Limpopo Writing Project Day 6

Thanks to all who responded! As you can see, even Ngokoana has responded back! We'll be in the computer room tomorrow afternoon so I'll encourage everyone to write back. I also want to say hello and give a warm welcome to all my students who will be starting class this week without me. I'm so sorry to miss the first day of class, and I wanted you to know that I'm thinking of you. You'll be in good hands with Dr. Lillemon. I want to say hello to her, too.

Today is day 6 of the workshop that will be ending way too soon for me! Next week I work with teachers in Johannesburg. Today we shared two teacher demonstrations and then I shared a demonstration on revision. We wrote in the afternoon, shared with our writing groups and then had our book discussions. I'm in the group that is reading the autobiography of Nelson Mandela. What a strong and brilliant man he is.

Yes, Shannon, it is amazing that we can communicate with each other. I've told the South African teachers that you all want to have your students write to theirs, and they are excited about it. Thanks Laurie, Nora, Leona, Lisa, Rachel and everyone else for responding, and please keep posting! Yes, Kalpana, it would be amazing to have a writing project in India, and if anyone can make this dream come true, it's you!

We have to do some big time fund-raising for the Limpopo Writing Project when I get back. Everything has been more expensive than we planned and we keep digging into our pockets to keep the project going. Even the two lap-tops that we spent $50 mailing required another $335 rand when they arrived here. So please think of ideas to help us raise money.

Ngokoana has been an amazing host introducing us to lots of people, feeding us and showing us the countyside. Yesterday (Sunday) her friend, Mosima drove us far into the bush to the Venda country to see a famous potter. We saw where she fires her pottery and got a chance to talk with her and to tour the grounds. After lunch, we took winding dirt roads up and down a mountain and saw people with cattle and goats that would block our road. The road itself was very rocky and there a few scary moments when I wondered if the car would survive. The local people though were wonderful and encouraged us to keep going up the mountain. We were looking for a lake, but as often happens, the journey was really the destination.

In my last blog I meant to say that the Limpopo region looks a lot like South Texas except that it also has mountains. It rained today so it was cooler and much more pleasant. I wish that all of you were here with us enjoying this magical country. It's great to have your comments though. Please keep them coming.