On Saturday we and the whole Zithulele crew headed off to Rhini location, to the wedding of Ebye, a German Doctor, to Alicia a local Xhosa-speaking woman from the area. Ebye (pronounced “I-ba”) came out here to the Transkei 4 years ago initially as a volunteer at Zithulele. He then transferred to Madwaleni hospital where he spent 2 ½ to 3 years working until he decided to branch out and work at two of the peripheral clinics. We don’t know him particularly well but like all traditional African weddings everyone from the area is invited! It really was an amazing experience!

The wedding was set to start at 9am however not even German efficiency could overcome African inertia! There had been pamphlets advertising the wedding on many doors in and around the hospital and ARV clinics however the only instructions were a very vague location and no time just the date…! Anyway so we set out around 10am getting to the area-ish by 10:45. Luckily in the distance up on a hill we could see a fairly large white marquee with a gathering crowd. Hoping it was the right wedding and not another wedding or possibly even a funeral we parked our car and headed up in the direction of the marquee. After being warmly welcomed in by Alicia’s brother (whom we had never met before); meeting the father of the bride; helping him do his tie; witnessing the local nursing sisters from the Ngcwumguba clinic ululating and dancing up the hill as they arrived; playing follow the leader with all the little children also waiting around - we were no closer to the start of the wedding! At around 12:30 we were assured the wedding would be starting in 10 minutes time.





Anyway, when it did kick off it was a really awesome –everyone stood as Eybe with his parents and 2 best men from Germany walked up the hill into the marquee. Then we got a very vibey dance from the groomsmen and bridesmaids from Alicia’s side dancing up the hill, with African Kwito-type beats –definitely beat any mundane entrance we’ve always been exposed to! Then finally the bride, in a beautiful white traditional wedding dress.



The ceremony went on for quite some time with very broken snippets of someone translating 2 or 3 sentences in English and an awesome MC who had a constant impulse to check the mic every time it was handed over to someone new rushing forward going testing testing, 1,2,3 and singing a few songs unaccompanied or which he accompanied himself with back up beats whenever he felt the time was right…! Ebye obviously was referred to many times throughout the service mentioned on most occasions as “elbow” and once or twice as Ibo… -fairly amusing!




Anyway, it was a real privilege to be able to be a part of such a special event which was taken very seriously by both respective parties and where we were made to feel so welcome! The generosity shown by Alicia’s family was really overwhelming and something we were really pleased to witness!!

Homestay

Homestay

On Friday evening we had the privilege of spending the night at the Siyephu’s – fifth generation Xhosa farmers. We arrived after a somewhat precarious drive in the rain, which had made a portion of clay road particularly slippery, at our accommodation for the evening. Tata Siyephu is actually a staff member at the hospital (in charge of the water supply – a very important role!) was there to meet us with his extended family. He doesn’t speak a word of English but with lots of “molo’s”, “unjani’s”, handshaking, smiles and nods, we were welcomed into his home. There is a separate hut especially for the “guests” where we could make ourselves at home and relax.


It was an amazing experience to see first-hand how a working homestead is run. At dusk Tata Siyephu gave a gentle cry and the sheep, slowly at first, started making their way towards the kraal, each counted in turn on entry into the kraal. Tata Siyephu owns 64 sheep! There is also a kraal for the cows, which were also brought back in the evening. In the morning around 06h30 each sheep is counted one by one as they are lead out of the enclosure to go and graze again for the next day.



One thing that struck us about our experience is that, whilst novel to us, rural farming such as this typifies Africa more than any other scene – it is the absolute norm. Forget civil wars and famine (yes, there are lots of them) and lush jungles, exotic wildlife and open plains (there are lots of them too) – if there is one scene that encapsulates Africa more than any other it is this. People quietly going about their lives trying to survive…

For supper we were served traditional samp and beans with a very basic tomato sauce. The next day we had an awesome little fry-up on our Cadac cooker for brekkie and then left pretty shortly thereafter to get home, get dressed and go to the next adventure – a local Xhosa wedding with a slight twist…

News from the TK

Our apologies for not being better at posting entries on our blog. We guess that it boils down to getting into a routine - something which seems to be quite difficult to do here in the TK!

Since our last post we have no crazy stories to share; instead we find ourselves settling in more and finding ourselves far busier than we ever thought possible!

Jo’s work has been crazy. No post-calls and only six full time doctors serving a 140 bed hospital mean that she works 07h30 to 17h30 every day. Chuck in, on average, one to two calls a week, and there unfortunately is not much free time (and the free time that she does get is usually spent getting some R&R).

Whilst chilling at our home is great, the hospital can be claustrophobic so it is great to be able to get out. Last weekend we spent a weekend at a cottage at Hole-in-the-Wall, which was nothing short of incredible. Most of the photos have been posted on our Facebook profiles, but we have included a few below.









Warm water, no traffic, safe, rural, green and lush – give us the Wild Coast over the Cape Peninsula any day!