Thursday, July 28, 2011

Today we had a concert at the Waenhuiskrans Primary School, visited Cape Agulhas (the place where the Indian and Atlantic Oceans meet,) Walkers Bay in Hermanus where we got to see whales and seals, Betty’s Bay to see the African penguins (so fun!), back to the retreat center for an amazing dinner of split pea soup and homemade bread, rehearsal, circle time and bed. 

Carmen writes of her Arniston morning:

“This morning I was woken up at 7:00am to walk on the beach and watch the sun rise. Even though we were extremely tired and cold, many of us got out of bed, put on our coats and went outside. When we started walking, we weren’t aware that this little walk would turn into an amazing adventure. We walked up and down the steep narrow road, stopping to take pictures of the sun rising over the ocean. We all didn’t exactly know where we were going, but our chaperones, Tim and Leonard were leading the way. We climbed down a steep hill of sand in our bare feet heading towards the big rocks on the edge of the ocean, and this is when I realized that we were going to explore an actual CAVE. The tide was coming in, so we had to be quick. We put our sandy feet in our clean sneakers and walked over big rocks toward the cave. When we walked into the cave, it looked like a tunnel. We walked in the dark to the end of the “tunnel” and there was a little hole we had to climb through to get to the other side where there was a breathtaking site of the ocean with waves coming in towards us. Each minute we stayed in the cave, the waves came in closer. It was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen!”

Emily writes of our first week of singing:
I have been really enjoying my trip in South Africa so far, and I think I can speak for the whole choir when I say that visiting the Primary Schools, performing and meeting the children have been the most amazing experiences we have had. We have visited three primary schools, Rietenbosch Primary in Stelenbosch, Belhar Primary in Belhar, and Waenhuiskrans (Afrikaans, translates to “wagon house cliff” which is the name of the sea cave we visited Thursday morning, large enough to accommodate a wagon with oxen) Primary in Waenhuiskrans. It is so amazing to see kids who speak another language, live oceans apart, come together through music, and very little speaking. When we meet the kids they treat us like celebrities, asking for autographs, photographs, and hugs. When we sing songs in English, they listen intently to try and understand us, and when we sing in Afrikaans, or Xhosa, they dance and sing along. The kids taught us traditional African songs, and we sang and danced together. It is so amazing to see that kids who lead completely different lives, in different countries, speaking different languages, and who live on opposite ends of the earth can have so much in common, and can communicate through music alone.”

Learning from the Primary School Music Teacher

Just one of the many amazing rainbows that greeted us in South Africa

We had a few personal discussions with some of our hosts last night. Some shared stories about the humiliation they suffered under apartheid when they were teenagers. During our circle time this evening (we have a formal check in every evening to discuss our impressions of the day and logistics for the next day) several children talked about the impact these stories had on them.

But these extraordinary experiences and discussions are wonderfully balanced with music, laughter and the love from the communities we’ve stayed with. Last night our concert was at a church called “All Saints” (the name of the church where we rent office and rehearsal space in Dorchester!)  There were 5 different choruses from surrounding areas who all came together to share music. The program was interesting:  Boston City Singers started with two songs, then the entire congregation (about 800 people!) sang a song together, then a different chorus sang two songs and so on.  It was a round robin sing off beginning and ending with Boston City Singers.  The kids were fantastic!  They danced and clapped and MOVED to the music in a way they've never done before.

We saw a double rainbow - the singers say it's part of the Boston City Singers magic! 

A message from one of our singers

This morning I was woken up at 7:00am to take a walk on the beach and watch the sun rise. Even though we were extremely tired and cold, many of us got out of bed, put on our coats and went outside. When we started walking, we weren’t aware that this little walk would turn into an amazing adventure. We walked up and down the steep narrow road, stopping to take pictures of the sun rising over the ocean. We all didn’t exactly know where we were going, but our chaperones, Tim and Leonard, were leading the way. We climbed down a steep hill of sand in our bare feet heading towards the big rocks on the edge of the ocean, and this is when I realized that we were going to explore an actual CAVE. The tide was coming in, so we had to be quick. We put our sandy feet in our clean sneakers and walked over big rocks toward the cave. When we walked into the cave, it looked like a tunnel. We walked in the dark to the end of the “tunnel” and there was a little hole we had to climb through to get to the other side. Someone said, “I feel like I’m in The Goonies movie.” On the other side of the cave, there was a breathtaking site of the ocean with the waves coming in towards us. Each minute we stayed in the cave, the waves came in closer. It was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen! We couldn’t spend too much time there because the tide was coming in. Losing an extra hour of sleep was totally worth it!