The National Arts Festival

Today the Dream Team embarked on a trip to the National Arts Festival! It's one of the largest art festivals in the WORLD, with two weeks of nonstop theater, dance, operas, jazz shows, music, visual art exhibitions, lectures, poetry readings, musical theater, street shows, and pretty much anything else you can think of that expresses creativity. We all couldn't wait for our two day extravaganza!

The festival is held in Grahamstown, a picturesque 19th century style village. I loved the cottages, stone walls, stain glass, and Gothic style churches. It took us 10 hours to get there by car; the drive was sort of a sight seeing road trip across South Africa. For some pictures of the way there, check out our visual diary. We left at 9am and got to Grahamstown around 7pm to drop off our luggage at Whethu Backpackers, a small hostel close to downtown. Guess what? It had five beds!! Five!

At 9pm with the sun down, we walked through the crowded, tinkering streets and headed over to DSG Hall to see Intergalactic Rhythm Exchange play some jazz. When we got there, we grabbed our seats and settled in to hear some good music. The group was comprised of Norwegian percussionist Ottar Nesje, Dutch flute player Ronald Snijders, Cape Town pianist Hilton Schilder, Johannesburg trumpeter Prince Lengoasa, and Cape Town jazz professor Mike Campbell.

What they played was a form of Afro-Caribbean jazz that Snijders titled Kawinajazz. The music was a little weird at first, but we soon all started to really like it. It was cool to hear each member's musical background and heritage come out in their playing and in the entire group's sound. I'm sure glad we had the opportunity to come to this concert and hear these musicians.

We spent the rest of the night walking through the streets of the festival, looking at handmade crafts, marveling at eloquent paintings, laughing with street musicians, and talking with the vendors. There were so many different kinds of people in one place! We had such a great time celebrating and being a part of the art and culture of South Africa.

Posted by: Catherine and Forrest

World Cup

Today was our big day, the World Cup! We all woke up at ten except for me, I woke up at nine. I was the most excited and could barely get to sleep in my bathtub. We all got ready, ate breakfast, and headed out. We caught a bus at 11:30 to get to the Green Point Stadium. The game was at 1:00 and was United States vs. Ghana. I got the gang some snacks and a few drinks and got ready for the game to begin.

The game was very exciting with Ghana scoring in the first three minutes. The U.S. had a goal with forty-five seconds left in the half which tied the game at 1-1. The second half started and their was no action until the U.S. scored with sixteen minutes to go. Ghana answered back with two minutes left! The game went into two overtimes but the U.S. pulled out with a goal off a free kick outside the keeper’s box. The U.S. had won!!

After the game, we saw a crazy Ghana fan run out on the field and had to be wrestled down by security! That was exciting. We were all very excited and on our feet the whole time. We took a bus back to our hotel after an exhausting day. We got back at about 6:00 and got a quick bite to eat. Now we are chilling here for the rest of the night. What an exciting day!

Posted by: Tanner

Sutherland

South African skies have been called "one of the most breathtaking pallets on the planet."

After a wonderful, relaxing adventure on the coast, we took off on a four hour drive to Sutherland, South Africa--"the gateway to the universe." Sutherland is famous for several reasons. It is the coldest place in South Africa, it has the cleanest air with zero light pollution, and it is home to SALT, or Southern African Large Telescope. This is the largest telescope in the Southern Hemisphere, powerful enough to see a candle flame on the moon!

 

We learned that SALT is the largest telescope in the southern hemisphere because of its hexagonal mirror array eleven meters across. Carson said it seemed a lot like the Hobby-Eberly telescope in Texas, because she is the only one in our group that had been there. We also learned that the telescope was funded by partners from South Africa, the United States, Germany, Poland, India, the United Kingdom, and New Zealand.

It was now really dark, so we walked to a local park and spread out a big picnic blanket. Forrest brought us all hot chocolate to stay awake and Philip prided his boyscout knowledge on pointing out constellations.

 

Posted by: Catherine and Forrest

Boating Around Cape Town

We slept in really late because we were all tired from the concert. Still singing and humming Black Noise songs, we biked down to the coast and arrived at about noon.  We got some lunch at a great seafood restraunt. Tan had some smoked snoek, Carson had some crispy calamari, Forrest had some fried kinglip, Catherine had fish and chips with some fresh vegetables, and I had the catch of the day-barracuda.  Suprisingly, it was pretty good.

