South Africa

“Burnt Toast Theory”

Burnt toast theory states that minor inconveniences can turn out to be blessings in disguise, and today highlighted this for us. 

This morning we started with a much more than minor inconvenience when we arrived to breakfast to find out that it was too windy to go whale watching. This was a bucket list item for almost every one of us, and when it was confirmed that we couldn’t go and that it couldn’t be rescheduled, there were actual tears for some of us. It felt like a major loss. 

We pivoted like we have had to do several times on this trip, and went on a bird walk before heading to the beach instead. During our walk I kept waiting for something fun and magical to confirm that missing whales was worth it. And I couldn’t see it. Then we walked down to the beach, put our toes in the sand, collected shells, and tiptoed into the icy Indian Ocean. 

How do you explore a new beach and ocean? Synchronized cartwheels in the sand!

Something we’ve noticed about this trip is that we are being required to slow down. Fast food isn’t what we’re used to. Chick-fil-A gets your meal to you with a “my pleasure” in less than 5 minutes. That’s not happening here, as it takes closer to 20. Restaurant service is even longer, and meals come 2-3 at a time. We find ourselves being impatient, trying to speed up processes. Then we talk about it with each other and realize how much we actually ENJOY slowing down. We ask ourselves what it would be like if we stopped rushing when we get home and if we didn’t put so much pressure on ourselves and each other. 

Our time is quickly coming to an end and we are all feeling excited to see our families and homes. We are also feeling the pressure of life that awaits us. How can we find the balance of the calm we’ve found here with all that comes with returning home? We’ve watched South African sunrises and sunsets, taken long morning walks with giraffes and coffee, shared dinner with rhinos, and made memories with new friends. We have seen and felt so much here: joy, astonishment, love, fullness, and more that we can’t wait to take back to our families. When we go home we will be spread across the state, hours apart, no longer in dorm style bedrooms, sharing bathrooms and group dinners. We have met people who will now be our best friends, and now we will be apart. 

Flavia, Michael, Christine, and Andrew on a windy St. Lucia beach.

Tonight’s sunset happened in the company of a hippo family. I think we can learn something about how to approach going home from them: 

“Hippos, despite their size, offer subtle yet powerful lessons on embracing imperfection, finding peace in stillness, and maintaining healthy social bonds”.   

Three lessons were impressed upon us as we watched these graceful animals:

  1. Embrace the mud and find comfort in imperfection. Hippos spend much of their time in mud, which represents the messy, imperfect parts of life. 
  2. Submerge yourself and find peace in stillness.  Hippos are comfortable both in and out of the water, symbolizing the importance of finding moments of peace and quiet in our busy lives. 
  3. Know your people and make time with them. Celebrate and protect each other. 

Our guides and drivers, Andrew and David, are leaving in the morning. Tonight we spent time reflecting on our highlights with each of them. At the end of the night Andrew said, “magic has happened here.” Each day in South Africa has been magic. We have been so blessed. We didn’t get to see whales today on the boat. But, we got to spend precious time slowing down together. Laughing, eating delicious food, and celebrating each other. We have just a few more days left before we get to bring this magic home. We can’t wait to slow down and share the sunrises and sunsets with you. 

A sunrise in St. Lucia.
South Africa

“Reaching Your Finish Line”

“Growth is never by mere chance; it is the result of forces working together.” – James Cash Penney

Some of the views within the Drakensberg Mountains.

Today was the most physically challenging day of the trip, and for some, of our lifetimes. While we were excited for the endless panoramic views of the Drakensberg Mountains, many of us felt the weight of the 13km hike ahead. Prepared with bellies full of granadilla yogurt and instant coffee, backpacks of water bottles and binoculars, and feet snuggly tucked into hiking boots, the 18 of us started the trek with our guides, Geoff and Teri.

Pre-hike energy – we can do it!

