The Fifth of November

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“Remember, remember, the 5th of November…”, begins a popular English tale celebrating the capture of the legendary Guy (Guido) Fawkes, who in 1605 attempted to blow up the House of Lords, Parliament with numerous barrels of gunpowder. The 5th of November is widely celebrated in the UK and all of her old colonies, including, here, in South Africa. After speaking to many people about why they celebrate the 5th of November here, many just respond with, “it’s a celebration for some guy who tried to blow up a building somewhere, and we get to light off fire works!” Although here in SA, this is a celebration lost in translation, it is, however, quite the spectacle. As you, back home, celebrated the historical win of Barak Obama with celebratory parties, we too celebrated the voting results, on the most part, by relaxing on the beach by our house to watch people, families, and friends light off millions of rand’s worth of fireworks into our Wednesday night sky.

In the 2 ½ months that we’ve been back in Cape Town, many of our experiences have been as incendiary as that November 5th night. We have had multiple mini-adventures that spanned the perimeter of greater Cape Town. I know that my words can only illustrate these experiences in literal black and white, but I will give it my best attempt to artistically paint you a vibrant picture, so to best make you see the technicolor of our experiences. On four different size canvases, I will overlay our following adventures: attending a weekend camping-concert in the farm town of Darling, helping to build a cob-house on our friend’s organic farm in Noordhoek, finding the Filipino community of Cape Town, and especially the grand opening of our new It’s Yoga Cape Town studio on Marine Circle, Table View.

Canvas 1- Gumboots & Mud

With environment friendly oil-based paints neatly spat on our palette and frilly brush in hand, we begin with revisiting the same farm town of Darling that I brought Sarah to on her 30th birthday, we now attended a concert called “Rocking the Daisies” on a vineyard situated 15 KM outside of downtown Darling. This “green event” was aimed at bringing awareness to the growing environmental, ecological, and sustainable movement issues, here, in Cape Town, while bringing together the hoards of Like-folks with music and dance. What made it even more amazing was that was a weekend event; ie: camping time. Along with 8,000 other concert goers, we headed out to Darling, which is north-east of our coastal house, early Saturday morning. Our friends, Basti (the German) & Silvanna (the Canadian) picked Sarah and I up to begin our weekend getaway. 40 minutes after departing from our house, we found ourselves turning off the main country road into a vineyard. Almost immediately, we came to a halt; there was a queue of vehicles as far as the eyes can see; the entrance line. As anxious as I am, Sarah and I got out of the car to walk to the far front of the car line to see what the problem was. Our walk to the front took about 40 minutes; on the way we met and chatted with many colorful folks; shared a drink, did a little dance, and continued on our way. We strolled down a dirt path, encased in fields of blooming Namaqualand daisies; a multitude of blue, yellow, magenta hues draped around us like a giant blanket. In the near distance, small mountains reached into the sky, while the few lakes speckled the land around and glistened under the spring sun. In reaching the front of the line stood ONE concert staff member trying to guide traffic into the marked parking area, at the same time as being bombarded by endless questions from self-proclaimed, special people. Because the parking area was quite some distance from the actual camping spots and concert area, people had a million of reasons why they should be allowed to bypass this parking area and go directly to the front. Very few succeeded; most were told that they would have to just deal with the situation. It wasn’t looking so good for us, but alas, our friend Silvana was pregnant!!!! We were going to be American and utilize our maximum resources. Sarah and I spoke to the event staff member and told him that we had a pregnant woman in the car, so we needed to go directly to our camp site, AND that she still needed to carry items to our campsite from the car, so that too had to be close. After a moment of pondering our bizarre request, he agreed that would be the best. It worked; we called Basti and Silvana’s cell phone, told them that we had permission to go all the way to our camp site, and to drive in the oncoming traffic lane, and meet us in the front. Five minutes later they were there to pick us up; on their way, they passed many of our other friends waiting in that hectic line of vehicles. So on we went, found our camp site, staked out our boundaries, unloaded all the camping gear and food, set up camp, and began the art of relaxing. Might I say that trying to find a dry campsite in the middle of a vineyard bog was quite challenging. We had to weave our way through the labyrinth of multicolored tents; spotting our perfect site, only to find out that it was situated in the middle of a hidden creek. Using our feet as measuring sticks, muddy and wet, we finally found our piece of high ground. Two hours later, our friends stuck in the traffic queue finally caught up with us and now we had all of our camp present and accounted for: 7 tents, 20 people, young parents and children, and enough food to set up a food-stand. The whole weekend’s air was filled with the musical masterpieces of both local and international artists: rock, soul, reggae, the aromatic smells of environmentally friendly food stands wafted past our noses like an invisible river, colorful kites floated overhead like their marine counterparts Jellyfish , and massive magical energy from the people reverberated peace. The rest can be explained through these pictures. People live in Cape Town; we live in Cape Town to enjoy the great South African outdoors. We love the outdoors! The weekend prior to “Rocking the Daisies”, we were in the great outdoors again spending the weekend on an organic farm in Noordhoek.

