WELCOME TO THE VIRTUAL ROOM OF RED BALLOON!

You may have noticed I am not in the English room today!
For the next few weeks I will exist in a little box on your computer screen. Until we can teleport Harry Potter style this could be the next best thing...

South Africa is such a diverse and interesting place to explore there is much to be discovered: culture, music, food, wildlife, history and politics. It is going to be an exciting time and I will no doubt learn from your technology tips too! So here we go...

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Derek and Ruairi's first day....

Today we had our English lesson over skype to south Africa it was a bit strange to talk to a computer screen and not to someone in the flesh.
It is good how you can talk to someone who is so many miles away I am looking forward to learning a lot about south Africa and the different places and cultures.

-Derek and Ruairi

Where on earth is Pietermaritzburg, Kwazulu Natal, South Africa?

Morning Red Balloon!

This is the first official post on our Red Balloon South Africa blog. It is a space for you to share your thoughts and ideas as we explore South Africa together and a work in progress as we all learn from each other along the way. Skype, msn, youtube, blogspot and picasa will replace the good old paper and pen for a while which I'm sure you are even more excited about!

I am sitting at the dinner table and it's drizzling lightly outside, the parrot is sleeping quietly for once in his cage next to me and the little sausage dog is barking at the neighbour cutting his lawn. It is our newest Red Balloon classroom in Pietermaritzburg, Kwazulu Natal, South Africa which you can find here...

It may take a little patience to master the new teaching and learning set up, but once we have got used to it the possibilities are endless! I will update the blog throughout the day with video clips, photos, news and stories. You can leave comments and contribute as much as you like!

- Lee

PS. I tested my IT and BBC documentary skills with the short clip below. The local monkey population drift through our neighbourhood quite often.