Day 16 – Diski Dance!

Didn’t want to get out of bed this morning, coinciding with the ending of yesterday’s blog. “Patience is one thing, pain is another.” Forced myself into the bright day, getting to the school for the opening of the holiday programme and the start of Mamre’s World Cup fever.

The show started with a colourful procession around the village, complete with horns and a mini-band. We proceeded into the school hall to be greeted by an array of celebratory dances separated by speeches greeting the new season and promoting different activities and groups.

The rest of the group have been preparing the ‘Diski’ dance to perform at the event today (I was bullied for not joining in!). We witnessed different versions from Mamre’s Theatre Group, Atlantis’s group and another called ‘Varsity (?)’. The ‘volunteers’, as we’re commonly referred to, then got up to dance down the aisle before running up on stage to finish the dance with the local group. They received a huge ovation, which they certainly deserved.

Today was also the birthday of one of the volunteers. He received a birthday song at the school before we took him out to ‘Table View’ for a meal. We were surprised to find that really, the place wasn’t all that special. Some were convinced that there was more to it, and so we wandered aimlessly (something I really enjoy!) [Please note that sarcasm may have been used throughout this blog], before reversing in our steps after settling for the reality. Awesome quote for this one, for when I pointed out that were blatantly headed in the wrong direction, someone said: “Yeah it would make sense if it was that way because that’s Table Mountain and you’d get a better view.”

Moods quickly brightened when we sat down for a meal at ‘Spurs’ steakhouse. I didn’t even overly object to the fact that we were going to a non-Halal restaurant despite nearly 50% of the group being Muslim. See, my self-development is working a little! We had some nice seafood dishes, but more importantly we enjoyed each other’s company with intriguing conversation. As one explained about the challenge of being so mixed in race that he feels he doesn’t belong to any race, he was interrupted by the question: “Do you feel like the pressures on for marrying an Eskimo then?” We also discussed dreams, it was particularly interesting to observe that many of us have had dreamt about one another over the last few nights [insert unsuitable innuendo here]. I wonder if it indicates a progression in the group dynamic, as it seems most of us have broken down the barriers of discomfort and uncertainly.

The excited mood continued throughout the night, as the group broke out into Diski dance in the shopping centre and outside the restaurant, enjoying a minibus rave on the way home. It didn’t stop in Mamre, where we danced down the street making a racket (it was only 7PM). Looking up to the stars, someone asked why some were brighter than others. I explained intelligently: “They’re closer. They’re bigger. They’re either closer or bigger.”

Not looking forward to waking up to a cold start – but I am looking forward to kick off! I’ll be supporting South Africa until they lose, Baffana Baffana!