We began our day at Wetlands Country House & Shed in Wakkerstroom. We enjoyed a delicious made-to-order breakfast of eggs with our choice of sides.

We then traveled to UThandolwethu Day Care Centre which is the school that our two South African teachers, Eunice (4-5 year olds) and Mpumi (3-4 year olds) work at. We worked in groups to create and paint murals on different walls of the school, both inside and outside. Each group worked diligently to make the school walls vibrant and colorful for the school and community. It was a few hours of hard, yet rewarding, teamwork.

After painting, the school treated our group to a lunch on the school grounds. It was an unexpected and tasty treat! The staff and students danced for us and their joy was contagious. We had some time to interact with the students which was truly magical.

Before leaving, we gifted the students cut up oranges as a special treat as well as 6 soccer balls, 5 playground balls, and a few of our group brought candy to pass out as well. The students loved seeing some of our Snapchat and TikTok filters, especially the shark and Shrek! Even though we didn’t speak the same language, we were able to build connections through motions, dance, and technology.

The end of the day ended with a hunt for meerkats and South Africa’s national bird- the blue crane. While it was too chilly for the meerkats to pop out, we did see four blue cranes. Their silvery blue color shimmered in the setting sun. We were also able to spot Sacred ibis, African swamp hen, yellow-billed duck, and otters on the way out. The wetlands did not disappoint!

Today reminded us exactly why we became teachers—not just to teach lessons, but to make every child feel seen, valued, and special. Even though we don’t speak their language, kindness, laughter, and compassion became our shared language. For a few hours, we didn’t feel as though we were visitors; we felt truly like we were part of their community and culture. That is a lesson we will carry with us long after this journey ends.