Goele Dag!

Goele Dag means "Good day!" in Afrikaans, one of the eleven official languages of South Africa. The country is very ethnically diverse, so much so that Archbishop Desmond Tutu coined the term "rainbow nation" to describe it. About 79.5% of the South African population is of black African ancestry, divided among a variety of ethnic groups speaking different Bantu languages, nine of which have official status. South Africa also contains the largest communities of European, Asian, and racially mixed ancestry in Africa. The most common language spoken at home by South Africans is Zulu (24% speak Zulu at home), followed by Xhosa (18%) and Afrikaans (13%). To greet someone in Zulu, you would say "sawubona" (sah-woo-BOH-na), or "sanibonani" (sah-nee-boh-NAH-nee) if greeting two or more people. To greet someone in Xhosa, you would say "molo" (MOH-loh), or "molweni" (mole-WAY-nee) to greet two or more people. Whatever your preferred method of saying hello, WE'RE SO GLAD YOU'RE HERE!!

Today was quite a day at Cambridge Adventure Day Camp. Our youngest campers spent their morning at Waltham Fields Community Farm enjoying the gardens and learning about how food is grown and harvested. Our oldest campers spent the day at Farrington Education Center getting friendly with the local animals and enjoying various art and movement activities. That left our "middlers" on-site to begin exploring the wonders of South Africa and all it has to offer. In Cooking, campers chopped and measured and boiled up a yummy relish/stew called "chakalaka," which is as delicious to eat as it is fun to say! In Movement, they headed to our fields to play a friendly game of futbol (a.k.a. soccer), a game that first arrived in South Africa through colonialism in the nineteenth century and today is the country's most widely played sport. In Performance, the kids explored the ancient oral traditions of South African cultures, and in Studio Art they constructed "raffia baskets" inspired by the traditional artisanal craft. All in all, it was an exciting and educational first day of our journey. The week's itinerary is full of engaging activities, which our programming specialists have done a phenomenal job of planning and which promise to respectfully celebrate South Africa in all its glory!