27 March (Day 11)

Friday my teacher wasn’t in school. The student teacher from the local college was there and so she was the lead teacher and I did what she needed me to. She was fantastic. She had good control of the kids (as good as you can have with a group of 34 five- and six-year-olds) and she used some of the same techniques that we do in the states. She told me that she’s not as comfortable in English because it’s not her first language but she did a great job.

After school, one of the host moms had a braai for all of the GVSU students and Sandy. A braai is a South African barbecue. We had salad, bread, chicken, boerwurst (not sure if I’m spelling that right, but it’s sausage), and lamb for dinner. Alet also provided wine for us all, which was great. For dessert we had ice cream with mint chocolate sauce from a tube that looked like sunscreen but tasted good. Before dinner Jeff told me that he “noticed that [I] was wearing some makeup and [my] hair was down.” I was wearing the exact makeup I wear every day. He insisted he was trying to pay me a compliment. I am now trying to teach Jeff how to compliment people.

After the braai everyone decided to go out to the bar. Jeff lives with a South African grad student named James, so we met up with James and his friends at a bar on the edge of downtown. I tried to order a rum and coke but got whisky and coke. I still did better than Heather and Anna, though. They ordered tequila shots and were presented with sliced lemons and table salt. Gross. We sat on some tables outside and hung out with James’ friends.

After a drink there we switched bars because some girls wanted to dance. Sadly, the bar with dancing had a cover charge. It was only about $1US, but no one really felt like paying it, so instead we went next door to Bohemia. I can’t dislike a bar that plays “Mr. Jones,” but it wasn’t long before I was really sick of one of James’ friends who wouldn’t quit hitting on every single girl in the group. I told him that Jake was “the guy who takes me home,” (which is true, he walks us home because we’re on the way) and that didn’t even seem to faze him, even when I would sit right next to Jake. He tried to pull Heather into the bathroom with him! So after another drink we headed home. Unfortunately Kristina is diabetic and her blood sugar got a bit low, so she needed to be carried home. She was fine when she got home, though.