Trevor's Photo Journal

Yesterday was shopping day, today was building day. Here's the five bases for the soda bottle rocket competition next week. Each of the 5 high schools in the area will have to design a rocket out of a 2L bottle and next Friday we'll test them all. In total each of these cost me about R90 to make with the most expensive part being the bike pump. I'd say I did pretty good with the Department of Science and Technology's money. I know the kids will be as creative next week as they work on the competition.

First purchase for National Science Week. My supervisor was expecting to have to by "chemicals" and other fancy stuff. Nope I can do science with just some tomato sauce (ketchup for those Americans reading this) and hand washing power. Sure I'd love to get my hands on some lithium, sodium and potassium for and awesome comparative demo of period reactivity - but we can also use the scientific method to objectively test which washing powder works the best.

The promotional material sent to my organization by the Department of Science and Technology for our participation in National Science Week. I'm hoping I can pass these out in such a way that they are actually used and don't end up sitting in a store room somewhere. There's still a lot to do before next Monday, but it's nice to start to see everything coming together.

So today you get not one picture but three.  On display Ngwane Primary School was the most amazing model of Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit ( Mbombela is the new name of Nelspruit, but it's mainly used for the municipality and not city).  The model was so cool I have to show you more than just one picture of it.

Here's a look at the inside of the model. Check out the big screen TV (news paper clipping) and zebra stripped seats (it was cool to watch the crowed disperse and the stripes appear after the game.

Today was my Sisanda's, one of the neighboring kids, 8th birthday. They had a cake and all the kids came together to share it, some soda, and two bags of chips. As birthday party's go it was pretty low key, but it was nice to be apart of it. About 6 months ago Sisanda's sister turned 2 and I gave her mom 5 photo's from the party. She was so happy to get them that I think it was the best R15 (~$2) I've ever spent. Need to go and print more photo's this week.

St. Anthony's Church in Barberton. I don't get to that side of town very often, but every time I pass this church it seems so out of place. Of course the two giant trees don't do much to help. Off the top of my head I can't think of any other conifers in the area.

The grade 11's at one of the local high schools needed help with trigonometry problem set today. Someone had drawn this face on the chalk board. I felt sort of bad erasing it, so made it my picture of the day. You never really know, a randomly drawn dinosaur in a classroom once changed the course of history. Yeay Nigel!

I was going to continue on with my theme of houses in the location today, but in keeping with the purpose of this project and always having a camera with me I found something different. I was visiting one of the high schools in the area and the general works were catching chickens that were running around. It must be something the have to do quite often, because these were some of the most docile chickens I've seen. Not only were they just laying calmly in the wheelbarrow, but they guys barely even had to run to catch them. I've never seen an eaisly caught chicken.

Yesterday, a picture of the informal settlement near my work. Today a picture of the house being built 3 streets away from me. One of just about five two story houses in the the location. I first noticed construction on this one back in April and it's still not quite finished. That's actually a pretty fast pass for construction in the area. I've seen some houses that have been in a perpetual state of building for my entire time here. People finish a little more of the project as the money comes in. Through the arches of the house you can see a government RDP house right next door. That's the complexity of a South African township in 2010 - a behemoth monster of a house right next to a 4 room government RDP.

Yesterdays photo was of the burned down corn field near my work.  I mentioned who the environmental department had plowed it and given seeds to people who lived in the informal settlement across the street to plant.  To day a picture of a few houses shacks from that settlement.  One picture hardly does it justice since there has to be over 1000 people living in buildings like this one in that area.  With the weather as cold as it been I shudder to think how cold these rooms get at night.  I've looked but never seen pit toilets in the area so I don't know what these people do when looking for a bathroom.  There are a few water pumps near the road but sanitation has to be a major problem.  You can also see a burned out patch of ground in front of the house, that used to be a winter garden.  All the houses in this area grow food to put on the table.  Biking through the area everyday for the last two years I've been able to see many changes, in fact, most the houses in the area weren't built two years ago.  A very industrious people.