A Walk On The Wild Side

2-09-09
Well today is my first day of classes and I am really excited. The weather here has been a bit milder, even chilly at times, but it hasn’t put a damper on my trip. In fact, the last couple of days will probably be days that I will never forget. It started off with a combi (aka a taxi bus) ride into a part of town that probably wasn’t the safest area. As one of my friends said “I kind of feel like we’re walking through the middle of Compton” and I don’t think he was too far off. Forced to walk through some dark alleys in the middle of an unknown neighborhood, people were constantly telling me to get out of here. We pushed through and ended up, surprisingly, in the historic area of PE, filled with old colonial houses and beautiful churches. We continue on with our trek stopping at the Nelson Mandela Art Museum, which was very cool. It had some of the most beautiful artwork done by some amazing African artists and it was free. We decided to walk back to town a different way allowing us to experience something completely different. The street life changed from something that seem out of control to more of a Harlem circa 1970’s. The sides of building were painted with beautiful murals of jazz musician with their instruments in incredibly vibrant colors. The people on the street seemed to more alive and music was playing everywhere we went. This little excursion was definitely a way to see PE in a new light.
We also went to our first cricket match, which was crazy. I am now a huge fan of the 20 over games and will probably be spending a lot of time at the pitch from now on. One of the other students friends , who is a Johnnie alum who moved here after study abroad, was able to introduce us to one of the top cricket bowlers in South Africa and invited us to the cricketers house for a Braai, or South African barbeque. Later on that night we were picked up in a nice combi that is used to transport PE’s famous vistors, most recently Celine Deon, and driven by a private police officer, who will be the head off security for the 2010 World Cup. After 21 of us piled into the car, we were taken to a colored neighborhood. In South Africa a colored neighborhood is used to describe an area in which during apartheid people of mix races were forced to live. Today the neighborhoods still exist, but are only maintained by the strong sense of community that they as a group have created, rather than legal inforcement. Once we were there the men welcomed us and then the women came running outside and ordered us to dance with them. They are amazing people and treated us like kings and queens. Three hours later, after dancing constantly, the food was done and boy was I glad that I wasn’t a vegetarian any more. It was amazing. We have no clue as to what we were eating and every time we asked, they would simply reply “human” and then laugh a little. During dinner though is when we really got to me the people there. One woman had spent 6 years living in North Carolina and now returned to South Africa. She treated me as if I were here son all night and offered to open her home, which she continually reminded me was bigger than the one we were at, anytime we felt we needed. Another woman was a high ranking member of the Koyu tribe. The Koyu are one of the oldest tribes in all of Africa and have reminded prosperous even during the struggles with apartheid. We are now arranging a trip to visit the Queen and learn about their traditional practice of herbal medicine. I am so excited.
Well now I am off to Pendla school for the first time where I will be volunteering. This morning we will be welcome with a celebration performance by the kids which I hear is really cool.
Peace and Love from Africa
Joe