Actually, we took the "scenic route" on the way, in both the literal and figurative senses of the phrase. It took over twice as long to get there (our navigator misread the map) but we drove on a beautiful, twisty road that hugged the coastline.
This is a picture of my housemates about halfway there when we stopped to admire the view (and, maybe, catch a view of whales!). It was amazing, though, how complicated everything can get when you have a group of people who don't speak their mind. We had several incidents where life was much more complicated simply because nobody would speak up!
However, as soon as we arrived this was all rendered unimportant as the lilting melodies of a marimba band floated towards us across the parking area. And, lo and behold! A marimba band had set up in one of the grassy whale-watching areas. It was actually really great. I got to listed for a long time while watching for whales, and while just listening! It was really fun to watch the audience as well, because the tourists were quite taken with the music. In fact, the band was making quite a good haul what with tips and CD sales from in front of the band. But some people just don't have any manners! There were some tourists who would walk right up behind the performers in order to take a photo from over their heads or from right beside them, not even allowing any room for them to perform! Kinda ridiculous if you ask me. It didn't seem to bother the performers as much though, probably a function of the generous tips left by the same tourists.
The band, Ilitha Lelanga, played mostly original music. In fact, whenever I talk to anyone here, they all look at me a bit funny when I ask that. Their faces say, "of course we do... we're professionals!" and I always feel a bit silly asking. But they also co-opt songs from anywhere else they choose--"Take 5" is a good example. I got to talk with them a bit between sets, and they were very surprised to hear that I played marimba in the states! It was actually quite humorous to them to picture me playing, and especially playing in a group of seven instruments. They only play with three or four down here, but they sure do make a lot of noise for all that! To them, seven would be an unbearable racket. Actually, hearing what they do wtih three I am surprised that seven isn't unbearable! But the parts are different here, more filled out, so I think that probably compensates.
This group played with a bass drum and a tambourine, and even the occasional cowbell! It gave them a semi-caribbean flavor, which was reinforced by the music itself. The tempos were more laid back than usual and the phrases were quite long--the music "lilted" more than other music I've heard. I'm going to try and upload a video onto youtube but I will have to figure out how that works first! In the meantime, you can check out more of my photos at www.grinnellgallery.com, just enter "parkersa" to see my albums.
The whales were pretty amazing as well. They didn't do much for most of the day, and then suddenly at about 4:15 in the afternoon every whale in the bay began to breach (sp?). They jumped straight out of the water and fell back in sideways with a splash in that classic whale-like pattern. Now, my description may be misleading because I think there were only three or four whales in the bay at that moment, and they only jumped a couple of times each, but it was still very cool to see it! I think my photos are pretty terrible, this is the best one I got :).
In the marimba world of Cape Town I am still pestering amaAmbush to get back to me. I am supposed to be shadowing one of their teachers this week, but she hasn't gotten in touch with me. It's really unfortunate from my end because I can feel the opportunities slipping by with each day that I don't hear from her. I will persevere, though, and keep calling, emailing, texting the office (at polite intervals, of course) until I get some kind of response. I am a bit perplexed that this is taking so long, because they seemed so excited to get me involved at first! Anyhow, I will keep on chugging.
The school that SAEP was going to set me up with for marimba has actually lost its marimba band because all the students who knew how to play graduated last spring. So, now I am at a loss on that side of things, but there is the possibility of starting the band back up. In fact, I am going to look into that as soon as I can, because it would be really a fun way to get involved with marimba without stepping on anyone's toes.
That's all for now!
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