The first kilometer of the trail was already no joke as a steep decline into the gorge from camp had us thinking, “we have to come back UP this??” After about an hour, our large group began to stretch like a slinky. As an out-and-back trail, you reach a point of no return. Our wide variety of ages, strengths, and athletic abilities started to challenge us. Geoff helped encourage us that even if we’re tired, we could still do more, but we also learned valuable lessons in listening to our bodies.

This trip has been an exceptional moment of pause for so many of us, which is ironic given our sunrise to sunset (and beyond!) daily itineraries. We’ve challenged ourselves since our first orientation in April to unplug and focus inward. We’ve been vulnerable with each other since we met at the airport 8 days ago, and open about what we need in order to experience success each day, whether that’s a nap, an ice cream bar, or someone to process the day with. Today, we saw 18 people with 18 different goals and finish lines. Some people were determined to make it to the gorge 6.5km away. Some knew their body might have some limitations, and were open to asking for breaks or help. Some were fulfilled by finding a perfect rock to relax on and reflect. What transpired was a clear example of teamwork and cheerleading. We helped our walking buddy scale rock “steps,” carried heavy binoculars for each other, and shared snacks. Leaders selflessly walked back and forth delivering lunches and guiding different groups to meet their own finish lines. As the gorge group made their way back along the trail, the three groups slowly regathered and shared their individual experiences of the day. Once we powered up the last steep climb at the end (or beginning) of the trail, we rewarded ourselves with our favorite South African sweets and sodas, yoga, and a pizza dance party.

Stretching out our post-hike aches.
Tropical Ecology

“First Full Day”

A man holds a grasshopper in his hand

Andy was happy to capture and show off the grasshoppers and their flashes of color (salmon pink, bright magenta, yellow, etc.) underneath their wings, which are used to startle predators.

Our first full day in Belize began very early with a bird walk at 5:45 am. We were rewarded for rising early with coffee, and then we headed off to explore the land surrounding the lodge. In addition to seeing Belize’s national bird, the keel-billed toucan, we saw a white-necked jacobin, a golden-fronted woodpecker, a spiny-tailed iguana and giant grasshoppers that were similar to our lubbers back home. And the plant life did not disappoint either. We saw starfruit and avocado trees, lobster-claws, and got to taste a velvet apple, a type of fruit that looked like a fuzzy peach with the leaves of a persimmon, that tasted reminiscent of a floral pear.

A group of teachers hikes down a sandy road in open pine forest.

Hiking in the Mountain Pine Ridge Forest Preserve felt similar to our sandhills region in North Carolina.

After a delicious breakfast, we loaded into the bus and drove to the Mountain Pine Ridge Forest Reserve where we hiked along the road and then through the jungle — up what we now lovingly refer to as “death hill” due to the steepness and narrowness of the path, the low-hanging branches we had to limbo underneath, and the ever-present heat and humidity — to the entrance to Domingo Ruiz Cave. Once in the cave, we saw stalactites and stalagmites, bats, spiders and kissing bugs; then we sat for a minute in perfect darkness and silence to fully appreciate the majesty of the space.

group of teachers sitting in a cave

Our group sitting inside Domingo Ruiz Cave immediately after our moment of silence in total darkness.

The next cave we visited was named “Rio Frio” (cold river). This is where Late Preclassic and Classic period Maya may have performed sacrifices and other religious ceremonies. Unlike Domingo Ruiz Cave, this one was open on both ends, so we had natural light to aid us as we climbed over rocks to reach a sandy beach along the river running through the cave.

A large open cave entrance with vines hanging down from above

Rustina, Andy and Jeff at the grand entrance to Rio Frio Cave.

silhouette of a woman looking out from a cave into the light

Meredith looks out towards the light and forest from inside Rio Frio Cave.

After a lovely picnic lunch outside the Rio Frio Cave, we headed to the Rio On Pools to cool down after a taxing morning of hiking. We changed into our swimsuits and then got to play like children, clambering over smooth granite rocks, sitting under small waterfalls, sliding into the different pools and swimming around the crevices.

