Jay Bay, South Africa

I just recently returned from Jeffery’s Bay, South Africa.  This was hands down on of the best trips I have ever taken. I went there with one mission…LEARN HOW TO SURF. And thats exactly what I did.

Surfing is everything in Jay Bay. The whole community is built around it. Almost everywhere I went the first line of the converstation was “how are the waves today?”

I went there with full intention of taking “proper” surf lessons. But after meeting some local surfers a couple of sessions with them was worth more than any surf instructor could have given me… no problems!”  So I bought myself a board, wetsuit, and a leash. And the adventure began!.

So the gave me the basic 1,2,3 of surfing and off we go. Now, the first thing I underestimated about surfing (especially when paddling out with guys who surf everyday) is how much effort it takes to paddle out. Basically after getting 1) smashed by waves,2)  falling, 3) paddling, doing this 15x for about 4 hours- you arms begin to feel like mashpotatoes. 

This is how my first 3 days of surfing went. On my fourth day something glorious happened. I paddled for a wave, caught it, stood up and rode it in! I am not good enough with words to decribe that feeling but I will do my best. It is great!

As a first time surfer- my experience was great. 1) I learn how to surf  without paying for lessons but rather by going out with  great people who knew not only how to surf but knew the local breaks and knew exactly what the waves were going to do. 2) I got to learn how to surf in Jay Bay! A place where people travel from all over the world to surf. If you have seen the famous surf movie “The Endless Summer” by Bruce Brown then you know how amazing this is. 3) Lastly, a awesome guy and local surfer  hooked me up with an incredible used 6′10 board from Jay Bay Surf Company, leash, and bag  for a ridiculous cheap price. 4) I got to do all this with someone I love and with incredible people  I met along the way.

I am love with surfing. My next trip is surfing Mozambique in June! No wetsuit required !

So if you are ever in Jeffery’s Bay South Africa here are some tips: Here are some pics from the Island Vibe website: (in my 7 days there I took zero pics ahahah! What can I say you cant stop the fun for a pic http://www.islandvibe.co.za/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2&Itemid=3

 

1) Island Vibe Packers is legit..you will meet people from all over the world and the bar staff are hella cool.

2) The resturant “The Greek” has some of the best red wine I have ever tasted.

3) Hit up the “Wax Cafe” at night to check out a chill hooka bar that rocks tunes from Bob Marley, The Red Hot Chillipeppers, Jack Johnson and others.

“oh its easy, we only have to cross 3 rivers”

Where to begin…

Things have been going well here in Lesotho. This past weekend I was able to travel to Buta-Buta and conduct a business training for a group of Basotho who are planning on starting a pigery. The class went well and I had a great time hanging out with my friend Kristen.

That same day we decided to try and head back to the Maseru. While walking to the taxi stop near her village it began to rain. Thinking that the rain would stop we just contined walking. Two 1/2 hours later it was still raining and we were still walking.  The interest thing is that when it rains the taxi drivers may or may not decide work that day. What do you do in the situation? Then answer is simple, you wait:). And that is exactly what we did.

After waiting for a taxi by the side of the road in the rain for another hour, we finally were able to catch a ride. After riding on  2 taxi’s  and catching 2 hitch’s we finally made to our destination.  You learn a lot about yourself while traveling in Africa. You learn just how far you mind and body can stretch.

There comes a moment when all you can do is sit and smile. You then take a deap breath and remind yourself to sink deep into the moment. Always being conscious that  you may never get to experience something both equally hillarious and agonizing again.

Today is progressive…cheers

Now Breath:)

Andre D. Essue

“i’m right here where i’m suppose to be”

I  know it has been some time since my last post butt…I have been on some uhmazing adventures and will use them as my absentee pass. lets see where to begin…

first- i spent Christmas at a Malealea (dont know if it is spelled right and really dont care) lodge in Lesotho. It was uhmazing- we had a open kitchen which was shared by all the back packers. I can estimate about 40 people where in our area. I got to meet people from Italy, France, Germany, and the U.S. We played, we talked, and we chilled the most.

