We left early this morning for our weekend trip to Cape Town.
Believe it or not, I rode an ostrich today... just imagine that for a second. It was a lot of fun but kind of scary. You're supposed to grab onto its wings and lean back but, of course, I didn't follow directions exactly and ended up rolling off the front of ostrich. Good times.
We also visited the Cango Caves en route to Cape Town. They were beautiful and definitely worth our time.
Right now I'm in our backpacker's lodge about to hit the sack. It's about an 8 hour drive from PE to Cape Town so we're all pretty tired.
Tomorrow morning we're are going to tour Robben Island, the prison where Nelson Mandela was held for a little over 25 years before being released in 1990. We've been studying all about the apartheid era and have focused on the resistance movement throughout the 90s so it will be interesting to learn more about Mandela's time on the island.
Until later...
-Alex
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Monday, July 6, 2009
Just Now
I would like to point out the one cultural difference that has bothered me the most. The concept of the word NOW. To South Africans now means in a little bit or latter. They often use the term "Just Now." When we first heard this phrase we were very baffled and began to do the thing immediately which is not what they wanted us to do. Their concept of now can be broadened to even say that they have a completely different view of time. They may say, "O the bus will be here in 20 minutes." What this really means is an hour and a half later the bus will arrive. Another example would be when they say,"you can sleep in till 9:00," and then wake us up at 8:00 and tell us the bus is here but really only one bus is here and we rush and pack all our stuff for the weekend ahead and end up sitting on the sidwalk for 20 minutes. Why? we are waiting on another bus.....
these are actuall occurances
Sincerly,
-the very punctual Tall One
these are actuall occurances
Sincerly,
-the very punctual Tall One
Nat'l Arts Festival
Yesterday we got back from the National Art's Festival in Grahamstown. I had an awesome time. To kind of give you an idea about the scope of this festival, I heard a statistic from a lady I met at one of the shows that stated if you were to attend every performance and exhibit offered from start to finish back to back it would take take you 5 months and some odd days. It was absolutely amazing! There was music, dance, theatre, visual art, poetry, street performances, vendors, circus type entertainment, and a lot more. Most people from SA plan months in advance before coming to the festival and plan each and every day: choose what to see, buy the tickets, plan out on the map where to go, etc. We, on the other hand, had absolutely no time to plan and we're kind of thrown into the who experience without much knowledge of what was going on. Fortunately, I made the best of it and somehow ended up with tickets to a couple of really entertaining and interesting shows. The first night was arranged by our university coordinator. We saw a comedy entitled "Learner Husband" which was kind of awkward considering none of us are married, but, for the most part, was very entertaining. Next, a few of us went and saw a jazz performance. It started with a young jazz choir, followed by a high-school jazz band, and concluded with a performance by a very well-known and talented University band from Cape Town. The whole performance was entertaining, but I especially enjoyed the college group. Jazz is always a lot of fun so we had a good time.
The next day I split from the group and saw a performance entitled "Intersections" that featured two small ensembles, one from Switzerland and one from South Africa. It was strange, to say the least. The Swiss musicians played some of the most modern, new-age, interpretive music I've ever heard while the South African groups played some of the most simple, yet powerful music I've ever heard. It was cool and I'm definitely glad I got to experience it. I also saw a Steel Drum ensemble from a prestigious all-boys music high school in South Africa. They played a variety of songs including american pop, big band swing, south african jazz, some of Gershwin's "Porgy and Bess, and songs from "The Lion King". They had an atlo sax, a trombone, and a trumpet in the band as well who would solo from time to time. The whole band was really talented and their show was very entertaining.
Enough of the music rant. We continue our lectures and community service this week then head to Cape Town this weekend!
Until later...
