It's getting colder here in South Africa. This is because winter is almost upon us. It doesn't hit levels like back in Virginia but it can get pretty chilly. It's comparative to fall temperatures right now.
This past week was pretty slow moving. It was a planning week for the week ahead of me. I find myself doing a lot of motivating and pushing for my coworkers. I feel that if I wasn't constantly encouraging us to set up appts, make manual copies or push on getting a projector, this program wouldn't be going anywhere fast. I kept on pushing and luckily we were able to travel to some high schools this past week. When we go to set up appointments, Sifiso lets me do all the talking. He says the principals and vice principals that we speak to listen to me more. I'd say it's true because they pay attention when they have an American in their small high school speaking to them in English. I always start out by telling them that Sifiso and I have created this program that is two parts. One of these parts deals with 11th and 12th graders and getting them ready to apply for universities. I then briefly touch on the different parts of the program. I end with telling them that students are encouraged to visit our office for questions or to use our computers to apply. The response that we get from these administrators is always positive. They always say that this information needs to be explained to their learners. We then discuss when would be a good time for us to return and speak with their learners. We have heard that the group of 11th and 12th graders can be about 30 learners. We have heard that there will be 200 learners. I always walk out of these schools encouraged and looking forward to speaking with these students.
With all these visits, we have a busy schedule for the next two weeks. We have a public holiday this Friday but every day we have an appointment. What is even more exciting is that on Tuesday a meeting for the other part of our project has been set up. This is talking with youth aged 18-30 about self esteem, assertiveness, etc. After this we speak about how to write a CV, search for a job and how to conduct yourself in an interview. It will be thrilling to begin speaking to these people and educating them. I get excited because this whole project is like my baby. With Sifiso's help, I researched it, I typed it up, I edited it to make it pretty and I made the PowerPoint presentations. It is important to me that we get this project on a roll now so that it can continue after I leave.
On Saturday, there was a Welcome Party for me. A little late seeing as I leave in a month but because of other reasons, we weren't able to have the party. It began at 5 pm and was at the office. The board, staff and other mentors were there. We had a braai (grill) with all kinds of meat. Beef, pork chops, sausage and chicken was all cooked up. It began with Lwazi giving a background on me and then passed it off to the board director. She is the woman whose father had passed away and had the funeral party early on in my trip. She spoke about how impressed she was with me at the party and how involved I got. The chief lady who I have visited and seen many times through this trip (see past blog posts) also spoke about how easily I have fit in. She talked about how at the ANC meeting, I was singing and dancing with everyone else. The third person to speak was a principal from a local school. I haven't met her before but she thanked me for coming and said that she looked forward to working with me. Of course, I was flattered with all these comments and thanked all of them after they spoke. I was then asked to speak. I stood up and thanked everyone for being so welcoming and helpful during my time. I also told them that I hope that I can provide some help while I am here.
After some prayers, the feasting commenced. It was all delicious. Along with the meats we enjoyed a salad and a vegetable dish. By the end, I was STUFFED. I talked with a variety of people, including the principal, and then people started to leave. We cleaned up, chatted some more and then walked over to Lwazi's house. Here is where the after party was to take place. It was just a fun time drinking, talking with friends, dancing and relaxing until 3 am.
Sunday was spent watching tv and hanging out. A lot of people slept over at the house so there were many hands to help clean up. Lwazi was coming and going to drop people off. When the afternoon came it was just the board director and myself. We got into a great conversation about a variety of things. I had never actually had a conversation longer than 5 mins with her so this was nice. We spent the next few hours talking about my past, her past, the program I created, her nursing stories, HIV/AIDS, different customs and much more. I thoroughly enjoyed this time getting to know her.
I have been told by a variety of people that I seem to be doing a lot of drinking while here. The fact is, I have been. If I were a normal South African man, I would be doing even more drinking. Here is a commentary on alcohol in this society: People here love alcohol. Men and women drink it all the time. It is the reason why so many of my friends here don't have money. They spend it all on alcohol. Future plans don't seem to go past drinking the forthcoming weekend. Now do I see anyone that has a serious alcohol addiction? No. They just like to drink alcohol and enjoy it. The other reason people drink so much is our location. We are in a small town where there is nothing else to do. No cinemas, no fun parks, no nothing. If you are an adult here and want to have a good time, you drink. This is common with many small towns in America. To adapt and make friends, I join these guys in their drinking. I would love to do other things like go to the movies, play kickball or go sight seeing. That isn't what the people do here. And that's fine. I go with the flow as any visitor should try and do. I'm just happy that I'm making friends and have people that want to hang out with me. Will most of my memories from my trip include alcohol? Yes. But these memories will also include making friends, great conversations and different experiences.