After strolling up and down the beach for a while, we came across a boat rental place and a bait shop.  Since jet skis are banned along the coast because they disturb the whales, we rented a pontoon boat and hit the water with Cokes, Twinkees, candy, a big bucket of chum, and some fishing poles.  All the sharks were very entertaining, but they werent exactly what we were fishing for.

       Check out this guy running from the shark we attracted!

Posted by: Philip

Black Noise = EPIC

When we got back from the Old Biscuit Mill and had our nap, (wonderful stuff) we headed out to the V&A Waterfront Amphitheater. This is where we saw Black Noise perform.

Black Noise is a rap group native to South Africa that puts on shows all over the area and in Europe as well. The group is made up of Emile Jahnsen (Emile XY), Angelo Van Wyk (DJ Thee Angelo), Denis Houpt (B-Boy Fly D), and Lester Philander (B-boy Lela). All members of the group have kept their birthdays "top secret".

It was one of the most explosive and awesome concerts any of us had been to in a while. There was tons of dancing and jumping around and everyone around us was going crazy. At one point one of the rappers jumped off the stage and started crowd surfing all around. This just seemed to fuel the partying.

While this might not have been your "traditional" African music, it was sure a fun show to go see. Even Carson, who on the way to the show could be heard mumbling, "I don't even like rap music," was having a good time. I think we all were having a good time.

We finally got back to the hotel at 3:30 in the morning, all extremely tired, and headed straight to bed. What a night.

Black Noise - Jackin My Fresh Feat. Lex One from Southern Fried Records on Vimeo.

Posted by: Forrest

The Old Biscuit Mill

After six days of being together in South Africa, we decided to go somewhere where we could split off and sort of do our own thing. Luckily, The Old Biscuit Mill was just the place.

Imagine a huge farmers market and a gigantic thrift store combined. Now add the smell of homemade desserts, fresh fruits and vegetables, and coffee. The Old Biscuit Mill was the coolest place! It was split into two sections: The Vintage Fair and the Neighborgoods Market. I explored the Fair first, where I found a village of designer shops, office spaces, cafes, and over 100 vendors who restocked every Sunday. They sold vintage clothes, records, posters, hand-made crafts, collectible pieces, and even home furniture! It was crazy. I ended up getting a colorful hand-sewn dress and some music at the vinyl record trading place. We were literally surrounded by the odds and ends of South Africa. The Vintage Fair slogan was: "Where Art and Life Meet Vintage Inspiration."

We met in the courtyard where we ate lunch with a few other people. In the middle of the courtyard was a beautiful charity wishing well. A few guys with drums and guitars were playing live music, so we ended up dancing! We all enjoyed the South African culture at the Old Biscuit Mill Vintage Fair.

The second half of the day was spent in the other section, the Neighborgoods Market. It had local produce, organic foods, cheeses, breads, fruits, and weird vegetables. Everything was so colorful and fresh! We decided to pick out the best foods for our refrigerator at home (the hotel). It was grocery shopping to the extreme. Now we can make delicious sandwiches and smoothies for the rest of our trip.

Then, after hours of exploring, shopping, marveling, tasting, laughing, and dancing, we hauled ourselves and our bags back home where we unpacked and crashed. Our little refrigerator was so happy to be filled, and we were glad to be back. After a lot of confusion over how to make dinner, multiple games of double solitaire, (and I actually took a nap), we are ready for our next adventure.

Posted by: Catherine

Our Day Hike at Table Mtn.

We woke up extra early to catch a taxi on our way to Table Mountain, Cape Town. Tan was freaking out about wolves or bears or something so we made him read the brochure. He told us there were 1470 different species of flora on the mountain, along with cliffs, flats, and slopes. Table mountain was great! It's very different from North Carolina Mountains; It was like nothing we've ever seen before.

I, being the Boy Scout, was elected to figure out where we were going. We summited the mountain through Platteklip Gorge, a prominent gorge in the center of the main table. It was a straightforward, direct ascent to the summit.  Even though it usually takes about two or three hours, it took us 5 because THEY ALL WENT SOOOOOO SLOWLY!  Not even close to regular walking speed.  I don't know what their problems are.