-Alex
The next day I split from the group and saw a performance entitled "Intersections" that featured two small ensembles, one from Switzerland and one from South Africa. It was strange, to say the least. The Swiss musicians played some of the most modern, new-age, interpretive music I've ever heard while the South African groups played some of the most simple, yet powerful music I've ever heard. It was cool and I'm definitely glad I got to experience it. I also saw a Steel Drum ensemble from a prestigious all-boys music high school in South Africa. They played a variety of songs including american pop, big band swing, south african jazz, some of Gershwin's "Porgy and Bess, and songs from "The Lion King". They had an atlo sax, a trombone, and a trumpet in the band as well who would solo from time to time. The whole band was really talented and their show was very entertaining.
Enough of the music rant. We continue our lectures and community service this week then head to Cape Town this weekend!
Until later...
-Alex
Friday, July 3, 2009
Monday, June 29, 2009
Farm Life
Sorry about the break in posting, we've been really busy but are having an incredible time. This weekend was, for me, the coolest experience we've had yet. On Thursday we loaded up for a long weekend in Grahamstown and two nights on "the farm," as our itenerary put it. We were all a little weary of our weekend on "the farm" but all left with a newfound respect for farm life in South Africa.
We started the trip with a stop at a local farm stall/market type building with local produce and an awesome bakery. We pretty much all had this type of grilled bread that they're well known for and it was delicious. After that we headed to Grahamstown where we had a sort of history lecture from a local historian. He basically told us the complete history of SA in under two hours and made it very interesting... Trey has video of him saying a Xhosa nursery rhyme that is supposed to teach children all of the click sounds within the language. We'll try and get some of those posted, but internet is definitely not as fast or easy to come by as in the States.
After that we ate lunch then went to ILAM (International Library of African Music) and we're introduced to a lot of traditional african instruments such as the finger piano, xylophone, djembe, and some others I can't remember the name for. I actually got the chance to play on a very oild and large xylophone type instrument with the local musician with Hope and it was really cool. A lot of the instruments could only play one or two notes so music making seemed to be a very communal thing in the traditional communities. And for those who are interested, a lot of the tuning was pentatonic which was surprising to me.
After our museum tour we went back for a relaxing evening in our nice hotel then dinner at a local pub. I got some tea at a local coffee shop called "The Mad Hatter" and the walls were all painted with scenes from "Alice in Wonderland."
The next morning we had breakfast and headed to "the farms." The ride there was long and bumpy but once we arrived I think we all were very happy to be there. It would take days to talk about everything we did but I'll try and cover the high points. First off we met Winnie and Manus who own a large and diverse farm with sheep, goats, dairy cows, angora sheep, and just about every farm animal you can think of: chickens, ducks, geese, rock rabbits, kudu (huge horse like animal with horns), turkey, dogs, cats, monkeys, and a lot more I'm sure. Farm life is, from what I could tell, a nice way to make a living in South Africa. Both couples seemed to live a very comfortable life and we were treated like kings. Everyday we had a full three meals a day along with afternoon tea/coffee. One night we had a traditional chicken stew that they cooked over hot coals in a brick oven, and one night we had grilled steak and potatoes. During the day we got to experience life on the farm. The two couples employ around 12 workers each who live on the farm. Manus and Francois (the other man) let us milk cows, showed us how to sheer sheep for the wool, took us on a late-night game drive, and toured us around their huge plots of land. For me, the coolest part was Francois' game room. Let me just say, this man is a serious hunter. In this relatively small wooden cabin structure he has just about every animal mounted to the wall you can think of (barring the traditional american game like elk, white-tail, and moose) such as a giraffe (yes, I'm serious), zebra, springbok, warthog, wildabeast, fellow deer, antelope, kudu, and a lot more I can't think of. We have pictures though and they definitely speak a thousand words.
The are surrounding the farms was breathtaking. Pictures won't do it justice but the views from just about any place on the farm were incredible. We also got to see snow up the mountain, believe it or not.
Another part of our trip the past couple days has been South African sports. We finally understand and, personally, enjoy watching rugby. The FIFA Confederation Cup also ended last night with Brazil beating the U.S. but its been a lot of fun to watch.
Everyone is doing well and missing home at least a little bit. We went to the market yesterday and everybody seems to be purchasing some wonderful gifts for the folks back home, so get excited.