I have pictures to post but left the camera at home. I will post them in the coming days.
Monday, April 23, 2012
Sunday, April 15, 2012
The Hot Dogs are Delicious Here
It appears it's been a week since I last posted. I apologize for that and I'm sure that you, my dear readers, have been anxiously awaiting my next post. Well here it is!
On Monday Halala, Lwazi's cousin that has been staying with us, left to go back to college in Durban. It was sad because he had become a dear friend over the two and a half weeks that we lived together. He was a young, fun, easy going, nice guy. Luckily he is in Durban and I still plan on going down there before I leave. Hopefully I'll get to see him again.
At work on Tuesday, Sifiso went ahead and scheduled some school visits for us. These visits would allow us to go speak with 11th and 12th graders about universities. We have created a packet that details the information on dates to apply, financial aid, what you'll need for your application and some other information. I told Sifiso to leave Wednesday free so that we could have a day to prep before we get into full swing. He comes back and tells me that he's scheduled three visits. One for next week, one on Thursday and one on Wednesday. Of course. We would just have to work hard on Tuesday and Wednesday morning to get ready. If only that happened. Around 2 pm, I got a call from Lwazi's mother.
Lwazi's mother told me to come to Lwazi's house to let her in and for me to change into the African National Congress (ANC) tshirt she got me. I had gotten permission to leave work early for the day so I went on home. She came and didn't give me too many details. All I picked up on was that we were going to some ANC meeting in Ndomeni. (BTW, the ANC is one of the political parties here in South Africa and is currently in power) We also picked up Sifiso because she said that I may get bored by myself. After swinging by the office to pick up Sifiso, we drove to Ndomeni. Once we arrived around 4:00 pm, it was apparent that we were early. Lwazi's mother went inside to speak with other party members. Sifiso and I did what any other young guys with time on their hands do...we went and got a drink. Right next to the meeting hall was a small store and there we split a cider. Ciders with alcohol are quite popular here in South Africa. It is during this time that I found out that this meeting was special. Sifiso told me that Jacob Zuma, the PRESIDENT of South Africa, was supposed to be attending this meeting. As soon as I heard that, I got so nervous/excited! I knew that if he came, I'd be meeting him. The only American in the room who is with a high up ANC local member was sure to meet the president of South Africa. I immediately started wondering what I was going to say when I met him.
The meeting was obviously not going to start without the president. People started to fill up the small meeting room. Everyone was waiting a while so people decided to pass time. Here they do it by singing ANC songs and dancing. It was fun to be a part of. I immediately got involved in the dancing and singing, where I could pick up. This went on for a while. Minutes became half hours, half hours became hours, hours became many hours. After hours of singing, dancing, sitting around, cracking Zuma jokes with Sifiso and playing Brickbreaker, the envoy was finally arriving. This was around 9 pm. Nearly 5 hours of waiting. The place was alive with excitement, though. I was in the back of the room with Sifiso. Lwazi's mother came to me and told me that I need to sit with her in the front row facing the stage. I was thinking, Oh man I'm definitely going to meet the president now. Military came in, placed a torch in the room, high up people started coming to the stage to fill in. We were then moved from the front row up to the stage facing everyone! I was so excited. I tucked my shirt in and everything. Everyone came in and they started but I didn't see Zuma. I thought he was just running behind. I anxiously waited, listening to some guy in a purple shirt speak for 10 mins about who knows what, looking around for Zuma to come in. Then people started to get up, Lwazi's mother told me that we were going to take a picture, I shook the guy in the purple shirt's hand briefly, we took the pic, then I left. All this while...no Zuma. Once I was in the car, I asked the guy giving me a ride. I said "Sooo...Zuma wasn't coming tonight??" He laughed and said that he was supposed to come but got caught up in Pretoria. Shit. Oh and that guy in the purple shirt who I briefly met but brushed off was the Premiere for Kwazulu-Natal. Yeah the big deal guy who I should have spoken to I brushed off AND I never got to meet the president. Oh well. All in all it was an exciting time.
