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

Kurus English had an exciting week where the students focused on Cape Town and the environment.  The concept was well constructed and it focused on feel of nature where they visited the Rondevlei Nature Reserve, solar systems project called the Kuyasa CDM Project, in Kuyasa, a residential area in Khayelitsha, and finally, environmental sustainability institute at the Lyndoch Village, Stellenbosch. Our students got an opportunity to explore and interact in the English language, which means we managed to kill two birds with one stone because not only are the Language Excursions a fun-filled experience, but they are an excellent way for the students to improve their speech in English.

Simnikiwe

Happy 2011!

Kurus English has had a good start this year, and our plan is to elevate, grow and explore.

Last week our Language Excursions programme focused on Belief Systems and we visited 3 different religions namely, Islam, Judaism, and Traditional beliefs (sangomas).  Our students got the opportunity to meet leaders of these very different beliefs, and to learn more about them through interactive conversations.
Although the language excursions are a fun-filled experience, the main aim is to expand and improve our students’ speech, create that element of confidence when speaking in English, and to have fun learning the English language outside the classroom.

(Simnikiwe)

The Language Excursions this week starts with a trip to the Castle of Good Hope. There we visited a well-known art artist called Zavick aka “Supadog”. We had a drawing/art lesson and created a “Zine”. A very creative day! Wednesday we went to a township/suburb of Cape Town called Manenberg. We had the chance to speak to the Non Profit Organization “Proudly Manenberg”.

Last but not least we had a meeting with a very special person. We met Hildergard, a white sangoma. A sangoma is a practitioner of herbal medicine, divination and counseling.

Best regards,

Viktor

The Language Excursion week started with a trip to the Lyndoch Eco Village. This is the first ecologically designed, socially-mixed intentional community in South Africa. The Village is located in Stellenbosch, a University town 30 minutes drive inland from Cape Town. The term “ecology” was new to me and the theme was really fascinating. A big thank you to our guide Luke, who was informative and made real efforts to help us understand this complex subject.

The next day we went to the Slave Lodge in the centre of the City. A big part of Cape Town´s history is concerned with slavery and this period of the country´s history, so the Language Excursion to the museum was essential for our historical understanding.

On our last Language Excursion we visited a well-known art artist called “Zavick aka Supadog”. During a unique and interactive afternoon  tour through the Castle of Good Hope, we gained insights into the history of this famous edifice and theb went on to have some drawing-lessons, where we created a ‘Zine’. In any case a crazy, unique and creative day!

It was a fantastic week!

Viktor

Hey Guys

Over the next few months I will be reporting about Kurus English generally and about my experiences regarding the Language Excursions, in particular. If you want to knew more about me, you can read my Introduction “Hello everybody” on the Kurus Blog.

Up until now I have been attending English Lessons with Gavin, so I can both improve my English and, very importantly, learn more about the Kurus English language learning concept. Kurus English unites language, culture and discovery opportunities into a unique and powerful whole-learning experience.

We can all remember the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa; what a great atmosphere and what exciting Games we all saw, whether on TV or live in the stadia.The World Cup 2010 has had a huge influence on South African culture and infrastructure. So our first Language Excursion was to the magnificent, brand new Cape Town Stadium. During the tour through the Stadium, we had an opportunity visited the change-rooms, the jail, public areas and lastly we were even permitted to touched the grass! It was fantastic to be in the same place as Christiano Ronaldo and another Superstars had been. It was a superb day.

The next day we changed our focus to the history of South Africa. We started by visiting the District Six Museum. We learned a lot about the Apartheid era and South Africa´s transition to democracy.

Our Excursion-week ended with a tour to the oldest Township in South Africa called Langa.

It´s very interesting to see the difference between the richer and poorer areas of Cape Town.All in all we find a people are this city and county to be extremely friendly. Big thanks to our guides, Nomawethu (Nozha), Gavin and Michael! This was a great afternoon, with food, African beer and history…

I´m really looking forward to the next week. Best regards!

