Meeting with oom Diedrich

In light of the various Problems the student have been coming across in terms of communication from the academy side and we had decided to have a meeting with oom Diederich. it went really well and once again we proved that we can have a sophisticated meeting with no screaming or short tempers.

first aid 23 24 Feb

The first aid consisted of a paramedic trying to squash three days worth of information into our heads in two days. i have to mention though everybody passed so at least they listened while he was giving class. i learnt that there are very thorough reasons as to why CPR(cardio pulmonary resuscitation) is done the way it is. i also learnt how the blood flows through the body and how it pumps through the heart. we worked trough a couple of simulations and in this way learnt how to react and prioritise in an accident situation.

monday 22

Student meeting.
i can conclude with some confidence that the team can now work through a successful meeting. where there is a positive outcome and a partially tangible result to the discussed topic and problems.
Budgeting
we learn how to do a budget and how even though you are not aware of it you do one in your head almost every day. how to work through your necessary costs such as house and food and payments on any sort of debts(car,home) before you count how much money you have for the month.

thursday 18 Feb

Research and how to

What it came down to was the importance to ask the correct questions before just diving headlong into the subject. Then assessing your resources. And then when you know your questions and you know your resources you can only then start with the actual research.

How About Some More Info?

Tuesday 16 Feb
We worked through Maslows Hierarchy of needs which basicly comes down to the steps in which we as humans satisfy our needs and in which oder we would do this. First the basic needs which includes things like Air Water and Food; then it moves to security needs, things like a home a job safety;
also Preffered method of study and Multiple Intelegence

cocktail bar

My Workplace experiance for the weekend of the 12 th was at the cocktail bar I worked with P.G-one of my fellow Nature Guide students.
I learn't that I can quickly adabt to a new computer system because thay are basicaly the same in the F&B world. I love working with people and making guests happy and entertaining them while they wait for their drink comes naturaly.

The Monkey game

We worked on our communication skills by having a somewhat heated debate about subjects that cause conflict in various situations specifically in the workplace and in our study environment. With that we played the monkey game. Chef had three monkeys he gave them to three students and told them to look after them and care for them. They needed feeding, attention, exercise and love (some more things but that was the basics). The idea was to demonstrate responsibility and what happens when it is -even temporarily-handed over to someone else. when you ask of someone to take on your tasks and responsibility you must expect to do the same for that person at some stage. Also if you had been taking care of two instead of one responsibility there are always consequences. Things like did you do your task properly? Where you able to give the task the necessary attention? Are you exhausted after so much work?

Something that we keep noticing is the difference in personalities and the fact that it probably causes more conflict than the acctual subjects we clash about. Things that came up and then put away was spesificaly Religion and Racism. It is realy better to just avoid these subjects because no matter how carefully you try to handle them they cause conflict anyway.

It was amazing to think that no less than three weeks aggo we could bearly speak infront of each other and then(three weeks later)we were getting quite volitle about our oppinions with the debate. Someting that i'm sure not one singular student will argue about is our personel progress.

Wednesday 10 Feb

Wednesday 10 February
Three legged soccer.
In order to drum into our thick heads just how important teamwork is and under that communication (if I only had a buck for each time I use that word i'll be a millionaire.) we were divided into pairs and tied together three legged style. We then proceeded to play soccer. Well at least a version of it. It was loads of fun and Chef in a very successful attempt to make us even more uncomfortable tied us girl-boy. I was tied to Christian-which proved quite the experience because he is a head and some taller than I. After some unsuccessful, badly choreographed walking about we stole Natalie and Dewalt’s idea of hopping together on our tied legs. We won the game by default this was due to Chef's weird rules.
• If our ties broke we lose two points
• if we kick the ball out of the designated area we lose one point
• and if we score a goal we get only one point.
The other team kicked the ball out very often and as a result lost more points than they gained.
Back to back volleyball.
I was again tied to Christian but this time it was with our backs together at first the bag they gave us was too small and I could barely breathe, luckily there was another one we could use. The volleyball match proved quite a few things to us. Teamwork is about coming up with a better idea and having the guts to share it. On the receiving end it’s about recognising that a plan that was not yours could be a better option and than being able to admit that. We lost BADLY but it was again great fun. Our tie broke towards the end of play, even though we were both going in the same direction we didn’t talk to each other and as a result failed. This proved one thing for sure, even if you have the same goal as someone else and you don’t talk with that person to establish an agreement you will still not reach that goal.
Conflict, Teamwork, and Responsibility.
We were again divided into groups this time it was three groups. Each group then had to discuss among themselves assigned topics. These were teamwork, responsibility, and conflict.
First up was the Teamwork group they consisted of P.G, Eddy, Jason and Christian. They shortened their explanation to T=Together E=Everyone A=Achieves M=More.
The second team was the Responsibility group they were Dewalt, Chenelle, Natalie and Monica. This came down to your responsibility is just that, and you need to keep it that way. It is not anyone else’s responsibility for the basic fact that they have their own assigned tasks.
Last but not least was the Conflict group we were me, Zenobia, Cheri, San-Mari and Sky. We talked about all the aspects of conflict but ended up concentrating on that which causes conflict and how to handle it.