On the 27th of December I headed to Durban, South Africa. Durban is a coastal city and it is freaking fantastical.

day 1: I went to the Aquarium and saw every dope creatures of the sea. my 2 favorites…1) Dolphins (the dolphin show was ridic) and 2) Sharks (i heart them haholo)

day 1 continued: I went a water park in Durban. Now this was no ordinary water park. in the states you have rules ..u cant do that, or you have to go down the slide at this time blah blah blah. Well my friends at this water park there was only one rule…No Standing On the slide. Therefore me any my peeops did the slides backwards, headfirst, spinning (I highly recommend) and every other way possible. Also the life guards at park did not tell you when to go…nope just go- this = no lines at all. I did every slide at least 3x. BAM THANK YOU MAM.

day 2: went something like this… eat seafood, swim in ocean, take nap on beach, eat seafood, swim in ocean, take nap on beach…that night we went to a club called Joe Cool’s. I will not waste my brain cells writing about Joe Cool’s. I will say this….watching people dance to techno/ house music makes me want to evaporate into space.

day 3: I went down to the Indian market. I sampled every spice known to man, and I eat my body weight in curried food. I also went to the aparthied museum that day- and had a great learning experience. This was followed by a trip to the Art Museum, and to the local street market). That night we celebrated our friends bday at the hostel. The hostel we stayed at was called “happy hippo” and it was incredible. The staff was great, the bartender was great (big ups Don- best bartender ever!), and the place was kept in incredible shape.

The rest of the days were great! but I feel that mentioning my new years eve night must happen..me and the gang went to a local place called “The Groove”. 1) we got in free, 2) the music was rockedout 3) every single person in the place was dancing and dancing good 4) i danced so hard the next morning i couldnt walk and 5) we returned back to the hostel continued to dance till the sun came up and put on our swim trucks and hit the beach!! happy freaking new years!!

well thats all for now- my internet minutes are up so i am out.

Today is progressive…cheers!

Thanksgiving in Africa!

So i got to spend this past Thanksgiving in a small rural Lesotho town called Bethel. Me and 15 friends got to rock out to our very own Thanksgiving feast. 1) we arrived and were bombarded with water ballons. 2) My friend then pulled the Turkey (who was still alive R.I.P Turk) out of her book bag. 3) Then we killed it with an axe. 4) plucked it 5) cleaned it. 6) Then eat it!! it was awesome.

After some cold refreshments we headed to the local football pitch to play some American football. The local Basotho had never seen the sport of American Football. Therefore within minutes the field was surronded by a large amount of children laughing, and cheering for each team. It was a remarkable event and will always make me laugh!

History!

Throughout my life I have read books, watched movies, or listen to my elders talk about America’s historical moments. I can only hope, pray, wish, beg, and plead that this time tomorrow I will be able to say that I was living when history was made.

Not being in America during this time- one would think that the energy, excitement, and hype would not effect me. But I am here to tell you in a small camptown called TY located in the small country of Lesotho- there is so much energy you can feel it. Walking down the small main road today, I have already had a dozen Basotho approach me telling me that they are praying for Senator Obama to become the next President of the Free World.

I am here am to tell my fellow Americans that every single decision we as a country makes impacts  the rest of the world. The rest of the world is looking to us for “A New Hope”. So please lets give it to them!

ButhaBotha

This past weekend I was able to visit Buthabotha (BB). This was an incredible trip. I stayed with a friend who lives in BB village. The view was amazing and the landscape was extremely green. On Saturday I went on a 3 hour long hike, where I got to explore some caves and with the help of a local villager I got to see some actual cave paintings. We had no way of knowing exactly how old the paintings were (i forgot my carbon dating kit at home ahha), but they were cool none the less. I have some great pics of the trip but left my camera in BB. Will post as soon as i get it back.

For here are some pics of my new and improved place- note the uhhmazing book shelf haha.

Morija festival

This past weekend I attended the annual Lesotho Morija Festival. It was a very good experience. There were not as many Arts and Crafts as I hoped there would be, but it was a very nice environmnent. Unfortunatley I missed the traditional dancing but I did get to see the talent show! Which was highlighted by a young group of break dancers who were amazing. So overall the festival was a good experience.

I also got to help paint a mural at the local Saint Agnus School. I will be posting pictures of the finished mural soon.

So long for now.

