Weekend in J'bay
I want to say a little about my host family, since they’ve been wonderful. Linda is the mother, as well as one of my cooperating teachers. She is one of the nicest women I’ve ever met, and she keeps busy with all kinds of activities at school. She also takes very good care of the family, but with so much on her mind, she worries a lot. Rob is her husband. He used to be a classical musician but is now in his second year of teaching geography. He’s British, and very self-depreciating in a funny way. He’s also very nice, and I enjoy talking to him. However, he would starve, get lost, and forget everything if it wasn’t for Linda (and he will tell you this himself, too). They’re a very happy couple and I really enjoy living with them. David is Linda’s 18 year old son. He just started at the university and he is acting in Much Ado About Nothing, which starts at the park this week. And Jodie is Linda’s 13 year old daughter, who goes to Alex. She entertains us by chattering about gossip and going to hip hop dance classes. She is an incredibly busy girl: going to school an hour early for band or water polo, and not leaving until 5 or later.
On Thursday there was a dinner/concert fundraiser at the school. The school’s Afro-Jazz band opened, and David Goldblum and Colin Lyall (brother of my host father) were playing. When we got to the school, Beauty (the teacher who rents the flat attached to the house, she drives me to school in the morning) and I walked into the school’s cafeteria, called the “heart,” to a beautifully transformed room: each table had tablecloths with flower centrepieces and candles that lit the room. We sat in the semi-darkness and enjoyed our picnic dinner while the Afro-jazz band played. The band is made up of 5 male students, in grades 11 and 12, who formed the band last year for their music assessment at the end of the year. It is amazing how well they play at such a young age. At one point they began playing the South African national anthem, a slow, patriotic tune, and then suddenly burst into a rousing, hand-clapping beat that had people dancing in their seats and which Linda described as being very “ethnic.” Next David Goldblum began playing. He was onstage singing with only his guitar, and he has an incredible voice. It was a very mellow kind of rock music. Colin and another gentleman (I’m not sure who it was) joined him with an electric guitar and a hand-drum to keep the beat. He played a song that I really like now, called “Say Africa,” about being in Europe and homesick for Africa.
This weekend I took a trip to Jeffrey’s Bay, one of best surfing beaches in the world. Dan, Andy (another American student teacher from Chicago), and I drove up with Dan and Andy’s host family. They dropped us off on Friday morning and left us there until Sunday. Somehow they found this amazing flat that was a half a block from the beach (with only the neighbor’s backyard separating us from the beach), a gorgeous view, cheap rent, and a great landlady. As soon as we had carried our bags up the stairs to our 5 room flat (2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, and a living room with a balcony stretching all the way around), the landlady and her husband invited us down for lunch. They were Afrikaans, and had amazing stories to tell about the town. The three of us took the afternoon to walk around this small town and down the beach. We stopped at some of the local craft stores, and the boys made me stop at a skatepark that was on the roof of a building. There, we started talking to a man named Steve, who was friendly enough to recommend some restaurants and safety tips (don’t walk along the beach at night). We mentioned surfing, and he walked us down the road to the surf school and helped us set up an appointment for lessons the next day. This is my favorite part about South Africa: the friendly people. Everyone is so willing to talk to you and lend a hand. Many people will even go out of their own way to help you out. Also, being American, when I go out with friends or meet new people, I always have someone to talk to because they have so many questions for me. It’s almost like being a celebrity.
We ate dinner that night at Kitchen Windows, a very nice restaurant recommended to us by Steve. By the end of dinner, we had discovered that our very friendly waiter, Chaul, was actually our surfing instructor for the next day as well. It’s a small world, isn’t it?
The next morning, we woke up early for our surfing lesson. I realized that the first time I would ever be in the ocean, I would be on a surfboard in the Indian Ocean: something I never imagined myself doing. We surfed for 2 hours, completely tiring ourselves out. (I almost managed to stand up a few times before toppling over in the water) It was definitely a lot of fun, and I’m going to make time to rent a surfboard here in P.E. so I can get a little more practice.