Fun and Games

Once again Chef proved himself an interesting and interested facilitator. And I have to say playing games is one sure way of us learning what is being taught. Slapping papers in front of this group and then preaching to them is not going to stick as fun will.

What we learnt came down to one basic fact we don’t know how to communicate, plain and simple. This became more and more obvious as we dragged our names through the mud. Chef gave us a test on which there were a series of questions. He successfully confused us by suggesting that it was a test of our knowledge gathered so far. The first question Clearly stated that we must first read the instructions. There was only one student who did this, Cheri. I ridiculed myself completely by following the somewhat bizarre instructions to the T only to discover that the last instruction stated that we must sit back not do anything and watch everybody else make fools of themselves.

We also had to draw a cat. No one asked what kind of cat and so everybody got this wrong as well. By this time we started understanding the objective of the exercise. We could not follow instructions; not because we didn’t listen, but because we did not ask. The most difficult part of asking though is knowing which questions to ask.

Teamwork is proving to be less and less of a challenge and the teamwork highlighted this. I was in a team with P.G, Zenobia, and Eddy later also San-Mari. Together we had to prevent an egg from breaking, get a key in a cup, build a tower, make up our own Hakka and come up with a name for our team. All of the above with lots of twists and turns to make it a real challenge.

Some more Meeting and Greeting.

When it comes to welcoming one thing becomes infinitely clear; the more you do it the easier it gets. The more you give information-previously difficult to remember-the more you remember it and the easier it is to be sure that it is the correct info. The more you smile the more the guests trust you.

Greet. Welcome. Separate. Guide. Inform.

Reading people and understanding their specific needs becomes a habit and less and less of a challenge as I go along. I must admit though, having a few students with experience from the December holiday guiding us in the right direction make it a whole lot easier. As we are constantly reminded Sondela is first and foremost a business and a business needs to be successful in terms of finance. All in all money makes Sondela go round. Superb Customer service ensures satisfied customers, and that in turn ensures a successful business. As Mel says we need to exceed expectation and then do so again when the expectations have risen.

Friday Welcoming Here We Come!!!!!!!!!!!!

Good after noon Mr Pogenpoel how are you? Welcome to Sondela, I’m Antonet. Have you been here before? Well in that case you know where reception is, have you got your Green Slip? Let me walk there with you..................

The morning started with some more role-playing and we soon found that if they dropped us off randomly in Sondela we would get horrifically lost. I’m sure if Chef were to hear the words” I’m not sure but I’ll hear from reception and come and tell you” again he will slit somebody’s throat!

I’m really sorry Chef but the humour with which you feed us info comes second only to the way Mel does it. It is classically unique and vaguely similar to that of the legendary Casper De Fries. Mel’s comparisons don’t leave much to the imagination and I will not like to be at the end of that if he is angry.

I’m going to be really weird and admit that I really like welcoming, I will probably live to regret that I ever said so but for the time being I’ll keep it at that.

Thursday 4

They say that work will never kill you; I say Sondela Facilitators are trying to prove them wrong! I have to give it to Chef though; he has a gift with getting boring work stuck into your head. Especially his references to hygiene; and why it is so very vital to portray a good professional image.

Role playing has now become part of me and I no longer feel embarrassed when it’s my turn, it seems as though it is the same with the rest of the students as well. Thursday’s roll playing was the most fun so far. We needed to pose questions from a guest and answers from the tour guide it a scenario where the air-con of the bus had packed up. To put it plainly it was a week’s worth of sit-ups. With Zenobia (guest) attacking me-the tour guide-and with lots of attitude telling me how useless I am.