Wednesday was filled with running around trying to get ready for our high school meeting. A bunch of running around that was all for nothing because we couldn't get a car out to the village. We had to call the school and cancel. Frustrating but that's the way it goes. Thursday I was set on going to a high school, though. I kept nagging Sifiso to make sure we had transport. It worked out and we got the car. After going with Neville for some visits for him, we made it to our high school. It was the end of the school day and we had the last 20 mins with them. After passing out our manual to all of them I got right in to it. I went through the packet, explained to them the importance of applying and emphasized the importance of a degree. It was my first presentation and I spoke a little fast for them at times but they seemed to be interested for the most part. Sifiso had to come in, after I was done, to do some brief explaining in Zulu. All in all, I think it went well. Two students even came up afterwards to ask questions. That's always a good sign. It felt good presenting. I believe these students just having the information readily can make some difference.
Saturday was a day that I fully expected to be a lazy day. No plans at all. At 11 am, Sifiso, Lwazi, and Neville showed up. Lwazi said that Sifiso and Neville were going to Ndomeni and I should join them. Having no plans, I agreed. I threw on some shorts and a tshirt and hopped in the car. After picking up some fried chicken, dropping off Lwazi and picking up some alcoholic cider we were off! We didn't make it far as cops pulled us over at a traffic stop. The police said that our tires were too worn down and a ticket was issued. Pissed off, we drove on eating our chicken and drinking our cider. I didn't know what we were going to do out in Ndomeni and I still don't know what we did. We stopped at some houses where Sifiso talked to the elderly mothers. All I know is that we ended up at a tavern later. After the tavern, I walked with Sifiso over to his aunt's house. I had met her before and she invited me inside for a soda. She then invited me to have some lunch she was preparing. I had just eaten chicken but I didn't want to be rude. I agreed and shared a delicious meal with her while chatting. I greatly enjoyed this experience. She enjoyed talking and I enjoyed hearing her stories. When I was leaving I assured her that I would be back.
Neville and I left Sifiso in Ndomeni and headed back to Eshowe. The next couple hours were filled with picking up Nattie, drinking, driving around, drinking, getting delicious tripe, drinking, driving around and drinking some more. At the end of the night we ended up in the Location (ghetto area) in an empty parking where people park their cars and drink. We just hung out for a while, meeting new people, joking around, making fun of each other...oh and drinking. Nattie asked me if I wanted a hot dog and since I was some how still feeling hungry, I agreed. I just love food too much. There was a gentleman nearby cooking these sausages in this pan with onions outside this liquor store. In the bun he put lettuce, the sausage, onions, ketchup, mustard and a spicy sauce. That first bite...AMAZING. The spices of the sausage with the sauces all coming together in one delicious explosion was so delicious. By far, one of my favorite things I've eaten here, besides tripe. Always go for the street food when traveling. That's where the good stuff is.
This morning I was a bit hungover after the long day of drinking yesterday. I told myself that today I was going to do nothing. That was until Nattie and Neville showed up at 11 am with beers in their hands. I didn't drink with them but the day was spent sitting outside while they drank, chatting and hanging out. It was a relaxed day hanging out with friends. What more could you ask for on a Sunday?
On Monday Halala, Lwazi's cousin that has been staying with us, left to go back to college in Durban. It was sad because he had become a dear friend over the two and a half weeks that we lived together. He was a young, fun, easy going, nice guy. Luckily he is in Durban and I still plan on going down there before I leave. Hopefully I'll get to see him again.
At work on Tuesday, Sifiso went ahead and scheduled some school visits for us. These visits would allow us to go speak with 11th and 12th graders about universities. We have created a packet that details the information on dates to apply, financial aid, what you'll need for your application and some other information. I told Sifiso to leave Wednesday free so that we could have a day to prep before we get into full swing. He comes back and tells me that he's scheduled three visits. One for next week, one on Thursday and one on Wednesday. Of course. We would just have to work hard on Tuesday and Wednesday morning to get ready. If only that happened. Around 2 pm, I got a call from Lwazi's mother.