Hip- Hop will never die- as long as poverty is still alive…

I have been listening to rap/hip-hop since I can remember. Through out my life I have learned to like and appreciate other genre’s of music.  The longer I am on this planet the more i dis-like/ disagree with many of the messages presented in rap. But at the end of the day it is a part of who i am. There are numerous albums and songs which serve as a photo album of my life. I can tell you exactly where I was and what I was doing when I bought my first N.W.A album and Beastie Boys tape. Many of my most cherished memories are can be linked to a rap song.

Moving to Lesotho I was not sure what to expect of the music scene. The majority of the music played here is Techno/ R & B/ and Traditional Basotho music. But even here in a economically developing country which most people in the states could not even find on a map, the influence of hip/hop and rap are very present. In the Maseru there is a shop where you can find numerous mix-tapes by artist such as lil’ wayne, 50-cent, and others.

I have met several young people who truly love rap and admire rap artist. I had a conversation with a young man recently and was able to come to the conclusion that the reason rap is so embraced throughout the world is because so many young people (esp males) who are from impoverished environmnets use this as hope.

It may be strange for someone who does not truly understand the culture or hip/hop and the music called rap- to understand how a young person could find motivation or hope from rap.  The best way I can explain it is this… Many rap artist come from environments of poverty, drugs, and violence. This is therefore reflected in their music. They are able to verablize their life experiences and use music as a catalyst to escape.  So if you were born in an environment of poverty, drugs, and violence and one day saw a someone who had the same skin, hair, and features as you, but he is rich(successfull)! This man is on magazines, t.v, radio, etc. Would this not give you hope that you to cannot only survive your environment but overcome it.

So I could speak with the youth in Lesotho of the negative impacts hip/hop has had on society, but then again I have and still do use hip-hop/rap as motivation to reach my goals and dreams.

Not sure where I am going with this post…just something I have been thinking about for some time.

“No matter where you go, you are what you are playa” Jay- Z

Stigma/ Discrimination

So this past Monday and Tuesday I was able to participate in training session on stigma/discrimination for a local highschool called St. Agnus. The training was amazing. The kids were extermely excited and had so many great questions. I realized after the sessions that I learned also learned so much about stigma/discrimination and the negative impact it has on so many lives.

For the sessions we focused on stigmitazion agains people living with HIV / AIDS. The kids had  many false beliefs about not only the ways of contracting HIV/AIDS, but the people living with HIV/ AIDS. Many were  shocked to find out that you cannot get HIV/ AIDS from shaking hands or hunging someone living with HIV/AIDS.

At the end of the second day we had a question and answer session which also included a condem (male and female) demonstration ( never in my life would have imagined I would be standing in front of 15 highschool boys showing the proper way to use a male condem). I initially did not think many kids would take the time after being in school all day to come to our session. I was completely wrong. I would say there were roughly in between 50-75 kids.

The highlight  of the whole training was when a fellow PCV disproved the common belief in many African countries that HIV/AIDS is actually contracted by using condoms. She did this buy placing the condom in her mouth- the reaction in the room was priceless, most of the kids screamed in shock, some ran towards the window  hahh! She then followed up with the statement if HIV/AIDS were in condoms would I place it in my mouth? It was truly amazing.

UPDATE: today my house has 5 brand new shelves!! part 1 of the makeover is complete. I will keep you posted.

Extreme home makeover Lesotho!

So my host family Ntate (father) is a carpenter. Yesterday me and him spend about 2 hours going over ways to make my house more space efficient. With came up with two pretty cool diagrams which include building some shelves and a closet. I could of course purchase these things from any of the 100,000,000  shops located within town. But I thought  why not try my luck at hand build something.  And plus this way is going to be so much cheaper and give me something to engage in. I will post some before and after pics of the place once its finished.

On another not.. I have been not beemn what one would call a Jason Mraz fan, but recently his last  last album “We Sing, We Dance, We Still Things” has changed this. And I can say I am def a fan of this album especially the songs ” Live High” and “Details in Fabric” feat James Morrison. Being in Peace Corps means that you spend any moment you can manually transferring music from computers to your I-POD. I have already came across numerous artist I may not have purchased or listen to on my own. Its a pretty much a chill feel good album, so check it out if you get a chance.