The day came to a close with Heidi and an exercise that involved us being-yet again-thoroughly embarrassed but this time with ourselves. I probably would never share about three quarter of what I wrote on that paper. We had to write about ourselves but had criteria: our personal identity; what I really am what I hide; what I think other people think of me; and our social identity. It was hard and the now vibrant class went very quiet indeed.

Tour of Bela Bela

The day started with a second to catch up on our blogs, then we went on o tour around Bela-Bela or Warmbath as it used to be known. Before we started Kobus told us how important it is to brief your tour group for the drive. Things like medicine cannot as a rule is given to anyone: so it is better if they were to bring their own in case they need it. Water, sunscreen, hats and appropriate attire needs to be suggested before the time. It is also important to know of any allergies or medical problems before the trip so you as guide are prepared for any situation. We also learnt how important it is to make the bus driver feel part of the group.

The tour included a quick view of the info centre to be found at the entrance of Bela Bela or rather the entrance from Pretoria side. Here Kobus gave us a brief review of the outlining area and its history as well as its geography. The Water Front is called that because of a few reasons the best one or rather the one we can most easily identify with is the fact that there are two dams behind the thatch roofed shops. One is more of a pond with all sorts of geese and ducks on it. The other is a spot where you can water ski and go on a speed boat.

Then we moved over to the location of the Sondela offices basically to see where they are. I would have liked to have a peek inside though. While there a couple of the students took a walk across from there to a quaint little shop called Farm Stead, they got some refreshments here. The Grave Yard was next and some of us walked here as well. Here the grave and monument of Christina Pretorius, wife of Andries Pretorius can be found. I knew that a distant uncle of my grandfather- by the name of Antonie Marius Heystek-is also buried here as a child. Unfortunately I could not find the grave.

The African stall was nothing new to anybody but the diversity of the stall keeper was a surprise, one coming from as far as Tanzania; to sell their goods and make a living. They were very quick to tell us how to take our photos and how cheap and worthwhile their goods were.

Next were the Block Houses these were built during the Anglo Boer War. There were a couple of holes in the walls that were apparently made by bullets.

The silos were next and just hugely overwhelming. There were seven big vertical ones and one big horizontal one each holding about 35 000 tons of various grains. Of the small ones there were five and together they hold 48 000 tons of grains.

Last but not least was a brief tour of the Bela Bela Township here there were lots of little shops and hawker. One thing that was seen very often were people cooing mielies in many different ways. Cobus said that there are also nice little jazz cafes were a relaxing evening could be spent.

	Time	Site	Directions	Commentary
1	09:35-09:45	Information Centre	Upon entering Bela Bela from the Pretoria side you see a collection near thatch shops the info centre can be found there.	The stuffed animals get your attention. Lots of pamphlets and helpful staff to guide you.
2	09:50-10:00	Grave Yard	The graveyard is found behind the Spar.	It’s right slap bang in the centre of the town. Vandalism is obviously a problem here. The wife of Andries Pretorius, Christina Pretorius lies here and it is an interesting story for tourists.
3	10:05-10:25	African market	The market is found in Ritchie street after turning right from Potgieter street.	Te people at the market are very friendly and quick to talk to you. They were ready to tell us how and where to take our photos.
4	10:30-10:40	Block House	This is found in Paul Sauer street. Follow Potgieter right until you come to the railroad turn right into the township turn right into Paul Sauer and follow until you see the Block House.	Lots of info and stories to be found here like the bullet holes in the building. It probably dates back more than a hundred years back.
5	10:40-10;47	Silos	Turn right in Marx street then right Potgieter street then right in Mile street and then right in Paul Sauer street.	Silos are in good condition and there are interesting facts that you can give tourist about them. Really overwhelmingly big.
6	10:50-11:00	Township tour	Turn right in Marx right in Potgieter right in Mile and continue.	The people were quick to wave to us. Lots of stalls and hawkers along the road it is also neater than any township we have ever seen.

Approximate time of departure 09:00 from Sondela

Approximate time of arrival 11:15 at Sondela

After lunch at about three we sat outside and got fed some more very important information that we need to remember. Well good luck with that! Most of us found that if anyone were to ask us to prove that we life in SA -would be laughed at. Some (including me) not even knowing the names of the nine provinces; never mind where they are found on the map. Needless to say the bordering countries were even more fun. At least we all knew which continent we are on.