Greetings from Mbabane, Swaziland!
Our group is currently teaching at the SOS children's village. SOS is an orphanage and school that we have worked with for several years. They are currently in the middle of their final exams, so our students have been proctoring and helping to grade the exams, as well as teaching a bit here and there when there is some down time in the classroom.
Our time in Soweto wrapped up with a Poetry Slam with local artists that we hosted at our hostel. It was a great time to share music and poetry, and I think it provided some great closure to our Soweto experience.
On Saturday we completed our 5 hour drive to Swaziland without a hitch. Sunday we made it to a local craft market for some souvenir shopping then headed up to SOS to lead some games with the kids on their football pitch.
Tomorrow we are heading to a game park in the morning and then will be staying with our friend Fiki and camping out at his farm house in Nhlangano, Swaziland. Everyone is really excited to camp!
I must admit that this is the healthiest I have ever seen a group at this point in our travels. We purchased two giant bottles of hand sanitizer for each van and I really think it has helped out... knocking on wood as I type this.
Our students remain happy, healthy, and motivated as we enter the second half of our program.
Cheers,
The BSA 2010 Crew
Blog Archive
Mail Stop and Call Times
Call Times:
The students will be calling home July 30th between 11am and 1pm EST.
The next phone call home will be August 7th between 11am and 1pm EST.
Mail Stop Info:
You can send mail to the Bridge Southern Africa group at:
Windsor Mountain Student Travel
c/o Karma Backpackers
PO Box 354
Kestell 9860
South Africa
The main addressee should be "Windsor Mountain Student Travel." The student's name should be placed in the bottom left hand corner of the envelope.
Families may send flat letters to the program participants. Please do not send packages or money.
Mail to South Africa often takes 2-3 weeks if sent my regular post. If you would like one of the students to receive mail from you during the trip, we recommend sending it via an expedited carrier (such as FedEx or DHL).
The last day for mail pick up will be July 30, please make sure your mail will arrive before then to ensure delivery.
The students will be calling home July 30th between 11am and 1pm EST.
The next phone call home will be August 7th between 11am and 1pm EST.
Mail Stop Info:
You can send mail to the Bridge Southern Africa group at:
Windsor Mountain Student Travel
c/o Karma Backpackers
PO Box 354
Kestell 9860
South Africa
The main addressee should be "Windsor Mountain Student Travel." The student's name should be placed in the bottom left hand corner of the envelope.
Families may send flat letters to the program participants. Please do not send packages or money.
Mail to South Africa often takes 2-3 weeks if sent my regular post. If you would like one of the students to receive mail from you during the trip, we recommend sending it via an expedited carrier (such as FedEx or DHL).
The last day for mail pick up will be July 30, please make sure your mail will arrive before then to ensure delivery.
Meet Your Leaders
Thatcher Glode
Thatcher currently lives in Jackson, Wyoming, where he is a youth counselor in a group home for high school students. After growing up in the beautiful mountains of Colorado, Thatcher attended Colorado College in Colorado Springs. During his junior year, he had the amazing opportunity to study abroad on Semester at Sea, visiting 16 different countries (including South Africa) over a span of 8 months. It was on this program that Thatcher fell in love with travel and education. He had the chance to hear Castro speak in Cuba, go on a safari in Tanzania, visit the Taj Mahal in India, and climb Mt. Fuji in Japan. This program has forever impacted Thatcher's life and greatly opened his eyes to the vast world around him. Thatcher has recently visited several countries throughout Europe and is eagerly looking forward to leading Bridge Southern Africa. When not traveling or working, Thatcher can be found fly-fishing in the Snake River under the Tetons in Jackson, or skiing in the back-country on Teton Pass. (Bridge Hawaii '06, '07, Bridge Southern Africa '08, '09).
Sarah Foster
Sarah loves encountering and connecting with new people, places, and ideas around the world, and she is thrilled to be leading her eighth Windsor Mountain travel program this summer! Sarah graduated from Brown University in 2001 with a degree in literature with honors in creative writing, and from the Dell'Arte International School of Physical Theatre in 2002. Since then, she has been teaching, performing, and traveling. She toured with a mask and puppet show across teh United States in 2003, and then moved to Portland, Oregon, where she teaches physical theater, play writing, and stilt walking all over town and,a s Co-Artistic Director of the Nomadic Theatre Co., creates original shows and performs them around the Pacific Northwest. Sarah is an active member of Clowns Without Borders, through which she has traveled several times to Haiti and throughout Southern Africa. Besides traveling and theatre, some of Sarah's other favorite things in the world include biking around Portland, playing the trombone, ice cream, partner acrobatics, and jumping in the ocean. (New England Traveling Theatre '02, '03, European Traveling Theatre '04, '05, California Traveling Theatre '06, Bridge Southern Africa '08, '09).
Thatcher currently lives in Jackson, Wyoming, where he is a youth counselor in a group home for high school students. After growing up in the beautiful mountains of Colorado, Thatcher attended Colorado College in Colorado Springs. During his junior year, he had the amazing opportunity to study abroad on Semester at Sea, visiting 16 different countries (including South Africa) over a span of 8 months. It was on this program that Thatcher fell in love with travel and education. He had the chance to hear Castro speak in Cuba, go on a safari in Tanzania, visit the Taj Mahal in India, and climb Mt. Fuji in Japan. This program has forever impacted Thatcher's life and greatly opened his eyes to the vast world around him. Thatcher has recently visited several countries throughout Europe and is eagerly looking forward to leading Bridge Southern Africa. When not traveling or working, Thatcher can be found fly-fishing in the Snake River under the Tetons in Jackson, or skiing in the back-country on Teton Pass. (Bridge Hawaii '06, '07, Bridge Southern Africa '08, '09).
Sarah Foster
Sarah loves encountering and connecting with new people, places, and ideas around the world, and she is thrilled to be leading her eighth Windsor Mountain travel program this summer! Sarah graduated from Brown University in 2001 with a degree in literature with honors in creative writing, and from the Dell'Arte International School of Physical Theatre in 2002. Since then, she has been teaching, performing, and traveling. She toured with a mask and puppet show across teh United States in 2003, and then moved to Portland, Oregon, where she teaches physical theater, play writing, and stilt walking all over town and,a s Co-Artistic Director of the Nomadic Theatre Co., creates original shows and performs them around the Pacific Northwest. Sarah is an active member of Clowns Without Borders, through which she has traveled several times to Haiti and throughout Southern Africa. Besides traveling and theatre, some of Sarah's other favorite things in the world include biking around Portland, playing the trombone, ice cream, partner acrobatics, and jumping in the ocean. (New England Traveling Theatre '02, '03, European Traveling Theatre '04, '05, California Traveling Theatre '06, Bridge Southern Africa '08, '09).
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What Time Is It In Southern Africa?
Map of Southern Africa
Program Information
Bridge Southern Africa is a Windsor Mountain Student Travel Program. For more information about Student Travel Programs or our International Summer Camp, please visit our website: www.WindsorMountain.org or call 1-800-862-7760.