Weekend in Grahamstown/KWT. April 27th, 2014 - 20 Years of Democracy for South Africa

This past weekend the group had a small excursion to Grahamstown and King Williams Town. We left Friday and came back Saturday. This was our final group excursion for the semester.

We woke early Friday morning and headed out towards Grahamstown. In Grahamstown we stopped at an old fort/bunker that was built by the British when they first colonized South Africa. We also were told about the Battle of Egazini. I enjoy hearing about war history and how cultures developed and lived so this was interesting to me.

Xhosa Women

From there, we then headed down to ILAM (International Library of African Music). ILAM is located at and is a part of Rhodes University in Grahamstown. There we talked to Dr. Tracey who has collected every African instrument ever used. We were able to see many cool instruments and even some that we have been discussing and learning about in our African music class. These include the Uhadi bow, Umhumbre bow, Inkatori bow, marimbas, etc. We were able to play some instruments and have a little jam sess. We played the drums, marimbas, and then incorporated some horns. My trumpet experience came in handy here. It was fun to play the horns. I know how to properly buzz from playing the trumpet so the instruments that required that were the most fun for me.

After ILAM, we hopped back on to the bus and drove to Peddie while stopping at the Elangeni Craft Centre along the way. This centre is run by Xhosa women who make crafts, paintings, cloths, and lots of other cool things. It was fun to look around and meet the women.

Just training for the World Cup!

Once we left the craft centre we drove to Qaukeni Primary School located in the Ngqushwa rural village. The school reminded me much of Pendla. It looked similar and we interacted with the kids which was fun. We stayed here for a few hours so we could talk and play with the kids. I was given 6th grade this time. I spoke with all of them and then asked what they would like to do. Just like any 6th grader, they wanted to go and play sports. Well, at least the boys did. So Katie took the 6th grade girls to go and sing, dance, and jump around while I went to play soccer. In South Africa sports are still very segregated. There are specific women sports and specific men sports. Netball is a girl sport (similar to basketball, except no backboard) and soccer is a boy sport. The boys didn't even know how to play netball and the girls didn't seem to understand soccer. I thought this was interesting. Anyways, I ended up playing soccer with the kids for awhile. Afterwards, we served all the kids lunch and then they left for the day.

Once the kids had left we all went into one of the rooms and spoke about African education with the teachers. Even though this school was similar to Pendla, it is located in a more rural area. This brings different challenges to the school so it was good to hear about these certain aspects as well.

My wonderful room for the night

From the school we drove to King Williams Town and arrived at our accommodation that we would stay at for the night. The boys and girls were separated and so I went with the boys to the other accommodation down the road. When we arrived, they separated us up into groups. Everyone was placed into rooms with others until my buddy, Sam, and I were left. The hostel owner told us that she had two singles open that we could take. We weren't going to pass this up. A whole room for each of us, yes please. Score. We both got our own room and it was awesome. It was so nice to just relax and do what we wanted. I flipped on the T.V., took a shower, and then hopped in the queen size bed.

In the morning, I woke and had a nice breakfast before heading out to tour KWT. We piled into the bus and drove to the Amathole Museum. We were led by a man named Mark who was our tour guide. Mark lived in the area and was of Xhosa heritage. This museum covered the history of the Eastern

An artifact in the museum 

Cape and had many facts and artifacts from the past. It also covered much of the Xhosa origins and history. After this museum we moved to the Steve Biko Foundation and Apartheid museum. This is a very recent and new museum, opened in 2012. This museum commemorates Steve Biko who was a black African activist who challenged the white oppressors and Apartheid government. Steve Biko was unlawfully detained by white police officers in 1977 and held in the Port Elizabeth jail house for 24 days. During this time, the police officers beat him to the point of near-death. A doctor came to examine him and determined that he needed to be brought to Pretoria which is over 1,000km away. Sadly, Steve Biko passed away due to head injuries he suffered while in custody. He never made it to Pretoria. Biko is one of many men and women who suffered this sort of fate under the Apartheid government. Biko's was well documented and therefore is a good source to use in order to tell these stories.

Steve Biko's House

We toured the museum for some time and then took a short walk through Ginsburg. Ginsburg was the township next to the museum which was also the location of Steve Biko's home. We were able to see his home. On the way back from visiting his home we were approached by people of the township and asked to come over and chat. They were having a braai and welcomed us into their home. These people are very hospitable. We talked with them for a half hour or so and then made our way back to the bus. During this time I had been talking with Mark, our tour guide, and had learned a lot from him. He also felt that we had become friends because he offered to help me cross the street and hold my hand. This is a symbol of friendship and peace. He was a very nice and knowledgeable man. Right before we all left, Marc came onto the bus and took of his Xhosa necklace and put it on me. It was a very nice gesture and I am glad to now have a necklace from the Xhosa heritage. Once on the bus, we drove towards Port Alfred. In Port Alfred we had a picnic with pasta salad and hot dogs. This was a nice meal that filled us up for the ride home to Port Elizabeth.

This weekends excursion was simple and short, but very nice. I enjoyed learning more about the history of South Africa and meeting more of its great people. Tomorrow, April 27th, 2014, marks the 20th anniversary of the election of Nelson Mandela. Also, symbolizing 20 years of Democracy. It is a special time down here in South Africa and election time is nearing so politics is in the air. Democracy continues on for one of the world's newest sovereign countries.