Christmas

The CMMB office closed down December 15, with no work and a lot of time on my hands I headed to Cape Town. I was in Cape Town for five days and had an amazing time touring the coast – driving some absolutely stunning roads, taking windsurfing lessons and hiking table mountain. Table mountain was a highlight because I abseiled down 112 meters and then hiked back up a different section of the mountain. Yes! The picture is totally real!
It was a fun trip because I have never gone on a vacation by myself and had never stayed in a hostel, both were great. The hostel was fun because every night I sat and talked with some of the most interesting people: travel journalists, travel photographers, a women who is working in a hospital in Rwanda, three women working for the peace corp, talking with them was definitely one of the highlights of my trip. My trip did have one major flaw though, and that was getting the stereo stolen out of my rental car... I have laughed telling my family that I couldn’t live here permanently because I would be completely broke after getting robbed a lot... it’s so hard being constantly aware of your day to day things, especially when in Canada it is not the norm.

I celebrated Christmas with Mrs. Gwiji’s family and it was complete with cooking, eating and kids running everywhere. The turkey was roasted in a marinade made with coke and it was so good – I’ve definitely learned a couple cooking tips that I’ll be bringing home with me. 



Mrs. Gwiji's daughter Thembakazi

I was invited to Mrs. Gwijis’ nieces wedding. It was really great seeing a traditional Xhosa wedding. They held a “white wedding” day one at the family home where Mrs. Gwiji’s family cooked. “White weddings” where the bride wears a white wedding dress are becoming more popular as western entertainment becomes more and more popular. After the wedding we drove from where the bride lives to the husband’s home to deliver her to her new in-laws. The bride has to bring a new bed, pot, wash basin and dresser to her new in-laws as well, so we had to spend some time getting them organized. On day two as we neared the husband’s house I was amazed to see people lining the street singing and dancing – welcoming the new bride! It was so nice! As you may know I am a bit of a crier and was totally amazed and a little teary eyed at how beautiful it was. We got out of the car and the bride was covered with a blanket so that no one could see her face. The husband’s family were in a group down the road from us singing and dancing. Then we, the bride’s family, made their way down the road singing and dancing as well, in a sort of ‘dance off.’ It was so awesome! The husband’s family presented the Bride’s family with two sheep which were slaughtered and eaten during the ceremony... (poor sheep). The two families continued to have a dance/ sing off for the next couple hours.

The dancing and singing at the beginning of the wedding and the traditional clothing that the girls wore were by far my favourite parts of the celebration.