On Monday the 19th of May, our friends
from Happy Surf Jogja paid a visit to our Sekolah Sungai in Kricak to
teach the children about surfing and the beach. They even brought their
surfboards and taught the kids the 3 important moves for surfing:
paddling, taking off and popping up! Some of the children even had a go
at simulating surfing, a new experience and learning curve for everyone.
Happy Surf Jogja played a lot of the
videos they have made about surfing in Jogja, how the beaches are
undiscovered and how the surfing community is relatively new. Surfing as
a sport is still not very common, and Happy Surf Jogja are keen to
teach anyone, and get lots more people involved with the beaches to the
South of Jogja. Pantai Krakal has very consistently good waves in the
wet season, and the surf community also know all the places with rips as
well as what beaches are good for beginners.
Lastly, the kids were taught about the
myths of Nyai Roro Kidul and the stigma around swimming at the beaches
of South Java. Practices around this legend include never wearing green
while swimming in the South Java beaches and praying before you swim.
However, these myths were also
supplemented with photos of rips and the beaches which are known to draw
swimmers out to sea when they get too far away from the shore. This
added aspect of science and myth combines Javanese mythology with swim
safety to teach the kids that the beach can be dangerous if you don’t
follow the rules or listen to those who know the waters.
Thank you so much to Happy Surf Jogja for
introducing this amazing part of Jogja to the kids, we hope one day
they will be able to visit the beach with Happy Surf Jogja!
write by: Marvin Kiefer
write by: Marvin Kiefer
