MY HEARTBEAT

If there is anything I have learned in the last few years of teaching & relationships in life is that sometimes relationships just do not work. Period. We all make mistakes, but there is no reason to stew on them. Move on, and most of the time the friendships that were ever important come back stronger than ever in the long run. If they do not then those people have fully served their purpose in your world. This has happened many times in my past & it did with my drum too.


I became very infatuated with Native Americans after my first year of teaching kindergarten. We do a huge Native American unit. We even had Tonkawa Native Americans that lived on our actual school grounds! The Native Americans believe that there is a spirit in every living thing. They also believe that The drum is your heart. Traditionally it was a very big deal to receive your drum. The Xhosa culture had some similarities. In Asia they say same same, but different.


When I went to Coffee Bay the first time with Sarah, we were tourists. A backpacker. Whatever you want to call it. Kevin was very quick to point that out. I tried to rush a process that is not meant to be rushed. Lets face it my nickname is tortuga (aka Turtle) and I hate being rushed. I was rushing because I was hoping to finish my drum & send it home with Sarah. Big mistake. Huge. The story is long. WAY TO LONG FOR THIS BLOG.


Kevin & I both made mistakes. We were not able to finish making the drum. Then after really settling back in Coffee Bay I made some ishomis (or friends) in the village that recommended Willie. (I probably would have used him the first time but he was out of town on holiday.)


I am not kidding when I tell you there were many prayers, blood, sweat, tears, and plenty of other forces in this drum of mine. I had wanted a drum for the past 5 years. Now, I could not imagine having done it any other way. I can hardly wait to be banging on this drum with all my gypsy friends back in Austin!

Kevin was my first teacher. Incredibly strong & probably equally as stubborn as me.

Had to throw Sarah back in the mix since she was a big part of the beginning stages of my drum.

Sanding down the drum.

Tanning the hide. (I got to do this one 3 times.)

Wrapping the rings that hold the strings to tighten he hide.

Sarah re-teaching me how to tie the knots because I had taken a surf break.

Before I left Coffee Bay the first time I stayed up all night by the fire to watch the drum & hope for it to dry in time for us to finish tightening it so we could leave for Durban. Needless to say mine was not ready. Thankfully Sarah's was! I was having so much fun I really did not want to leave anyway. So the drum was the last straw that forced me to return to Coffee Bay.

SWITCH:

WILLIE!!!!!!

Willie is known throughout the whole village as the drum master. Whenever he is around he leads all the drum circles. He is an excellent teacher, patient, and has a great sense of humor. The bottom line is he made the whole process easy and fun.

It is said that the drum is your heartbeat. I went to Coffee Bay to finish my drum and maybe "volunteer" in a classroom. But I found my heart and way more than I bargained for. So watch out Austin- I can actually keep the beat at least as a beginner.