Canvas 2- Chopping Broccoli

Slowly warming the molding clay in our cupped hands, we continue to take the right chances taking part in building a cob house on the Living Art Farm in the southern suburb surf town of Noordhoek. Many of you may remember Sarah’s stories of attending an ELC workshop in Noordoek where she spent a week building community with many folks that were affected by the xenophobic violence. Well, the owners of the farm, our friends Bo and Candi, sent out word that they needed the community’s assistance in building a cob house on their farm. This cob house was to built for their new yoga studio. We (Sarah, Kate, and I) decided that this would be a great experience, so off we went. Noordhoek is located on the False Bay side of Cape Point, down the treacherous road of Chapman’s Peak, and into a lush, coastal farming valley. We arrived on the farm around mid-day to be greeted by two farm dogs (Tick Dog & Pig Dog, as we named them), a strolling paddle of white ducks, chickens and roosters, and two wandering Shetland ponies. It seemed that no one was around; however two minutes later we were greet by Bo who seemed to appear from out of the trees. He told us that the others were still hiking on lower Table Mountain and would return ‘just now’(sometime). We were told to make the farm our home and to go explore.

The Living Art Farm is an organic farm where permaculture is procedure, sustainable building is vital, and group meal preparation is necessary. It is a very comfortable and relaxing place to be; the hind quarter of Table Mountain to our north and the Indian Ocean to our south; the sounds and smells of nature permeates all around. We were in our element.

Soon the others arrived from their hike. To Sarah’s surprise, many of her ELC comrades had also hailed the community call for help. So besides the aforementioned animals, the farm’s compliment now stood at around 25. It was wonderful to finally meet all the people from the pictures and stories that Sarah shared with me upon her return home from her ELC workshop. This was now a superior group of absolute diversity: a few American (us), a pair of Australians, Xhosas, Zimbabweans, Congolese, and South Africans. The remainder of the day was spent preparing and cooking our group lunch, not actually building the cob house, but preparing the area to be built on, watching in-motion progress in awe at the two artists, Kuda & Lisa’s, 4 panel mural depicting uBuntu ('I am because you are') and the Arts, and basically chatting with new and old friends. We did this until the light went weak in the sky and the call for group dinner preparations was delivered. Once again, it was a group effort in preparing and cooking our evening meal. Dinner presented three memorable epicurean moments: a farm fresh vegetable potjie pot (a dutch oven stuck in the fire), Rasta’s special peanut and chard stew, and my very own deep fried tofu with a “ “sauce. The remainder of the evening was spent the way one does on a farm: sitting by the camp fire singing songs and watching the stars dance to our voices. That evening, I was taught numerous Xhosa and Zimbabwean songs; how amazing was that. Sarah expertly knew all of the songs and made special musical requests. Prior to this moment in time, my only other previous experience in hearing songs of this specific beauty are from the street performers in Cape Town and on CD; how amazing to be on the foothills of Table Mountain, singing these songs to the night, only softly lit by the flickering campfire.

Because farm life says that we wake up with the sun, we were off to sleep just before 10 PM. From the campfire and main house, through the trees, past the vegetable garden, and around the pond, all 25 of us slept in a dorm style farm house. Everyone was so tired from the day’s activities, sleep krept easily into our eyes. Contrary to popular belief, roosters don’t just crow at sunrise; they crow whenever they want, often for reasons unknown. More than being abruptly awaken by roosters, the morning sun blared through the thin blinds singing the Lionel Ritchie classic, “Hello, is it me you’re looking for…” The morning’s first order of business was morning yoga; nothing like rising at 700AM to do 30 minutes of exercise on a freezing farm. It actually wasn’t that cold; cold enough for me to want to complain, but in recognizing that, I did not. Sarah taught this morning’s yoga class which sent warmness through me and 14 others. Having completed my pre-coffee 30 minute yoga session, I took my leave for the remainder of the folks were about to engage in (Kriya), breathing exercises, and I just couldn’t focus without that coffee. I hung out with the other morning stragglers and helped to prepare breakfast until all the Kriya-goers were finished with their utilization of farm fresh O2. Breakfast and post breakfast conversation was again on the digestive menu. We could not leave Noordhoek without going to the beach, so 15 of us jumped into a bakkie (pick-up truck) and headed for an hour to play in the surf. Although the water temperature is absolutely frigid in Noordhoek, it didn’t stop many from taking a quick in-and-out dip in the icy Antarctic current. It was time to head back to Blouberg, the sun was already approaching the horizon. Sarah, Kate, and I jumped back into Sargent Pepper, the nickname that we gave to the giant yellow station wagon that we borrowed from a friend, and headed back around the mountain towards home. Since neither of us had ever seen the view from Cape Town’s Signal Hill, we took a side trip to witness the heavenly sunset over the south Atlantic Ocean; a perfect ending to an enlightening weekend.