Lwazi's mother told me to come to Lwazi's house to let her in and for me to change into the African National Congress (ANC) tshirt she got me. I had gotten permission to leave work early for the day so I went on home. She came and didn't give me too many details. All I picked up on was that we were going to some ANC meeting in Ndomeni. (BTW, the ANC is one of the political parties here in South Africa and is currently in power) We also picked up Sifiso because she said that I may get bored by myself. After swinging by the office to pick up Sifiso, we drove to Ndomeni. Once we arrived around 4:00 pm, it was apparent that we were early. Lwazi's mother went inside to speak with other party members. Sifiso and I did what any other young guys with time on their hands do...we went and got a drink. Right next to the meeting hall was a small store and there we split a cider. Ciders with alcohol are quite popular here in South Africa. It is during this time that I found out that this meeting was special. Sifiso told me that Jacob Zuma, the PRESIDENT of South Africa, was supposed to be attending this meeting. As soon as I heard that, I got so nervous/excited! I knew that if he came, I'd be meeting him. The only American in the room who is with a high up ANC local member was sure to meet the president of South Africa. I immediately started wondering what I was going to say when I met him.
The meeting was obviously not going to start without the president. People started to fill up the small meeting room. Everyone was waiting a while so people decided to pass time. Here they do it by singing ANC songs and dancing. It was fun to be a part of. I immediately got involved in the dancing and singing, where I could pick up. This went on for a while. Minutes became half hours, half hours became hours, hours became many hours. After hours of singing, dancing, sitting around, cracking Zuma jokes with Sifiso and playing Brickbreaker, the envoy was finally arriving. This was around 9 pm. Nearly 5 hours of waiting. The place was alive with excitement, though. I was in the back of the room with Sifiso. Lwazi's mother came to me and told me that I need to sit with her in the front row facing the stage. I was thinking, Oh man I'm definitely going to meet the president now. Military came in, placed a torch in the room, high up people started coming to the stage to fill in. We were then moved from the front row up to the stage facing everyone! I was so excited. I tucked my shirt in and everything. Everyone came in and they started but I didn't see Zuma. I thought he was just running behind. I anxiously waited, listening to some guy in a purple shirt speak for 10 mins about who knows what, looking around for Zuma to come in. Then people started to get up, Lwazi's mother told me that we were going to take a picture, I shook the guy in the purple shirt's hand briefly, we took the pic, then I left. All this while...no Zuma. Once I was in the car, I asked the guy giving me a ride. I said "Sooo...Zuma wasn't coming tonight??" He laughed and said that he was supposed to come but got caught up in Pretoria. Shit. Oh and that guy in the purple shirt who I briefly met but brushed off was the Premiere for Kwazulu-Natal. Yeah the big deal guy who I should have spoken to I brushed off AND I never got to meet the president. Oh well. All in all it was an exciting time.
Wednesday was filled with running around trying to get ready for our high school meeting. A bunch of running around that was all for nothing because we couldn't get a car out to the village. We had to call the school and cancel. Frustrating but that's the way it goes. Thursday I was set on going to a high school, though. I kept nagging Sifiso to make sure we had transport. It worked out and we got the car. After going with Neville for some visits for him, we made it to our high school. It was the end of the school day and we had the last 20 mins with them. After passing out our manual to all of them I got right in to it. I went through the packet, explained to them the importance of applying and emphasized the importance of a degree. It was my first presentation and I spoke a little fast for them at times but they seemed to be interested for the most part. Sifiso had to come in, after I was done, to do some brief explaining in Zulu. All in all, I think it went well. Two students even came up afterwards to ask questions. That's always a good sign. It felt good presenting. I believe these students just having the information readily can make some difference.
Saturday was a day that I fully expected to be a lazy day. No plans at all. At 11 am, Sifiso, Lwazi, and Neville showed up. Lwazi said that Sifiso and Neville were going to Ndomeni and I should join them. Having no plans, I agreed. I threw on some shorts and a tshirt and hopped in the car. After picking up some fried chicken, dropping off Lwazi and picking up some alcoholic cider we were off! We didn't make it far as cops pulled us over at a traffic stop. The police said that our tires were too worn down and a ticket was issued. Pissed off, we drove on eating our chicken and drinking our cider. I didn't know what we were going to do out in Ndomeni and I still don't know what we did. We stopped at some houses where Sifiso talked to the elderly mothers. All I know is that we ended up at a tavern later. After the tavern, I walked with Sifiso over to his aunt's house. I had met her before and she invited me inside for a soda. She then invited me to have some lunch she was preparing. I had just eaten chicken but I didn't want to be rude. I agreed and shared a delicious meal with her while chatting. I greatly enjoyed this experience. She enjoyed talking and I enjoyed hearing her stories. When I was leaving I assured her that I would be back.