Alright, it's been a long post and we have another lecture in about an hour.
Until later...
-Alex
We started the trip with a stop at a local farm stall/market type building with local produce and an awesome bakery. We pretty much all had this type of grilled bread that they're well known for and it was delicious. After that we headed to Grahamstown where we had a sort of history lecture from a local historian. He basically told us the complete history of SA in under two hours and made it very interesting... Trey has video of him saying a Xhosa nursery rhyme that is supposed to teach children all of the click sounds within the language. We'll try and get some of those posted, but internet is definitely not as fast or easy to come by as in the States.
After that we ate lunch then went to ILAM (International Library of African Music) and we're introduced to a lot of traditional african instruments such as the finger piano, xylophone, djembe, and some others I can't remember the name for. I actually got the chance to play on a very oild and large xylophone type instrument with the local musician with Hope and it was really cool. A lot of the instruments could only play one or two notes so music making seemed to be a very communal thing in the traditional communities. And for those who are interested, a lot of the tuning was pentatonic which was surprising to me.
After our museum tour we went back for a relaxing evening in our nice hotel then dinner at a local pub. I got some tea at a local coffee shop called "The Mad Hatter" and the walls were all painted with scenes from "Alice in Wonderland."
The next morning we had breakfast and headed to "the farms." The ride there was long and bumpy but once we arrived I think we all were very happy to be there. It would take days to talk about everything we did but I'll try and cover the high points. First off we met Winnie and Manus who own a large and diverse farm with sheep, goats, dairy cows, angora sheep, and just about every farm animal you can think of: chickens, ducks, geese, rock rabbits, kudu (huge horse like animal with horns), turkey, dogs, cats, monkeys, and a lot more I'm sure. Farm life is, from what I could tell, a nice way to make a living in South Africa. Both couples seemed to live a very comfortable life and we were treated like kings. Everyday we had a full three meals a day along with afternoon tea/coffee. One night we had a traditional chicken stew that they cooked over hot coals in a brick oven, and one night we had grilled steak and potatoes. During the day we got to experience life on the farm. The two couples employ around 12 workers each who live on the farm. Manus and Francois (the other man) let us milk cows, showed us how to sheer sheep for the wool, took us on a late-night game drive, and toured us around their huge plots of land. For me, the coolest part was Francois' game room. Let me just say, this man is a serious hunter. In this relatively small wooden cabin structure he has just about every animal mounted to the wall you can think of (barring the traditional american game like elk, white-tail, and moose) such as a giraffe (yes, I'm serious), zebra, springbok, warthog, wildabeast, fellow deer, antelope, kudu, and a lot more I can't think of. We have pictures though and they definitely speak a thousand words.
The are surrounding the farms was breathtaking. Pictures won't do it justice but the views from just about any place on the farm were incredible. We also got to see snow up the mountain, believe it or not.
Another part of our trip the past couple days has been South African sports. We finally understand and, personally, enjoy watching rugby. The FIFA Confederation Cup also ended last night with Brazil beating the U.S. but its been a lot of fun to watch.
Everyone is doing well and missing home at least a little bit. We went to the market yesterday and everybody seems to be purchasing some wonderful gifts for the folks back home, so get excited.
Alright, it's been a long post and we have another lecture in about an hour.
Until later...
-Alex
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Molo (greetings in isiXhosa)
The trip is going really well. We have done so much in just a little over a week. I still can't believe we went shark diving...its was out of controll! Durring the week we get the oppurtunity to sit and listen to some very stimulating lectures. However the lectures tend to last two hours which is very grulling for our minds and bodies to say the least. We have learned a little of isiXhosa which is the second most used language out of the 9 national languages. Everyone pretty much speaks english (brittish english that is) so communication has not been that hard. We have an excursion to a farm this weekend which should prove to be very interesting so I look forward to that. As soon as the interenet in our rooms gets up and running I will attempt to upload some videos so get excited.
uhambe kakuhle (go well)
-The Tall One
uhambe kakuhle (go well)
-The Tall One
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