IRIE

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I had quite the weekend. Mossel Bay was pretty amazing. The weather was beautiful so we basically just lounged around near the beach and at our hostel. We had some great braii (BBQ) and just talked with some locals. On Friday night some locals came to the hostel with their drums and just had an informal drumming session. They are in a group called drumming circle. It was so awesome just to hang out and listen. I even got to try drumming. I don't think I was very good though. Shark diving didn't end up happening because the wind was bad. Apparently when the wind is bad, there is literally no visibility because the top of the water is mixed with sand and dirt. We went on a nice boat ride, but then had to turn around. Oh well...maybe next time.

On Saturday afternoon we left for Knysna. Georgina and I decided that we really wanted to experience local life in Knysna. We had read in our travel book that the largest community of Rastafarians live in Knysna and that they are very welcoming. We could stay there if we wanted, so I contacted Brother Paul in the community and they put us up for the night. I have to say it was pretty amazing. Of course my only perception of Rastafarians before this were a bunch of marijuana smoking Bob Marley lovers with dreadlocks. While some of this may be true, I learned so much more about their religion and culture while I was there, and they are some of the most incredible people. The Rastas in Knysna live in a 20 family community called Judah's square. They do a lot of community development projects for the local townships as well as a lot of conservation projects to protect the forests and wildlife. We took a tour, and they made us a nice vegetarian dinner and breakfast. We stayed in the Bed and Breakfast next to Sister Carrie's house. Sister Carrie is a white woman from Australia that moved here 10 years ago. She has literally travelled all over the world. She told amazing stories of her travels through Africa, South America, Australia, and Europe. She was one of the nicest people I have ever met. The basics concept of Rastafarai is that the second coming of Jesus Christ has already occured through the person of the Emporer of Ethiopia, Hallie Sallessie. The Rastafarians worship him as a God while also holding the basic Christian doctrines as sacred. They are peaceful people that live simply and try to depend on each other for basic needs and support. They work hard for what they have and they just want to show others love. Irie is a word that they often use to greet each other, to give thanks, or to show their love of something. You could say "That dinner was Irie"if you liked it a lot.

Yesterday, Sister Carrie, her son Shakasi, and Brother Zara took Georgie and I to the ocean and the lagoon. We saw "The Heads" which is where the lagoon opens to the sea between two large cliffs. It was absolutely beautiful, as everything else has been so far. Then Georgina and I came back and ate dinner with Sister Carrie before she took us to the bus station for our overnight bus back home to Cape Town.

Now I am back in Cape Town after no sleep on my bus. I am exhausted, but the trip was well worth it. Hopefully I will have some great school stories within the next few days.

Peace and Love,
Jill

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