Viktor

This week we created tailor made Language Excursions especially for our Elementary students.The idea was to create excursions appropriate for the language level of Elementary students with many “Cape Town Discovery” elements.
On Tuesday we went to the District Six Museum and learned more about South African’s history. This excursion helped us a lot to understand from where the country is coming from and to imagine, where we are going to be in 20 years from today.

The next day we tried something completely new. We created a Coffee -Excursion and visited two coffee shops in the city centre. We also had the chance to taste different coffees and were surprised to see that something that smells so good can taste quiet different…
Last but not least we finished this week with a visit to the Cape Town Stadium. Wow, the big giant… beautiful!
It’s Ayobaaaaaaaaaaaa time!

Diana

We are back to Food and Cuisine, one of our most tasteful Language Excursions. Cape Town has a long history of hospitality, flavourful food and fresh local ingredients. During our week Food & Cuisine week try to discover and taste more of this diverse city and to show our students a variety of Food & Cuisine opportunities in Cape Town.

On Tuesday, our first Language Excursion for this week we took our students out for a city walk. First we stopped at the Atlas Trading in the Bo-Kaap. Atlas Trading is specialized in Indian cooking spices and one of the shops you shouldn’t miss. We also don’t want to miss the opportunity to thank Hasan for his warm hospitality.

Afterwards we had the chance to discover the flavors of the Ethiopian kitchen on Long Street.This afternoon taught us, that Ethiopia has far more to offer than only outstanding coffee.

   
On Wednesday we went together with our students to The Westin Cape Town, one of the top five star hotels in Cape Town. During a guided tour through this stunning hotel, we learned a lot about the logistic of a hotel and were quite surprised how many workplaces a hotel can provide.

Finally we had the chance decorate and taste a five star Malva Puding.
Yummy!!!

Last but not least we took  a train ride to Langa. Zozo, our host this last Food & Cuisine Language Excursions showed us some “secret” spots and most of our students tasted for the first time in their live fried chicken feet. …
Simply delicious!

Diana

This week we had special Language Excursions – a mixed selection of our different themes.

On the first day we went to the Nelson Mandela Exhibition at the Slave Lodge to learn more about Nelson Mandela’s life and his immense impact on South African history. We could see the progression of apartheid over the years and the great efforts people like Mandela made to create a free and democratic South Afirca.

The next day we focused on the new developments in Cape Town due to the FIFA World Cup in South Africa. We visited the new Cape Town station, the new IRT and observed further changes of the infrastructure. The city has made huge improvements over the last few years. Moreover we were told about future plans and developments in the city.

The next day we headed to Langa, the oldest township in South Africa. There we met Zozo, who used to live in the township. He told us about his life in this area and guided us through his hometown. It was very interesting to experience the environment, the people, the way of live and the living conditions in this area. A special highlight for us was the spontaneous performance of a small boy with his marimbas.

Anke

Last week’s Language Excursions was all about South African History.

To immerse ourselves in the history of South Africa our first stop was the Slave Lodge. There we were told more about the development of slavery in the Cape, the places of origin and slavery itself.

Our next stop to learn more about the past of South Africa was a visit of the District Six Museum in the District Six of Cape Town. The time of Apartheid marginalised South Africa and its inhabitants very strongly. Our guide told us how the apartheid society was created and about his experiences when the removals and marginalization had begun. The District Six Museum deals with the memories of these experiences, then District Six was declared a white area in 1966 and 60,000 people were forcibly removed to barren outlying areas.

On our last Language Excursion we celebrated the Freedom of Movement. To symbolise the freedom of movement we took the train to the oldest Township of South Africa, Langa. In the past it wasn’t possible for the disadvantaged population to move between definite areas without permission. We were guided through the township and experienced the people, the living conditions and the way of live in this area.

Anke