Teachers gather around the base of a small waterfall over smooth granite rocks.

Most of the group at one of the small waterfalls in the Rio On Pools.

We returned to Sweet Songs Jungle Lodge where most of us spent our free hour enjoying the infinity pool, and we then had our daily meeting where we discussed highlights of the day and what we learned from our experiences and our top notch tour guides, Nathan Forbes and Zhawn Poot.

After our fabulous dinner, we are headed off on another night hike. Fingers crossed we find some new creatures to observe.

Blue Ridge

“The Mountains are Waiting”

woman backpacker surveys a distant mountain range

The Educators of Excellence are all looking forward to our upcoming Blue Ridge Institute July 8-16, 2021. Here, Wendy Hall surveys the mountainous landscape.

“As classrooms were packed and cleaned an elite group of teachers were doing other things.  The school year had come to a close but select teachers from North Carolina were preparing for the next adventure, exploring the Blue Ridge Mountains. These educators are a part of the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences’ Educators of Excellence Program and will be spending over a week together in the North Carolina Mountains. Along with closing down their classrooms the notable nine— Wendy Hall, Stephanie Ingram, Amy Jordan, Sarah Laws, Lindsay Smith, Sarah Trinidad, Bill Wade, Nikki Walker, and myself– began preparations to explore the great outdoors. Sarah Laws used her creativity to create a flyer to promote the trip. The flyer contained information so that her students and others could follow her journey.  Others collected camping gear, trekked along hiking trails, researched habitats, explored wildlife manuals, made lists, and tried to avoid reading all the articles about recent bear shenanigans.

Somehow the pending trip had me looking at nature in a new way. My morning walks became more of an outside classroom where the breeze felt different, the sounds of chirping birds became louder and various vegetation left me with a sense of wonder. Somehow just the thought of being in nature for an extended period of time, had initiated a greater appreciation of nature and the vibrant world around us. I can only imagine how much more this curiosity and delight will be heightened as we hike through the Blue Ridge Mountains. This sense of awe and wonder is what I desire to encapsulate and then share with my students, colleagues, and friends along the journey and into the upcoming school year.  I am sure that I speak for the team when I say that we would love to have you travel with us via our blog and be a part of all the wonderful adventures yet to come. The Mountains are waiting.

~Talicia Smith, Science Teacher, Douglas Byrd Middle School, Cumberland County

 

“I am so looking forward to my time this summer as a part of the Blue Ridge Institute. I was talking and dreaming about it all through Spring Break when I backpacked on the Appalachian Trail for 4 days! Two of my friends and I hiked about ten miles a day and camped each night. It was fantastic to walk from Winding Stair Gap to the Nantahala Rec Center. While I did, I talked about all the natural aspects surrounding us that I would hopefully better understand after experiencing the Educators of Excellence program and learning from the experts. In addition, during this trip, I got my trail name. I was named, “Charmed” and it’s a fun story that you should feel free to ask me about sometime!

In addition, my foster child was moving with relatives at the end of the school year and his last request was for us to “hike a really big mountain.” So one weekend in May, we did the six miles to the top of Mount Mitchell for his final hike with our family! That’s the highest peak East of the Mississippi (6684 feet), so we were glad to fulfill his request together!

It will be great to connect with other teachers and learn about our amazing state of North Carolina over the course of nine days together immersed in nature.

~Wendy Hall, First Grade Teacher, Fairview Elementary School, Union County”

woman inside a green tent

Wendy practices camping during her spring break along the Appalachian Trail. Teachers on our Blue Ridge Institute will also camp outdoors in tents during our trip.

 

While we won’t be backpacking to get from point A to point B as we travel the length of the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina, teacher participants in our Institutes can expect numerous hikes, as well as camping in tents, and daily educational adventures as we meet researchers and experts in each location.

 

woman with backpack in front of sign post for Appalachian Trail

Wendy poses with the Appalachian Trail sign.