Neville and I left Sifiso in Ndomeni and headed back to Eshowe. The next couple hours were filled with picking up Nattie, drinking, driving around, drinking, getting delicious tripe, drinking, driving around and drinking some more. At the end of the night we ended up in the Location (ghetto area) in an empty parking where people park their cars and drink. We just hung out for a while, meeting new people, joking around, making fun of each other...oh and drinking. Nattie asked me if I wanted a hot dog and since I was some how still feeling hungry, I agreed. I just love food too much. There was a gentleman nearby cooking these sausages in this pan with onions outside this liquor store. In the bun he put lettuce, the sausage, onions, ketchup, mustard and a spicy sauce. That first bite...AMAZING. The spices of the sausage with the sauces all coming together in one delicious explosion was so delicious. By far, one of my favorite things I've eaten here, besides tripe. Always go for the street food when traveling. That's where the good stuff is.
This morning I was a bit hungover after the long day of drinking yesterday. I told myself that today I was going to do nothing. That was until Nattie and Neville showed up at 11 am with beers in their hands. I didn't drink with them but the day was spent sitting outside while they drank, chatting and hanging out. It was a relaxed day hanging out with friends. What more could you ask for on a Sunday?
Lwazi, Halala and myself before he left
Stage for the ANC meeting. That is Jacob Zuma on the table
People coming in singing
Singing and dancing while waiting
The ANC torch
This is from my seat on the stage
Lwazi's mother is in front of me. Purple tie is the Premiere. Woman in black is the chief of Ndomeni.
Sunday, April 8, 2012
Happy Easter
Thursday we went to church at night. We got there a bit late. The service started at 7 pm and we arrived at 7:45. The church was packed with people. We had to stand at the door for the entire service. The pastor was in the middle of his sermon and I'm not sure when he started. He didn't stop until around 8:30. Now I have grown up with sermons being 10-20 mins. A sermon being at least 45 mins was something different. Especially when the sermon is in a different language. It was fiery too! This guy was very impressive. There were many hymns and prayers through out the service. We went up to get our feet washed too. I was getting a lot of looks as I would come from the back of the church to the front. It definitely had to have been because I was the lightest skin person there. That and I'm just so handsome. The service lasted until 10:15 pm. I am also not used to services being that long. It was a great experience that I did really enjoy. Even though it was a 3 hour service, it did not seem that long.
Friday was a public holiday in South Africa. Monday is also a holiday so this will be a nice long break. On Friday, Lwazi's mother, cousins and family friends came over. I got to hang out with another one of Lwazi's cousins. We drove around and he told me about how he used to take Lwazi to school when he was younger. He considers himself to be an older brother to Lwazi. I enjoyed getting to know more members of his family. Besides that, the day was very relaxed and chill.
Saturday was a day I was looking forward to since I got here. It was Tholakele, my co-workers, big coming of age party. This party is usually thrown for people when they turn 21. She never did one but since she is getting married in December she was going to have the party now. For the past two weeks she has had to stay indoors. She wasn't allowed to make contact with anyone, unless they are family. Of course this meant that she hasn't been at work for the past two weeks. I bought a typical Zulu outfit two weeks ago just for this event. After going for a run, showering and shaving in the morning, I put on the outfit and we headed out. She lives out in the rural areas that was about 20 mins away. It was a beautiful sunny day out with temperatures in the mid 80s. A truly perfect day. We showed up there and I quickly noticed that I was one of the only guys wearing a typical Zulu outfit. I did notice the typical Zulu outfits worn by the women. Women that are unmarried and children wear these outfits that I'm about to describe. Pretty much...a skirt and jewelry. No top. A lot of topless girls. Before you go, "That's awesome! Topless girls, Whoooo!" know that all but a few of these girls were teenagers or younger. It was awkward at first but then I just took it as it was, a cultural experience. This all took place outside in a field where all the women and girls were dancing and singing songs. Tholakele and other women would walk across the field with sticks, where we were all sitting, and would put the sticks in the ground in front of a man. The man is supposed to bring the stick back and give money. This was happening for a good bit. While this happened, we were drinking Jack Daniels, wine, Heineken and other stuff. After a while of this, I was getting pretty sentimental. I was enjoying the gorgeous weather, the African background, the cultural event going on around me and my new friends around me. It was all such a fantastic feeling.
