Rugby- South African Style!

With painted faces and blue Stormer jersey's 107 Americans poured out of the Mercedes bus and into the rugby tailgate area. Yeah, it was a scene for all to be had...we even had a few tailgaters come over and ask to take a photo with some individuals in our group. Ugh...this is why I do not particularly enjoy traveling in a large group, I much rather fit right in with the locals and the local rhythm. Nonetheless, we settled into "our" area that was roped off by our South African friends from Cape Xtreme (the adventure tour company that we work with) and they grilled up some "boer wors" (traditional South African sausage) on a large "braai" stand. "Braai" is Afrikaans for barbecue or grill.

After a few hours at the braai we made our way through the thick crowd to the standing section in Newlands Rugby Stadium. Chase, Mallory, and I stuck together and eventually made our way down to the first few rows in the standing section. We were in the thick of the crowd where the five senses came alive: you could hear screams of joy and frustration in Afrikaans and you could smell the smokiness of tobacco. It was a close game and the crowd was really into the cross-town rivalry (Stormers=Cape Town team) (Bulls=Pretoria team). Even though I have no idea how the game of rugby is played, I did enjoy the experience because South Africans love their rugby and I love a true cultural experience.