Anyway, once we reached the peak, we had lunch and took a break.  The view of South Africa was beautiful! It made the long hike worthwhile for everyone.  We hiked back down to the lower, steeper side of the mountain and WENT CAVING!  It was so fun to hang out in a cave; I had never been in one all on my own.  We explored around for a while, then made camp. Before we went hiking, we got our takeout meal from Wakame in Mouille Point and ordered our traditional meal from South Africa, and took it in brown paper bags and ate at the top of the mountain on a flat rock. This was the best day yet in my opinion.

Posted by: Philip

The Man of Post-Apartheid South Africa

Today our group went to the Nelson Mandela National Museum in Mthatha, Eastern Cape, South Africa. It was a very interesting and intriguing trip that was definitely a lot more fun then we thought it would be. When Catherine said, “Oh, we’re going to a museum,” I am sure you can imagine the groans.

We learned all about Mandela and his lifelong dedication to fighting against racial oppression in South Africa. He was head of the anti-apartheid movement and was a big force in moving the country to a multiracial government and majority rule. He was released from prison in 1990 and later went on to win the Nobel Peace Prize and become the president of the nation. An interesting quote from Nelson we found while walking through the museum was this one, said in June 1964:

“During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to this
struggle of the African people, I have fought against
white domination, and I have fought against black
domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic
and free society in which all persons live together in
harmony and with equal opportunities.”

Our two favorite things in the Museum were seeing the exhibits in the Bhunga Building (Picture At Top) and seeing Mvezo, Nelson Mandela’s birthplace. In the Bhunga Building we saw the Long Walk to Freedom exhibit, which was a story of Mandela’s life in his own words. It was very interesting to see an autobiography set up in an exhibit like this. It was cool learning about him from his own perspective.

The other thing that we really enjoyed was seeing Mvezo, his birthplace, because of the amount of natural beauty there. Here we got to see the remains of Mandela’s hut where he was born, which was in a very rural and generally poor area. (See Below Picture.) This left us feeling that no person’s life is predetermined because of what he is given.

Overall, this visit to the Nelson Mandela National Museum was a very good experience for our group and it helped us learn and appreciate a lot about the history of South Africa.

Posted by: Forrest

Long Street, Dresses, and Cafes

We are here: Cape Town, SA!

Today we spent a day shopping and lounging around on Long Street, Cape town. We all awoke at 10:00 after a long flight. This task was a bit difficult considering Tanner would not get out of the bathtub, and we ended up turning on the ice cold water on his head. After we were all dry, awake, and dressed, we went downstairs and had our continental breakfast.

The first store we went to was Africa Nova, where we looked at hand crafted ceramics, paintings, and jewlery. It was so fun to explore the culture of South Africa through the street. Long Street is one of the oldest streets in Cape Town, and it's known for its bohemian stores and cafes. We walked through endless bead shops and thrift stores. The boys didn't want to spend all day watching Cathrine and I try on every dress in Long Street, so they split off to go to the Reader's Den Bookshop. Cathrine and I ducked into Kluk & CGDT, this gorgeous dress store.

At 12:30, we met up again at the local restaurant, Long Street Cafe, where we ate lunch. Afterwords, we laughed and lounged around until about dusk when we went to Cafe Mozart for dinner. We enjoyed this because they had beautiful art and music. We then caught a taxi down to the Canal Walk, where we dropped our tired feet in the water and watched the beautiful scenery of South Africa. This was a day well spent.

Posted by: Carson

The Bathtub

Last night, I had to sleep in the bathtub. Wow. The bathtub wasn't a bad bed considering I had a dozen pillows. The main problem was the length of the tub. I couldn't stretch out so I had to sleep curled up in a ball. I begged someone else to sleep in the tub, but I was the shortest so it was agreed I had to. I got a few hours of sleep, but was woken up constantly when someone got up to use the bathroom. I was finally getting into a deep slumber when I was awoken by Catherine asking to take a shower. My legs and back were stiff, but the stiffness eventually let up. That's what I get for having to curl up in a ball all night. This is going to be a long ten days.

Posted by: Tanner