World School Wonders

Jack and Niki return to the beautiful South African wine country and spend a week in Stellenbosch. Jack attempts to provide a crash course in Stellenbosch history, but is it accurate?  And are either one of them capable of pronouncing anything in Afrikaans? 

In this 10-minute episode, Jack and Niki break the silence on what happened to World School for 4 and their travel adventures.  Will they ever experience long-term travel again?

If you love wine, Cape Town, South Africa is a great place to be! But with over 460 wine farms in the Western Cape alone, knowing where to go and how to avoid the typical tourist experience can be a challenge.

In this episode, Jack and Niki share the experience they cultivated in over five-and-a-half months living in Cape Town and visiting dozens of wine farms, from the more commercially successful to those that some South Africans don't even know about.

Listening for something specific?  Here is a guide to the conversation:
00:00     Intro
 04:25     Overview of South Africa Wine Growers (Jack's Classification)
 06:36     History of Wine Growing in South Africa
 08:26     Wine Regions Visited
 12:00     Stellenbosch and Franschhoek Comparison
 15:47     Stellenbosh Wine Farms Visited
 16:17     Villiera (wine farm with a game drive)
 16:55     Babylonstoren (family wine farm experience)
 19:15     Rupert & Rothschild (two famous families combine forces)
 22:56     Vrede en Lust (great wine with epic mountain views)
 26:00     Hartenberg (great lunch in Stellenbosch)
 28:29     Swartland Region: Org de Rac (organic wine farm)
 31:09     Cederberg (mountain wine growing)
 34:30     Other Highly Rated SA Wines (saved for another trip)
 35:15     Relatively Low-Cost Way to Import SA Wine into the US
 36:00     Constantia Wine Farms Visited
 37:23     Silvermist
 40:00     Eagle's Nest (great Shiraz)
 43:45     Constantia Glen (best views in Constantia)
 46:41     Beau Constantia (with a "loo with a view")
 49:40     Groot Constantia (most historic, famous wine)
 55:56     Klein Constantia (smaller competitive version of Groot Constantia)
 58:49     Steenberg (2-page tasting menu!)
 
For details and links, visit www.worldschoolforfour.com/podcasts.

Editorial Note: We misspoke about two important details in the podcast.  

First, the famous wine at Groot Constantia historically called "Constantia Wyn" is now called "Grand Constance."  The competitive version produced by Klein Constantia is called "Vin de Constance."

Second, the Rothschild family originated in Germany, not France.

Covid-19 decimated the travel industry in 2020, but Blaine Smith, Co-Founder of Reveler Tours in Cape Town, South Africa, reveals an unsuspected silver lining that's at the heart of why his company is so successful.

Using travel agents or tour guides is not always our thing. Our experiences have been hit or miss.

That is until we met Blaine Smith, the Co-Founder of Reveler Tours in Cape Town, South Africa.  Blaine and his partner Ryan have created something different – a company specializing in creating travel EXPERIENCES you’re not likely to find anywhere else. 

Whether you’re planning a visit to South Africa or simply looking for travel inspiration, this conversation is for you.

Check out the Reveler Tours website https://www.revelertours.com  or thumb through their Instagram feed @revelertravel or visit their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/revelertours. 

We’ll post photos from our travel with Reveler Tours on our website www.worldschoolforfour.com

Have a great travel companion story of your own? Drop us a line at [email protected]

Safe Journeys!

We wrap up our conversation with Al by exploring how Apartheid ended and what it was like for South Africans to process the harsh reality of government-sponsored human rights violations.  

And, as Niki tries to guide her family through a comparative conversation about race in America, she realizes that such conversations don't always go as envisioned.

Join us for the 2nd part in our 3-part conversation with our friend, Al, as he shares what it was like for a white South African male to understand the "real" South Africa and protest against it.

What did white South Africans know and understand about the treatment of non-whites during Apartheid? What was it like to apply for Conscientious Objector status (avoiding South African military service in townships and war zones), and what are the consequences of that status? And how do two 12-year old kids comprehend that story?

Don't forget to visit our website at https://worldschoolforfour.com/podcasts/ for more resources specific to this episode.  And if you'd like to share your thoughts on this conversation, send us an email at [email protected]. 

Living in South Africa has allowed us to explore Apartheid and understand what racism looks like in a country other than The United States. In Part 1 of this 3-part series, Niki interviews a close family friend, Al, a white South African male who grew up during Apartheid.
 
In this episode, Al describes the roots of Apartheid and how the South African government rationalized the policy.  Then, Jack and Niki reflect on the conversation with Thom and Emma.  How do two 12-year olds view racism?  How will Al's experiences influence our reaction to racism, and what do we get out of studying the uglier parts of history?

These are many of the questions we're exploring on our journey to being good citizens in a modern world.

Don't forget to visit our website at https://worldschoolforfour.com/podcasts/ for more resources specific to this episode.  And if you'd like to share your thoughts on this conversation, send us an email at [email protected]. 

We left out a few stories from Episode 1 describing what life is like in South Africa, so we thought we'd create a bonus episode to share them.  

Jack is a serious jokster, so it's not surprising that Thom and Emma offer their fair share of humor, too. You might need to listen to Episode 1 to fully understand the jokes.  We're sure you'll enjoy an additional 10 minutes of fun!

Season 2 of World School Wonders has begun! Jack, Niki, Thom, and Emma are back describing what life is like in South Africa for their 7-year old cousin living in Texas. 

Some of this content may sound boring to a 7-year old, so don't miss the bonus content and out-takes from this episode!