It's a dance off!

On Saturday my housemates and I spent the day on the beach in Muitzenberg, volunteering at an event for kids with epilepsy. My roommate Mer is friends with one of the organizers of this event that brings kids in from Khayelitsha, (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khayelitsha – one of the newest and largest townships in the region), some of whom live in group homes, and is designed as day for youth (ranging in age from 6 to 16), who might otherwise not get the chance, to enjoy a day on the beach filled with sports, swimming and other activities.

Despite overcast and windy skies, the day was a great success. We ran volleyball with them, or at least a variation on volleyball, complete with 10-12 a side and as many bumps as it took to get the ball over the net.

Upon realizing that there was no adult in the water with the 40+ kids that were playing in the ocean, I went down to supervise. Watching from the beach soon turned into a full on swim as next thing I knew I had children hanging from my every limb. So freaking cute. They would run towards the waves, and then as the waves came rolling in, they would shriek and dash towards me, calling ‘Auntie!’, while clinging to my arms, legs, hips and hands..anything they could grab hold of, and of course taking me down into the warm shallow water in the process.

Before lunch a group of us were gathered together chatting, listening to music and having a lil dance. The lil dance soon turned into a hectic dance party with kids and adults of all ages participating, and a group of the girls at one point turning to me and saying: ‘I never know Canadian people could dance!’ Brraapps.

Capping off the day was a dance competition; organized last minute after the event coordinators saw the overwhelming interest in our spontaneous failteather shake, where participants showcased their skills while the crowd voted. Such talent! As always, it is interesting to observe first hand the international reach of hip hop culture, evidenced in the moves that these young men and women killed as they danced their lil hearts out.

Precious.