Amy Zuidema
July 15, 2007
What a wonderful day our group had together on July 15 at Alkantstrand Beach. After each of us relocated to our home stays, it was refreshing to see one another’s faces, even though it had been just over 24 hours since we had last seen each other.
We met as a group for a braai with our home stay families at Alkanstrand Beach on the Indian Ocean. Throughout the park, there were triangular picnic areas that included picnic tables, and a wooden planked roof that enclosed the picnic area. Several large grills were placed throughout the park, allowing easy access for anyone wanting to grill. There were three large buildings throughout the park. All of the buildings appeared quite nautical with their blue and white exterior. One building was a restaurant, another a life guard building, and the last was a public restroom. There was a beautiful pier towards the south side of the park that jetted out into the Indian Ocean. Lizl Van Rooyan (Julia’s host mother) informed me that the technique used to break up the surf and harbor is called Doulos and was invented in Richard’s Bay.
Although the braai was scheduled at 1pm, many of us quickly became acquainted with the slightly more ‘laid back’ lifestyle here in South Africa. Most of the group did not arrive until 2:00/2:30 ish, giving me an opportunity to explore the concept of a braai and investigate the area we were picnicking in.
Vela’s friend Sibo quickly took me under his wing and became my personal tour guide at Alkanstrand beach. The first thing he informed me was that each family was to bring their own meat to grill and a dish to pass. This South African tradition seemed to be quite similar to what we Americans like to call ‘barbeque’. I learned that a traditional braai typically occurs while celebrating some sort of event. Today’s braai was in celebration of the coming together of us students and our host families!
While preparing the food for our braai, I overheard a host mom make the comment, “We don’t have any maids here, therefore I will get dinner started.” She proceeded to put the coals on the grill. Families brought various foods to the braai, including potato salad, chutney, coleslaw, a bean salad, potato chips and bread rolls. The choice of beverages ranged from person to person – most choosing soda as their drink of choice. The grills were started and several men took over the duty of grilling the large amount of meat. Some families chose to make kabobs while others chose steak or chicken.
After our delicious meal, many of us went over to the pier to do some exploring. While walking down the pier, we noticed that the fishing poles were considerably larger than those one might find on the shores of Michigan. I paused to ask a fisherman what they were catching and he replied “Sharks”. Imagine my surprise when I heard that some fishermen further east on the pier had already caught a shark that day! As we headed on down, we stopped to climb some rocks, and while nearing shore, we found a huge clan of crabs. We even spotted a cat down on the rocks (how he got there, we have no clue). The sun was beginning to set and we knew it was time to say good-bye. After hugging each other goodbye, it was time to head home and get a good nights rest for our ‘first day of school’.
July 15, 2007
What a wonderful day our group had together on July 15 at Alkantstrand Beach. After each of us relocated to our home stays, it was refreshing to see one another’s faces, even though it had been just over 24 hours since we had last seen each other.
We met as a group for a braai with our home stay families at Alkanstrand Beach on the Indian Ocean. Throughout the park, there were triangular picnic areas that included picnic tables, and a wooden planked roof that enclosed the picnic area. Several large grills were placed throughout the park, allowing easy access for anyone wanting to grill. There were three large buildings throughout the park. All of the buildings appeared quite nautical with their blue and white exterior. One building was a restaurant, another a life guard building, and the last was a public restroom. There was a beautiful pier towards the south side of the park that jetted out into the Indian Ocean. Lizl Van Rooyan (Julia’s host mother) informed me that the technique used to break up the surf and harbor is called Doulos and was invented in Richard’s Bay.
Although the braai was scheduled at 1pm, many of us quickly became acquainted with the slightly more ‘laid back’ lifestyle here in South Africa. Most of the group did not arrive until 2:00/2:30 ish, giving me an opportunity to explore the concept of a braai and investigate the area we were picnicking in.
Vela’s friend Sibo quickly took me under his wing and became my personal tour guide at Alkanstrand beach. The first thing he informed me was that each family was to bring their own meat to grill and a dish to pass. This South African tradition seemed to be quite similar to what we Americans like to call ‘barbeque’. I learned that a traditional braai typically occurs while celebrating some sort of event. Today’s braai was in celebration of the coming together of us students and our host families!
While preparing the food for our braai, I overheard a host mom make the comment, “We don’t have any maids here, therefore I will get dinner started.” She proceeded to put the coals on the grill. Families brought various foods to the braai, including potato salad, chutney, coleslaw, a bean salad, potato chips and bread rolls. The choice of beverages ranged from person to person – most choosing soda as their drink of choice. The grills were started and several men took over the duty of grilling the large amount of meat. Some families chose to make kabobs while others chose steak or chicken.
After our delicious meal, many of us went over to the pier to do some exploring. While walking down the pier, we noticed that the fishing poles were considerably larger than those one might find on the shores of Michigan. I paused to ask a fisherman what they were catching and he replied “Sharks”. Imagine my surprise when I heard that some fishermen further east on the pier had already caught a shark that day! As we headed on down, we stopped to climb some rocks, and while nearing shore, we found a huge clan of crabs. We even spotted a cat down on the rocks (how he got there, we have no clue). The sun was beginning to set and we knew it was time to say good-bye. After hugging each other goodbye, it was time to head home and get a good nights rest for our ‘first day of school’.