Our wonderful landlady caught us on our way in from the beach and gave us half of a cake before offering to take us on a car ride around the bay. We jumped in and were treated to a an interesting tour: after passing the townships, we came upon huge, sprawling mansions set on the sea. These houses are mostly owned by doctors and professors in Jo’burg, and sit empty most of the year. It’s amazing that there’s such extravagant wealth sitting right next to the townships.
The rest of our stay in J’bay was spent relaxing on the beach and in the fabulous restaurants. It’s a very charming little town and I hope I get a chance to visit again before I leave.
On Thursday there was a dinner/concert fundraiser at the school. The school’s Afro-Jazz band opened, and David Goldblum and Colin Lyall (brother of my host father) were playing. When we got to the school, Beauty (the teacher who rents the flat attached to the house, she drives me to school in the morning) and I walked into the school’s cafeteria, called the “heart,” to a beautifully transformed room: each table had tablecloths with flower centrepieces and candles that lit the room. We sat in the semi-darkness and enjoyed our picnic dinner while the Afro-jazz band played. The band is made up of 5 male students, in grades 11 and 12, who formed the band last year for their music assessment at the end of the year. It is amazing how well they play at such a young age. At one point they began playing the South African national anthem, a slow, patriotic tune, and then suddenly burst into a rousing, hand-clapping beat that had people dancing in their seats and which Linda described as being very “ethnic.” Next David Goldblum began playing. He was onstage singing with only his guitar, and he has an incredible voice. It was a very mellow kind of rock music. Colin and another gentleman (I’m not sure who it was) joined him with an electric guitar and a hand-drum to keep the beat. He played a song that I really like now, called “Say Africa,” about being in Europe and homesick for Africa.
This weekend I took a trip to Jeffrey’s Bay, one of best surfing beaches in the world. Dan, Andy (another American student teacher from Chicago), and I drove up with Dan and Andy’s host family. They dropped us off on Friday morning and left us there until Sunday. Somehow they found this amazing flat that was a half a block from the beach (with only the neighbor’s backyard separating us from the beach), a gorgeous view, cheap rent, and a great landlady. As soon as we had carried our bags up the stairs to our 5 room flat (2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, and a living room with a balcony stretching all the way around), the landlady and her husband invited us down for lunch. They were Afrikaans, and had amazing stories to tell about the town. The three of us took the afternoon to walk around this small town and down the beach. We stopped at some of the local craft stores, and the boys made me stop at a skatepark that was on the roof of a building. There, we started talking to a man named Steve, who was friendly enough to recommend some restaurants and safety tips (don’t walk along the beach at night). We mentioned surfing, and he walked us down the road to the surf school and helped us set up an appointment for lessons the next day. This is my favorite part about South Africa: the friendly people. Everyone is so willing to talk to you and lend a hand. Many people will even go out of their own way to help you out. Also, being American, when I go out with friends or meet new people, I always have someone to talk to because they have so many questions for me. It’s almost like being a celebrity.
We ate dinner that night at Kitchen Windows, a very nice restaurant recommended to us by Steve. By the end of dinner, we had discovered that our very friendly waiter, Chaul, was actually our surfing instructor for the next day as well. It’s a small world, isn’t it?
The next morning, we woke up early for our surfing lesson. I realized that the first time I would ever be in the ocean, I would be on a surfboard in the Indian Ocean: something I never imagined myself doing. We surfed for 2 hours, completely tiring ourselves out. (I almost managed to stand up a few times before toppling over in the water) It was definitely a lot of fun, and I’m going to make time to rent a surfboard here in P.E. so I can get a little more practice.
Our wonderful landlady caught us on our way in from the beach and gave us half of a cake before offering to take us on a car ride around the bay. We jumped in and were treated to a an interesting tour: after passing the townships, we came upon huge, sprawling mansions set on the sea. These houses are mostly owned by doctors and professors in Jo’burg, and sit empty most of the year. It’s amazing that there’s such extravagant wealth sitting right next to the townships.
The rest of our stay in J’bay was spent relaxing on the beach and in the fabulous restaurants. It’s a very charming little town and I hope I get a chance to visit again before I leave.
posted by Katie | 7:52 AM
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