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| the ticket we got upon arriving, together with a lanyard |
During my over-three-week-hiatus, I had the chance to go to a few events at the 9th JB Arts Festival which is happening all through the month of September. It features events that are diverse, in other words, . In this case, DON'T wake me up when September ends! (okay, that was random). The JB Arts Festival has been around for nine years now and it continues to provide a great opportunity to showcase the artsy-fartsy side of Johoreans and promote the importance of the arts.
The first event I went to was a youth festival called GEGO2012 that was really hyped up by all the crazy tweets at #GEGO2012 and it was organised by JOHO. You might have read about my love life with it here and here. If you follow me on Twitter, you might have noticed my ever-enthusiastic tweets about the event and probably un-followed me already. (don't do that!)
So, you must be wondering what the heck does GEGO stand for? Well, fret no more! Cuz I actually asked and know now! GEGO is actually a Johorean slang for a Malay word called, GEGAR, which means 'SHAKE'. I guess the dynamic here is that we are youthful bunch and can't and will not stop moving and running through life, with a growing appreciation and affection for our home city, Johor Bahru or affectionately known as JB. It was a full day festival at the historical and majestic-looking Bukit Timbalan from 12pm to midnight, featuring local bands, graffiti demos, analogue photography talk, vespas and vintage cars exhibits, longboarding competitions, car boot sales and a whole lot of fun, fun and fun!
What made the experience even better was that I had great company. I went with my two new friends, Teresa and Rachael who are here for a long year of exchange under the AFS programme. It was nice to be able to get to know more about the USA via a local. Cause everything that's on the net and on TV are pretty much candy-coated and there is definitely more than just a pretty documentary or a travel TV show. And I can relate a lot with them, in terms of being an exchange student and adapting to new cultures and meeting new peeps and that made me miss and appreciate South Africa even more! Being an exchange student is very fulfilling and super fun. I think everyone should apply!
Before this, I didn't even know that longboarding was such a huge hit in JB! There was a longboarding competition that took place on the slope down the 2nd entrance to Bukit Timbalan and it was pretty darn rad, I must say. Maybe because longboarding is similar to surfing and I love watching people surf and want to surf one day, that's probably why I find it quite fascinating. Nice job, JB!
I've never seen such togetherness and enthusiasm by a tight-knit group of Johoreans, really. Ever since I was a child, I have always loved the thought of being in a foreign city, a 'better' city with pro-active youths and I've always thought the grass is really greener on the other side. Now that I know there actually are awesome youths of the same perspective of mind as I do, it just renewed my love and pride to be a Johorean.
more arts fest blogposts coming soon!
whole set of pictures // flickr
more on the jb arts festival // website
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