A Shark Free Day, July 30

A great white shark did not eat me today. I went surfing for my first time in South Africa this afternoon, at the lovely Muizenberg beach. I went out with my friend Bryce (also from San Diego), and rented a board from the local shop. Of course I forgot my bathing suit, so I was not happy to put on a used wetsuit. But due to the extreme cold weather, I ended up borrowing the 4/3. My first thought as I looked at the waves at Muzberg today was that I would not survive the paddle out. It looked cold, and the outside seemed to be half a mile away - not good. We suited up, and started on the paddle out. The water was definitely colder than SD winter water, but it was tolerable. The waves were surprisingly forgiving, and although the paddle out was very far the whitewater wasn’t too bad to get through. After what seemed like 15 minutes I finally made it to the outside on my extremely buoyant rented longboard. It took me a few tries to get up the courage to catch a wave. I finally caught one that was probably about chest high, and it was an awesome ride! Muzberg waves are super gentle and mushy, despite the larger size. I got some walking in, and definitely proved my abilities to the locals out there. I cannot tell you how good it felt to catch that first wave! I have missed surfing so much and am going to try to go and buy a board and wetsuit next Monday.

I was definitely a bit freaked out while surfing, because we were super far out. I was sure that I would see a shark. I even asked a local guy if there were many sharks. He reassured me that I only had to worry about them in the summertime…which is good for now. It didn’t help when something made a splash where Bryce was sitting. I immediately assumed the worst. Bryce reassured me that it was hopefully/probably just a seal. Thirty seconds later a seal jumped out of the water, so that made me feel a lot better. But I was still a little bit uneasy, because we all know what eats seals. The seals here are super cute though. They are a lot smaller, and jump out of the water like dolphins. After catching like three waves I decided to take one in, partly because I couldn’t keep paddling to the outside. So there you go, I survived and did not get eaten by a shark. One session down, lots more to go.

(oh, I almost forgot to say that surfing in Muzberg has to be the prettiest place to surf. It has white sand, and is set with a backdrop of rocky cliffs that tower over the little town- absolutely lovely :)

Prior to surfing I had somewhat of a stressful day. I found out halfway through my 10 am class this morning that my two friends were both dropping African Dance, and leaving me. I nearly started to hyperventilate. I knew that I could not survive 11 more weeks of embarrassing myself on the dance floor without them, not to mention a solo dance performance at the end. So I went to the faculty of dance and explained that due to my lack of skills I wanted to switch into History of African Dance. She grudgingly gave me permission, and that was that. I am officially done forever with trying to perform African dance, and now get to do something that I am more qualified for, which is learn about its history and its significance. (Sory Livvy and Casey, I know you wanted dance lessons…but do not fear, I will teach you the warm-up routine that I learned) Needless to say, it feels like a weight has been lifted from my life, and I am very happy to be in the history class instead.

After surfing I went to my first Student Y meeting called “HUB.” The Student Y is a campus Christian group. I walked in to find that I wasn’t the only American, but that a group of kids from Kansas were on a missions trip in South Africa and would be here all week. I was immediately taken to be part of their group. But after meeting multiple people and telling them that I was studying at UCT, I got it sorted out. I really enjoyed my time at the Y. The students there were really nice, and I will definitely be going again. We had a “braii.” (Braii being the term for bbq here). I had the choice to eat lamb or horse…I chose lamb. It was really tasty. After the student Y meeting I returned home. It is a Friday night tonight, and so my roomies and I had planned to go out. Unfortunately, I am getting sick, so I decided to stay home. I have to wake up early tomorrow to go and serve at the pediatric clinic. I’m so excited! Pray that I get better soon!

(Wow, Sorry that was so long! My fingers are tired, lol. I also apologize to you non-surfers that read this, I’m sure the first two paragraphs were a bit long/confusing…I’m just so excited to finally surf here. It made me so happy :)