Canvas 3- Treasure Hunters

Using the epicurian beauty of painting with food, we continue with my thoughts of being the only Filipino in South Africa. That is until recently. One day when Sarah and Kate were taking a stroll to the store, they ran across a guy named Kirk and started talking to him about life, how his wife was Pinay, and that they were preparing for a huge Filipino community party the following weekend. After hearing that, Sarah enthusiastically told Kirk about me. They traded phone numbers, and literally 2 hours later, I got a phone call from Mario, the Filipino community leader (uncle). He spoke with me in great length regarding my surname, where my family lives in the US, where our families came from in the Philippines, what my favorite Filipino food was, just what we were doing in South Africa. Next thing I knew, we were being invited to the Filipino community party, the huge Filipino community party that Kirk was talking about. Wow, I haven't heard THAT accent in quite sometime. After a week's worth of working with native plants and wondering what this upcoming weekend will be like, Saturday came; and we were off to the nearby suburb of Bothasig, This party took place at the Boy Scout Bothasig Hall. Finding this hall was slightly difficult, because due to that unforgettable accent, I couldn't fully comprehend all of the exact directions that Mario gave to me. So with 90% of the directions understood, 10% a mystery, we drove around scanning the streets for a boy scout hall. As we turned one corner, nothing; another corner, again, nothing; one more turn, same results. Instead of completing the circuit around the block, we decided to make a U-turn and start again. As we began our about-face, there in front of us was a bunch of kids playing on the grassy field; Filipino kids. Then, in a nearby doorway, stood a classic sight: a group of Filipino men hanging out with their backs leaned up against the wall; just 'laying back'. "I guess this is the place," Sarah announced, as we pulled into the dusty dirt parking lot. As we exited our car, Mario was right there to greet us and welcome us to the community party. This was a community party to celebrate all life: Filipino food and drink, Karaoke, bingo, dancing, and braai (BBQ). We were introduced to numerous people: Aunties, Uncles, one Lola, a bunch of kids, and the spouses of other Filipino community members, and the freshly docked crew of a en-route Filipino marine vessel. Sarah, Kate, and I were warmly welcomed with hugs and ear-to-ear smiles, and were handed our very own FILSAFS community member shirts (Filipino South African Friendship Society). And that was what it was; a society of friendly folks. Throughout the party we chatted with countless people, learned of their stories of immigration and family, ate home-made Pancit (noodles) and BBQ chicken skewers, and danced to whatever 'cheesey' love songs were being sung by some enchanted vocalist. I knew that there would be little food for Sarah and Kate to eat, so luckily, I had brought some proper vegetarian food that I cooked before hand. What a beautiful sound; never-ending laughter, song, and yells of "BINGO", which Kate also yelled as one of the night's lucky winners; taking home a Mickey Mouse light fixture, which still needs to be hung somewhere.

Cape Town's Filipino Community is small, but mighty. Sarah once asked Mario, "how many people came over to your house last Christmas?" He responded with 80; she went on to ask him, "how many Filipinos live in the greater Cape Town area; his response, "80." Apparently, I'm number 81; and now that Sarah and Kate got their initiation shirts, 82, and 83. Since that first reconnecting night, we have attended other functions, such as last weekend's November group birthday celebration at our friend Raul's house. I have even dropped by Mario's house on my way home from work for a quick bite and chat. He and his family and a few others live in the Espanola complex, just 3 minutes away from our home on bike. As always, the Filipino community LOVES Sarah and Kate; always making sure that they will attend the next event. All I got was the respected older brother name of 'Kuya', which everyone now calls me.

