A Trip to J-Bay a Dream Come True

Last week after the wedding i realized had had a week and a half of nothing scheduled. The students had the time off so there would be no after school program and I wouldn’t be able to start at Amasango till after the holiday. I decided that I needed to seize this opportunity and do a little traveling. The place that has been on the top of my  traveling destination list is Jeffrey’s Bay. That night i hoped on a bus and took the two and a half hour bus trip to Jeffrey's Bay. I arrived just before mid night and waited for a cab for an hour to take me what turned out to be only a twenty-five minute walk. The next day I got the chance to go surfing with three other guys who were staying at the backpackers with me. We were all there for the same reason. J-bay is the surfing Mecca of Africa and none throughout the world for its supertubes and the dolphins  which surf the waves with you. Below are pictures of the supertubes and of two of the friends i made at the backpackers i stayed at, the one on the left is Ignacio from Chile and the one on the right was Yota from Japan they were both backpacking through South Africa Surfing. I also met Mike who was from Westchester county and the three of us went surfing every morning starting early. The third day we got a ride to Cape St. Francis and St. Francis Bay.

On the last day the four of us went to St. Francis bay which was my favorite spot we went to. Its where the movie Endless Summer was actually filmed and where they supposedly found the perfect wave according to the infamous movie.This picture is of me in front of Bruce’s Wave “The Perfect Wave”.

This is a picture of my friends and I paddling out in Cape St. Francis, just north of St. Francis Bay.

  I have to admit that I did not believe that there were Penguins in South Africa, my sister Madison and I got in a big argument about this before I left she even looked it up and i did not believe her….There you go Maddy I have been proven wrong!!  This place was by far the most amazing place I have ever traveled to, I look forward to much more traveling especially in this amazing province of the eastern cape!!

A Big Traditional Xhosa Wedding

 

After being in Grahamstown for only a few hours I was invited to a wedding!!! I really don’t know if i could be any luckier. Ntobekhaya Is the head teacher at the after school program. When Matt took me to meet her my first afternoon in Grahamstown I met here daughter Thembesa, with in seconds of meeting me she invited Matt and I to her wedding which was this past Wednesday. It was a traditional Xhosa wedding what an experience! There was a small catch to our save the date, we needed to bring our cameras and take as many photos as possible. This was fine with me, this way i wouldn’t feel rude taking pictures of everything. We met everyone at Ntobekhaya’s were most of the women were dressed in traditional wear some even with their faces painted. everyone was singing an dancing out side the house waiting for Thembesa to come out. Then when she was ready the women went inside and lead here out singing and dancing.

We then all walked to our decorated cars and in a caravan  with are warning lights blinking honked are way through the township on our way to the Methodist church.

When we got there the grooms family was there singing and dancing as well.The bride and here family (still singing and dancing) went to the back of the church while the groom’s family was in the front by the altar singing and dancing but to different songs. then Instead of the whole father walking the daughter down the isle, her father walked her down the isle but her entire family was behind them singing. Later in the service after the vows, the two families start out on opposite sides of the front singing different songs then they slowly join together singing and dancing to the same song. The rest of the time the two families sing the same songs as one.

It was the coolest wedding I've ever been to. The way the songs are all songs they’ve known from a early age and they know hundreds by heart. Something that important in a culture used to symbolize not only the joining of two families but the creation of a new family. I only hope that I will have more opportunities like this one it was truly something very special and something i will remember for ever.

Still Walking,

Robby