Surfing the Nations Updates
Middle East Adventure and Bangladesh Outreach
Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 24 June, 2009 : - - Aloha from Surfing The Nations! Or should I say A Salaam Aleikum (Arabic greeting), or Shalom ('Peace'" Hebrew) After returning from the latest STN international trip it's hard to make one general greeting to sum up a trip that has taken place in an assortment of countries.
From Egypt to Jordan and then on to Israel, the 2008 Middle East trip has taken 19 surfers on a journey to reach out to and experience various people groups in a unique way.
Our first leg of the journey began in Egypt. Busy streets and smog filled horizons and surrounded us as we toured through Cairo, meeting locals in tea shops and talking it up with busy market vendors. The Egyptians are truly warm, engaging us as their new foreign friends with the same hospitality as if we were family.
Along with visiting the ancient Egyptian pyramids another highlight of our time in Egypt was visiting an orphanage in a community that relies on garbage recycling for it's livelihood. We couldn't help but feel compassion as toddlers and children with disabilities yearned for loving attention from us.
Egypt Holds Event to Select National Team
Friday December 5, 2008 was an exciting day in Egyptian sports history. We brought boards, wetsuits and surfing accessories to help promote surfing as a healthy lifestyle amongst Egypt?s youth. In addition Jedidiah USA, a surf/skate/lifestyle clothing manufacturer donated large amounts of beanies, belts, shirts and hats as prizes for each contestant.
Teymour Adham, founder of the Egyptian Surfing Federation saw the opportunity to have this first event. He knew that it was time. Adham stated that ?Egyptian surfers have been talking a long time about doing an event but it just had never happened till now. Well it?s about time and I know that it will be the first of many more to come.? He made a couple of phone calls to Tom Bauer of Surfing The Nations and the dates were set. Egypt was having it?s first surfing event.
Adham a surfer of more than 15 years who traveled to Hawaii years ago on a tennis scholarship never could have dreamed about what that decision would mean. Well that decision to bring back boards to Alexandria, Egypt and surf has resulted in the birth of the sport of surfing in Egypt.
If you were on the beach at Agamy on Friday you would have seen everyone from the up and coming surf groms to the more experienced pioneers of surfing in Egypt to showcasing their talent. Everyone was sharing waves and enjoying the fact that surfing was bringing them together to celebrate family, fun and recreation. Local television stations came to report on this new and exciting sporting phenomenon which is sure to grow in popularity.
The Country of Jordan, although briefly experienced made an impact regardless. Walking through the ancient city of Petra, handing out clothes to vendor children, listening to local musicians, feasting in the midst of a bedouin family camp, were some of our experiences we cherished. The capital of Amman gave us the opportunity to display the sport of skating among the ancient Roman ruins which excited both children and city police officers, they obviously loved it as they captured every moment of it on their video cell phones!
Jerusalem is full of ancient Biblical history and influence, which was gripping when seen first hand without media interference. We stayed for a week at the Golden Gate Hostel located right amongst the busy market streets of old city Jerusalem, giving us endless opportunities to connect with the many shop owners and restaurant workers and experience first and their way of life.
The old city was divided according to religious beliefs. Walking through the old city streets we could clearly see the diversity between the different religious groups as our surroundings would abruptly change from Jewish to Muslim and then to Christian quarters. One of our drivers invited us into his home where his two wives (one muslim, one christian) treated us to coffee, tea and cookies. These experiences allowed us to put faces to a people caught up in political and religious conflict.
The last leg of our trip brought us to Jaffa, a port city on the coast of Tel Aviv. We connected with a small surf club located right inside the bay. The local kids were so amped about surfing that they would spend every spare moment of their day together surfing at the club. Some would even jump on their bikes and ride to the beach from their school to catch some waves on their lunch breaks.
Surfing for these kids is a positive release from the obvious aggression they are surrounded by every day. Despite this , we saw how they would treat us with warmth and openness. We used this opportunity to bless them with more Jedidiah gear and unexpectedly they returned the favor by generously lending us wetsuits and boards while we surfed with the kids.
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David Estrella
Surfing The Nations - Surfersvillage