Final Canvas- Ruby Red Shimmering

If one could liquify precious gems and paint their exact glory, we did; and with this final portrait you will see; our monthly piece de resistance. After 11 months of teaching yoga at various guest houses and outside yoga studios, It's Yoga Cape Town now has their very own studio!!! We are doing it!!! It's Yoga Cape Town moved into a second story studio, directly above the absolutely perfect neighbor, the Karma Internet Cafe. We are located 2 minutes further than our prior location; a complete 4 minute bike ride from door-to-door. We found the perfect spot; downtown Table View on Marine Circle. Remember, we live in a small surf town and when I say downtown, that consists of about 40 or so shops. The yoga studio has dance studio-like hardwood floors, two long lengths of mirrors on two of the walls, and windows that stretch the length of another: the left set of windows illuminates the glory of Table Mountain, the right set, the endless blue of the Atlantic Ocean. We have high ceilings and beautiful natural light; what real-estate agents would call 'a second story gem with great natural light and great ocean views'. We are all super excited; we are doing what we do best, and heading on.

On that first day of November 2008, our yoga students stepped into the new space. We all have been working tirelessly with creating this beautiful space, getting it ready for students, actualizing stencils and window signs, posters, business cards, and a whole slough of 'open for business' needs. I have to give her a gold star and hand it to Sarah for sharing her vision and driving us all to create her vision of the 'perfect yoga studio'. Together we conceived this dream. She has spent numerous hours at the studio guiding it to her liking, and getting our studio needs completed. Over the past few weeks, I have really noticed that our studio is only as great as what we put into it. To match,we PUT into it, and so did our students. It seems that the realization of the studio was not just ours, it was also that of our students; they helped invent this space. It has become a community venture. Many of the studio's construction or business needs have been accomplished by using a yoga-for-service payment method. Sarah and Kate teach multiple daily classes to a growing number of yogis and yoginis, while trying to find time for their personal practice. What rock stars!!!
The only way to go from here is up. As a center for growth, we anticipate branching out and take an active stance in our community. We envision the creation of a community empowerment program that offers free yoga classes to people who offer their time to take part in community volunteerism. This would be an open call for all to take part in giving back. So far, we may lead monthly beach clean-ups, indulge in SA native out-planting in our conservation areas, yoga instruction and EJ education to the young people in disenfranchised after-school programs, social awareness and service activities, and the list goes on. With that said, taking this active stance will also create a network, and coordinate with like-minded organizations and companies in achieving a better world for all through service. If anyone has any suggestions, we would be appreciative of hearing them.

We painted our way through the luminous backdrop of Darling's natural wonders at the "Rocking the Daisies" concert, sculpted our path together with the amazing permaculture friends in Noordhoek, succeeded in using and eating food in our connection to Cape Town's Filipino community, and finally strolled down the precious gem encrusted hallways of our very own yoga studio. As I said earlier, we are doing it; and it will will continue to do.

"Remember, remember, the 5th of November..." For us, it's not about Guido Fawkes and his antics; we will remember the 5th of November 2008 as the day that America voted for 'change'.

Have a wonderful holiday season. Be safe and be well. We miss and love you all.

Love, Ben & Sarah Stone-Francisco

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Photos

Vygie
Explosions of natural pink

Rocking the Daisies
We are cutting up the mud with random friends.

Looking Cute
Sarah & Silvana holding up our campsite with smiles.

Vygie Party
Spring time flowers, color for hours!!!

HulaHoopin'
'I found me a Hulahoop! I love rocking daisies.

uBuntu Mural
1 of 4 panels: Living Art Farm

uBuntu Mural
4 of 4 panel: Living Art Farm

uBuntu Mural
3 of 4 panels

uBuntu Mural
2 of 4 panels

A moment in time
Farm Fresh we are.

Cob House Construction
Kate & Sarah clearing the way to build a cob house

Contemplation Lattice
The most perfect farm spot; sitting in thought.

Nightcrawling
Loving the limelight of night on the farm.

Pinoy Braai
Summer Braai in full action.

Karaoke Party
"You've lost that loving feeling..."

First It's Yoga Class
Students of It's Yoga Cape Town's first class.

Percision inspection
"It looks flush to me; you?"

The Crest
Urban Art- Tag Team Spray Painting

Three's Company
The Construction Crew IYCT

Golden Seal
"I Love Gold!!!"

Comments

[Carla]

In Awe
Wow, you inspire me! The picture of Sarah smiling through the golden It's Yoga seal brought tears to my eyes. Fair play to you both for taking this adventure of life to history-making levels. Tons of love to you both, See you 10th week!! Love, Carla

[CLIZZ....]

WORD!
word the fifth of november :0) i'm excited by all the stuff you guys are doing. benny was practicing being green on halloween he was a sea turtle that was picking up rubbish out of people's yards it was awesome! we miss you guys too! <3 claire bode and benny aka team z