After a few hours, I was getting hungry. Luckily, food was right around the corner. While they were finishing up the ceremony, we walked back to a house for dinner. We were definitely receiving an honor because we were in a house, sharing the table with the chief and Tholakele's father. The food consisted of rice, beef, fried chicken, beet salad, cole slaw and home cooked bread. Like most of my meals here, it was delicious. Afterwards the traditional beef was brought out. The chief offered me meat from his dish. I don't know if that is an honor or not but I like to think it was. After food, we all started singing, clapping and stomping for a while. I really got into it and had a ball.
We all left and went outside after we were done. After hanging out for a bit, we piled into the car and headed out. It felt so late because of all that had happened already and the stars being out. It was only 7:30 pm. Oh well. The drive back was also a blast. Six of us piled into the car dancing with music blaring. When we arrived back to the house the night was surely not done. We grilled lots of meat, drank more, sang and drank more. There were plans to go to church at midnight but everyone was a bit too...worn out. The beds were calling so we all passed out instead.
Saturday was a great glimpse into the traditional culture events that are still practiced in this area. I was honored to be a part of it while wearing a traditional outfit. I even had one drunk fellow approach me and tell me how happy he was that I was wearing the outfit. He said that it showed a blend of cultures and that's why he was so happy.
With all of the alcohol drank yesterday you can imagine that we were a little late in waking up this morning. Since people slept over and the slow start we kinda missed church... In fact not much has gone on today. Just a lot of recovering. I hope everyone has a happy Easter, though, and that you'll enjoy the pictures I've posted. Due to the explicit content of some of these photos and videos, I will not be posting all of them. If you want to see them all, just send me an email and I'll send them to you.
Attaching money to an umbrella that is then presented to Tholakele
From Left to Right: Sifiso, Halala, Nattie (guessing the spellings)
Tholakele is in the red cap
The side with the men and married women
Again, same side
The only pic of Tholakele and me without toplessness
Us hanging out watching
More hanging out
Sifiso and I. Check out that outfit
Nattie and I
Tholakele again
The man in the purple shirt is the Chief. I've met him and got a picture with him before.
The dinner table
Singing and dancing
This is when we came back home. Singing and enjoying some meat
Monday, April 2, 2012
"Work, work, work, work. Yeah you know I got that work."
The night is February 25, 2012, my last night out in DC before I leave. The location is Justin Brannigan's apartment. The time is approximately 10:30 pm, time to go out into the city. I request one song from Justin before we go out. We blast "Bait" by Wale, the song the lyrics are from. Fast forward to March 31, 2012. In a car with four other South African college kids at 9 pm blasting the same song. I'm nothing but smiles.
This past weekend was pretty exciting. After work on Friday, I finally met Lwazi's brother. He has been studying at the University of Cape Town. This is their spring/fall break. After a meet and greet Lwazi and I had to go to Ndomeni to meet Sifiso to give him a gas cylinder and a grill. Saturday was the funeral from Sifiso's grandmother so they needed it to cook food for all the guests coming. I was also able to see the site where Lwazi's family is currently building a new home which was neat.
The weather here is something else. Thursday and Friday it was hot in the mid to upper 80s. A rain front moved in Friday night and I felt the temperature drop. All weekend, and currently, the temperature has been in the 50s. This isn't the Africa that I signed up for. I wanted hot weather. I have been cheated!
