to run them smoothly and trouble-free.

Simnikiwe Lusanda Nqoloba:  “It is said that there is a first time for everything, and this was Kurus English’s experience on that regard. The best thing is that we managed to get it right the very first time.

Simnikiwe