airport – Educators of Excellence Institutes

“A Hold On Our Heart”

August 6, 2025 - 0 Comments

Some places hold onto a piece of you just a bit longer than planned. Four cancelled flights and three and a half days later than our original departure, today was our final, final, final, final last day in South Africa. It was just as we manifested it to be: we went whale watching!

Marine Big 4 out of 5

With the help of Marine Dynamics, a shark and whale watching tour company based in the Western Cape, we pushed out into the Atlantic’s 9-12 foot waves, just west of the Indian Ocean. Our driver Waldo said, “We weren’t climbing mountains, but it was pretty high!” Despite the rough seas, our vessel Slash Fin provided exceptional viewing! We found 4 of the Marine Big 5: whales, sharks, seals, and penguins. It was too rough to seek dolphins.

Views from our whale watching expedition.

We motored past Danger Point and met up with an albatross, a humpback whale, a Southern right whale, and a mola mola. Then we swung back to Geyser Rock and were stunned by the scent and sight of thousands of Cape fur seals and the many pairs of African penguins that occupy Dyer Island. As we headed back we witnessed a bronze whaler shark visiting tourists submerged in a cage.

Seal colony on Dyer Island (left) and the tail of a humpback whale (right).

While a few of us succumbed to the sea’s fury, most of us giggled for 2.5 hours with our feathered friends a mini flock of brown skua.

Beyond the wildlife we were in awe of the captain as we surfed home, threaded the harbor entrance, and (without hesitation) landed our boat on a trailer that was promptly plucked out of the bay by a John Deere tractor. Then we disembarked for a bowl of butternut squash soup while our mates recovered.

Walker Bay

We then spent our afternoon in Hermanus on the cliff path in the Fernkloof Nature Preserve. Just when we thought we couldn’t take another picture, South Africa stunned us with her beauty. A plethora of rock hyrax scooting across folded basalt, wild cow lillies (aka pigs’ ears), and the massive wave energy rolling through the kelp forest were only a few of the sights that stunned us.

Walking in Hermanus after our morning whale watching.

Cape Town International Airport

It is 10:30pm, we have a gate, boarding passes, and should wake up in Amsterdam. This just might be goodbye to Cape Town, South Africa.

We did leave behind Khadijah’s YETI, Flavia’s Ocracoke School dolphin, the contents of Emily’s stomach, part of Stephanie’s birthday cake, and a BIG piece of our hearts. We take with us memories and a new extended family.

South Africa

“Perfecting the Pivot”

August 3, 2025 - 2 Comments

Most days we are up and out with the sunrise, but this morning’s was especially breathtaking along the uMhlanga Promenade. With Whalebone Pier stretching out to our left and the iconic lighthouse to our right, we moved along the boardwalk surrounded by the quiet, vibrant rhythm of a winter Saturday, just north of Durban.

Whalebone Pier (left) and the uMhlanga Lighthouse (right).

People were fishing, biking, meditating, surfing, walking dogs, riding scooters, and joining small running groups or a larger 5K. What stood out most was the shared simplicity of it all: no one was in service of another. There were no purchases being made. Just people, side by side, embracing the beauty of a new day together.

A morning on the beach meant spectacular sunrises, time spent with new friends, and many dog sightings.

This trip is the first “Educators of Excellence” expedition in South Africa and today was an impressive feat of strategic maneuvers that would be the envy of the Springbok coaches, as we avoided FlySafair’s pilot strike and an 18 hour bus ride to Cape Town.

We are becoming experts at working as a team to move our group’s luggage.

Over the past two weeks, this blog has captured the incredible moments that have shaped us, making us more empathetic, more curious, and better global citizens. Behind it all are Christy and Emma, leading with organization, effort, patience, and kindness.

For us 14 participants, every day has felt seamless, full of adventure and discovery. But what often goes unseen is the immense work happening behind the scenes. Just this afternoon, Emma spent hours on the phone to rebook hotel rooms after our final Delta flight home was also delayed. From adjusting transportation and restaurant plans to managing unexpected changes, they’ve handled every challenge with calm and positivity.

Christy and Emma during group meeting in Cape Town.

(As we write this, it is past 11 pm and they are waiting on us so they can post this blog, and we still have an 8 am departure tomorrow!)

“Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end.” – Seneca, a Roman philosopher.

As we started our day with a sunrise in Durban and ended it with a sunset in Cape Town, we’re filled with gratitude and sadness as we begin the end of our trip. We’re looking forward to tomorrow, where we can discover the natural beauty of the Cape of Good Hope, and of course, see the penguins!

It’s a privilege to be guided by Christy and Emma on this unforgettable journey.

Our view from the plane as we approached Cape Town – we are very excited to explore this area tomorrow!

South Africa

“Up, up, and away!”

July 21, 2025 - 1 Comment

How do 12 North Carolina educators travel to South Africa? Through a LONG day of travel.

From Raleigh to Atlanta to Johannesburg, our teachers walked, took a tram, flew, then walked some more for over 20 hours in order to reach South African soil.

The team ready to board our flight to Atlanta.

Anticipation was growing in Raleigh and really took off in Atlanta as we received itinerary and map stickers to add to our journals. As we read the details of our trip again and counted down the minutes to take off, excitement filled the air. A rainbow over the airport caught our eye and added to the growing energy as we all took it as a positive sign. Further pre-boarding bonding took the form of showcasing compression socks – from penguins to holidays, we were quite the fashionable crew.

The flight to Johannesburg was a long haul – a hefty 14.5 direct flight from Atlanta. While some of us were able to get some sleep, many of us spent the majority of the flight watching movies on the inflight entertainment system. Wicked was a popular choice for many folks.

Excited faces – we’re finally on the plane to South Africa!

After clearing customs and picking up our checked bags we met up with Andrew and David, our local guides, and Noma and Zinhle, two South African teachers who are joining us for this journey. We ended the day with a group meeting as we learned more about what was to come and then headed to bed – we’re ready for some real sleep!

We made it! The whole crew together in Johannesburg.

Want to see more photos of our traveling team? Follow @ncmnsteachered on Instagram!

Amazon

“A Good Journey is Never Linear”

July 9, 2019 - 1 Comment

“We are ready! This is the cleanest we will be all trip.”

Today is the day we leave for Peru, and it is also the day we discovered that travel is often a non-linear event. Instead of flying to Miami at 11:50am, we are *hoping* to fly at 6pm due to technical difficulties. But we take it as a good omen, because at least we are not on a malfunctioning plane!

The cleanest and least sweaty we will be all trip is right now, in the airport!

Although we don’t know each other yet and don’t know what the next hours will bring, we are all talking and laughing and sharing creative ideas with each other. We haven’t missed our phones! We have had conversations with a group from Colombia, and practiced sighting the native bird species of RDU.

Practicing our binocular skills at gate C11, to identify the house sparrows that are stuck inside the airport terminal

At some point the airline even brought out the snack cart. Not just dry snacks, but the cart with the special “Refuel and Refresh” box of snacks with 8 lucious choices.

To keep our spirits up, we all joined in to sing “Los Pollitos Dicen”, a Spanish children’s song. The silly chicks say, “pío, pío, pío” to get their worms. Maybe if we sing their song we will get what we want too and make our flight! Wish us “buena suerte” (good luck) for the next leg of our journey and what will probably be a long next 48 hours.

Michelle is very excited for snacks!

1:15am update- we have all successfully boarded a flight from Miami to Lima. Hopefully we will still make our morning flight to Iquitos as scheduled and be back on track for the rest of our journey!