Dec 27 2015
Sunshine, Sand, Surf!
School’s out for the season. The kids are on their holiday. And with more free time to surf, that is exactly what the boys have chosen to do.
After two short stops on the train ride from their home in Steenberg, the boys arrive in the morning to MBC, suit up, and spend their days and hours out at the beach. At times the boys will remember they haven’t yet had their lunch, but just as easily they’ll forget their stomach’s grumbling as the ocean calls them back into the surf.
Catching waves with the boys has been a blast! Here I am the volunteer and it’s them who have been so helpful with teaching me. They genuinely wanted to see me learn during my month here. Many times Frankie and Abel would stay nearby in the ocean and call out for me which waves I should catch. They’d yell out, “Turn your board around now! Paddle! Start paddling! Keep paddling!” Before I knew it, I was picking out my own waves and standing up more times than I could count. It’s so great to see their love for surfing and their willingness to share it with others, just as it’s been imparted to them.
Last week, taking full advantage of Muizenberg’s beautiful beaches, we organized games and fun competition for the boys, both on the sand and in the water. Frankie won both the foot race and soccer agility match. Temba came in a near second. And when it came to the surfing, everyone knew Asi would take the win. Abel, deserving a notable mention, still surfed with an injured foot. Tough boy! I had to tell him to sit it out until he knew exactly what was wrong and he finally conceded. It’s so obvious for many of these boys that being in the ocean is irresistible. Even with swollen foot, Abel admitted, “Surfing’s a part of my life. I want to be out there!”
Now as we head into the holidays, I’m bummed to say that only a few days remain before I head back home and my time at MBC comes to a close. I am so looking forward to spending this Christmas with the kids before I leave, meeting their families, and trying some local homemade South African dishes. I cannot believe how quickly this month flew by. Spending time with the boys has certainly been an honor and privilege. Each day getting to know these boys has been such a treasure, and they truly have become like my little brothers! I cannot say it enough, “Go MBC!”
From first stepping through the door into what’s currently a movie set surrounded by hundreds of boards and the soothing bass of Bob Marley, the crew at MBC wereinstantly welcoming and within minutes we were out to the water. As a Scot, we tend not to have the opportunity to surf waves of any commendable quality, so stepping down to the beach to see wonderfully forming glassy waves in clean sets with many breaks sitting empty left me truly itching to get out there myself.
Being a young Scot and not necessarily the greatest surfer just yet, the irresistible urge to travel and progress with your skills that comes with surfing has now been addressed with my arrival in Muizenberg, however, I doubt myself that there may have been a finer introduction to my surfing travels elsewhere in the world. With such great waves and in such an amazing backdrop, maybe heading back to the frozen seas of Scotland will be a big problem.
