First Rugby Match!

On Monday I went to my first live rugby game. I didn’t expect it to be such a big deal, but about an hour before students in Maties Rugby shirts started walking towards the stadium. When I got there just after the start of the game (kickoff?), the stadium was packed. It’s probably about the size of Valley Stadium, but with seating in either endzone. Monday night rugby here is as big as Saturday college football in the USA! I had fun watching, though none of us knew what was going on for the most part. I had only limited knowledge from watching a couple of games with avid fans at King’s, an English sports bar in Leiden. My favorite is when the ball goes out of bounds and there’s something called a “line in” (I think) where each team lifts up one of their teammates off the ground to try to hoist him high enough to get the ball before it comes within reach of the rest of the players.

After the game, I had my first meeting as the co-director of recreational activities for the International Student Organization of Stellenbosch. Ironically, my co-director goes to the University of Iowa. We’re really excited about planning adventure trips and hikes and visits to theater events in the coming semester! I’m thinking white-water rafting, sky diving, abseiling (like rappelling), sand boarding, surf lessons, sea kayaking, and at least one hike up Lion’s Head Mountain in Cape Town during a full moon. The best part: since I’m planning them, I can go on them all!

Also, there was a full moon out tonight (or close enough to full that it counted) and that made me happy :)