Saturday was an appropriately rainy day as we drove to the funeral. Thankfully I had brought with me a heavy jacket just in case. The funeral service was very nice. It was conducted completely in Zulu but I was able to follow along. There was a lot of singing which I enjoyed. I want there to be a lot of singing at my funeral, I have decided. As the service ended, we stood outside as they loaded the casket into the funeral service van. We stood there for some time waiting for the van to leave. It was never clarified but I'm pretty sure the van wouldn't start. Some people gave it a push thinking they could jump into gear and get going but that didn't help. The van had to pull over, they unloaded the casket and walked it to the cemetary. Luckily it was right next to the church. What was also lucky was that the rain had stopped falling during the entire burial. The burial was similar to ones in America except for one big difference. At the end, males in the family bury the body. There is a large pile of dirt and they all take turns shoveling dirt into the ground. Many were wearing nice shoes, pants, shirts and ties. Yet they, without care, would pick up a shovel when one was dropped to help bury. Now there were men who worked there helping but the primary work was done by the family members. It is a custom that is, in my opinion, more sentimental. It shows the always connecting love and connection that is shared in this culture. Returning back to Sifiso's home, we dined on a delicious meal.
We returned home around 3:30 pm and I was planning on taking a nap seeing as I had woken up at 6:30 am . When we got home, I saw that Lwazi's brother had invited over some friends. Not wanting to be antisocial I hung out with them. That's when the Johnny Walker Black Label came out. The drinking commenced. I had a great conversation with one guy about work, stock trading, black people and Indians. Lwazi had gone to a party in Ndomeni during this time. Around 7 pm, I found out that we were going to party. Of course I was down for that. We hopped into the Mercedes, drinks in hand, and went to the party. The night was filled with driving around different parts of Eshowe, drinking, dancing to house music, listening to Rick Ross, Wale, J. Cole and others. We even went and got tripe at the same restaurant I ate at last week. Being the old man I am, I depressingly had to call it quits around 11:30 pm. I was exhausted from waking up early and drinking all day. I got dropped off and passed out. The day and night reminded me of college breaks with my high school friends. Coming home, hanging out, talking, drinking and partying.
Sunday was more slow paced. The friends had crashed over at the house so we woke up and watched soccer. Lwazi's mother came over and needed to go to Ndomeni and asked if I wanted to come. I obviously said yes. Lwazi's brother, his mother, another lady who I had just met and myself piled into the car. We went to a house which I had briefly been to Friday night. They had the party on Saturday that Lwazi had gone to that day. I chatted with them, we got some left over beef from the party before and then moved on to another house. There we walked in and there was a cute old lady sitting on a couch singing and dancing to songs on tv by herself. It was so adorable as she had to have been in her 80s. She just had a beaming smile while sitting and dancing. I want to be like that when I'm her age. Lwazi's mother and the other lady were apparently staying at the house for the night. When Lwazi's brother and I got back into the car I was confused and asked him who's house this was as I had no prior explanation. He told me it was the other lady's house and she was the queen of this village area.
When we arrived home, the friends were in the yard getting a grill going. A barbecue. Another thing my high school friends and I used to do. Pork, chicken and sausage were grilled with sides of vegetable salad, beet salad and a 2 bean stew. It was quite a feast. Our food was accompanied with the watching of this HILARIOUS comedian named Trevor Noah. He is a South African guy who os extremely funny. Some jokes only South Africans would get. Some I was able to get from being here for a month. Most of them could translate to all cultures. Best part is that he makes a lot of Indian jokes. I highly suggest you check him out. Apparently he's in the U.S. right now.
This weekend was filled with familiar experiences. The funeral was an event that was much more familiar with the solemn sense it carried. Hanging out with college kids that were home on break was also familiar. This week is sure to be more interesting with hopefully some more field work. Easter is apparently also very intense with Lwazi so there will be lots of church services starting Thursday.
This past weekend was pretty exciting. After work on Friday, I finally met Lwazi's brother. He has been studying at the University of Cape Town. This is their spring/fall break. After a meet and greet Lwazi and I had to go to Ndomeni to meet Sifiso to give him a gas cylinder and a grill. Saturday was the funeral from Sifiso's grandmother so they needed it to cook food for all the guests coming. I was also able to see the site where Lwazi's family is currently building a new home which was neat.
The weather here is something else. Thursday and Friday it was hot in the mid to upper 80s. A rain front moved in Friday night and I felt the temperature drop. All weekend, and currently, the temperature has been in the 50s. This isn't the Africa that I signed up for. I wanted hot weather. I have been cheated!
