Let's talk about culture.
There are three main languages that you will most likely hear here in Port Elizabeth:: Xhosa (the clicking language ..pronounced something like 'clickhosa' -ask me when I get home, I'll do my best), Afrikaans (that is very closely related to Dutch, due to the Dutch who settled in South Africa a few hundred years ago), and English, from the English settlers that came just in the past 150 odd years.
This past weekend 4 of my good friends and I ventured up to Coffee Bay, about an hours drive away from a developed town (8 hours from PE), in the remote areas of SA, along the coast. We entered a new terrain that I hadn't experienced yet since being here. Coffee Bay is known for its peaceful nature, small tribes and just a few backpackers set up along the ocean to attract travelers to their peaceful quarters. Upon arrival we saw huts painted brightly pinks and greens, clothes hanging on the line and children running about, waving to each passing cars. While swerving between huge pot holes the last 70 kms we were able to enjoy the Wild Coast's top five animals: Cows, horses, goats, sheep and chickens, everywhere!
Excited to reach our destination we headed to the beach. Then, after soaking up a few rays we headed up to the showers and got ready for our adventure for the night. A few highlights were eating in the Xhosa village, which entailed trying the traditional homemade Xhosa beer... had a bit of a corn taste and was quite bitter to the taste. We were served it from a big 5 gallon jug and passed around big pitchers that we drank out of. We had a rice type of food with cabbage and a sauce that I thought was delicious. Then we had another type of pea/corn meal (there were two vegetarians in our group) and watched a few of the women from the village dance. We had an interesting almost hour of conversation, question/answer time period that was extremely informative. A few that stuck out to me was that I asked if anyone ever left the village.. you know, went to college or moved away to get another job or anything, and the reaction was almost surprise at such a question. Another fact that caught me off guard was that their number one job or means of employment and income there was tourism... Now there were 4/5 ladies who had their beaded jewelry hanging out right outside our backpackers, came up to us along the beach and followed us a bit, as well as children... there were kids who we were advised not to give money or sweets to (no dentist) unless they did something, like sing a song or a dance then we could give them a tip or take some of the travelers on a guided tour. Coffee Bay is a decently small place: 4 shops including a small convenient store that I don't really have a comparison for, a place to buy drums, a tshirt and jewelry place, then a craft post that was just about the same as the beads the ladies sold. Then there was also a pizza place we ate at Saturday night (delicious!), two backpackers, and maybe two other hotels... the farming that was done around there was done just for themselves... different, but beautiful. Their homes were built out of clay and after the bricks are put together and the straw for the roof is ready it only takes about a week to construct. They use manure on the ground and just have one room to be the living room, bedroom and kitchen. Something else that is interesting is that there isn't electricity. Not that the area isn't developed enough, because it is. But about 5 or 8 years ago there was someone who was really pushing for that area to get electricity, but those stubborn elders in the community, they decided to say no. Surprisingly, there was cell phone reception!
The next day we had an awesome tour guide who just loved us and about 30 others! and we went on a four hour hike to the 'hole in the wall' ...a natural hole that was created in the wall from the ocean!
Well, that took about an hour and a half to upload, hopefully it will all get uploaded and you can see an enjoy!
Possibly more later, depends how productive I am =)
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