Saturday was an appropriately rainy day as we drove to the funeral. Thankfully I had brought with me a heavy jacket just in case. The funeral service was very nice. It was conducted completely in Zulu but I was able to follow along. There was a lot of singing which I enjoyed. I want there to be a lot of singing at my funeral, I have decided. As the service ended, we stood outside as they loaded the casket into the funeral service van. We stood there for some time waiting for the van to leave. It was never clarified but I'm pretty sure the van wouldn't start. Some people gave it a push thinking they could jump into gear and get going but that didn't help. The van had to pull over, they unloaded the casket and walked it to the cemetary. Luckily it was right next to the church. What was also lucky was that the rain had stopped falling during the entire burial. The burial was similar to ones in America except for one big difference. At the end, males in the family bury the body. There is a large pile of dirt and they all take turns shoveling dirt into the ground. Many were wearing nice shoes, pants, shirts and ties. Yet they, without care, would pick up a shovel when one was dropped to help bury. Now there were men who worked there helping but the primary work was done by the family members. It is a custom that is, in my opinion, more sentimental. It shows the always connecting love and connection that is shared in this culture. Returning back to Sifiso's home, we dined on a delicious meal.
We returned home around 3:30 pm and I was planning on taking a nap seeing as I had woken up at 6:30 am . When we got home, I saw that Lwazi's brother had invited over some friends. Not wanting to be antisocial I hung out with them. That's when the Johnny Walker Black Label came out. The drinking commenced. I had a great conversation with one guy about work, stock trading, black people and Indians. Lwazi had gone to a party in Ndomeni during this time. Around 7 pm, I found out that we were going to party. Of course I was down for that. We hopped into the Mercedes, drinks in hand, and went to the party. The night was filled with driving around different parts of Eshowe, drinking, dancing to house music, listening to Rick Ross, Wale, J. Cole and others. We even went and got tripe at the same restaurant I ate at last week. Being the old man I am, I depressingly had to call it quits around 11:30 pm. I was exhausted from waking up early and drinking all day. I got dropped off and passed out. The day and night reminded me of college breaks with my high school friends. Coming home, hanging out, talking, drinking and partying.
Sunday was more slow paced. The friends had crashed over at the house so we woke up and watched soccer. Lwazi's mother came over and needed to go to Ndomeni and asked if I wanted to come. I obviously said yes. Lwazi's brother, his mother, another lady who I had just met and myself piled into the car. We went to a house which I had briefly been to Friday night. They had the party on Saturday that Lwazi had gone to that day. I chatted with them, we got some left over beef from the party before and then moved on to another house. There we walked in and there was a cute old lady sitting on a couch singing and dancing to songs on tv by herself. It was so adorable as she had to have been in her 80s. She just had a beaming smile while sitting and dancing. I want to be like that when I'm her age. Lwazi's mother and the other lady were apparently staying at the house for the night. When Lwazi's brother and I got back into the car I was confused and asked him who's house this was as I had no prior explanation. He told me it was the other lady's house and she was the queen of this village area.
When we arrived home, the friends were in the yard getting a grill going. A barbecue. Another thing my high school friends and I used to do. Pork, chicken and sausage were grilled with sides of vegetable salad, beet salad and a 2 bean stew. It was quite a feast. Our food was accompanied with the watching of this HILARIOUS comedian named Trevor Noah. He is a South African guy who os extremely funny. Some jokes only South Africans would get. Some I was able to get from being here for a month. Most of them could translate to all cultures. Best part is that he makes a lot of Indian jokes. I highly suggest you check him out. Apparently he's in the U.S. right now.
This weekend was filled with familiar experiences. The funeral was an event that was much more familiar with the solemn sense it carried. Hanging out with college kids that were home on break was also familiar. This week is sure to be more interesting with hopefully some more field work. Easter is apparently also very intense with Lwazi so there will be lots of church services starting Thursday.
First taste of SA wine. I didn't get it because it was pink..or did I?
Sifiso's family's home. The tent was where we ate.
Another picture of the property.
In the background you can see the dark rain clouds. And that is Lwazi's mother's Mercedes.
The grill on Sunday.
The friends hanging out. Far right is Lwazi's brother. Second from left is the cousin who has been staying with us.
The pair of shoes I bought for $8 that were a little more fashionable.
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