My first weekend in Khayelitsha really started on Friday afternoon; no one felt like doing heavy work, so Robert, Anna and I spent the afternoon chatting. Past the working hours, I played soccer with the kids while Anna and Andiswa prepared dinner. Buyiswa came after dinner, we chatted a bit on the balcony until the sunset and the sky was dark. At 7PM, the fun began; tonight Mpe-Mpe, one of the workers, took us to the local pub.
The bar-scene in the township is not the same as in Montreal. Here it consisted of a dozen men (plus Anna) around a room about 20 meter-squared large. Drinks are passed into the room through a little opening on the tin wall. There is loud music, but the catch is that someone has to put a few rand into the juke box. I kinda found the atmosphere a bit depressing; some men just sat there the entire night without saying a word or drinking any beer. Other men are either playing pool or really drunk. with the latter concerning me a bit because of Anna's presence. I'd look over in her direction once in a while to make sure she wasn't being harassed. I don't think I was over protective. The night was enjoyable, even though I didn't have one drop of alcohol in me. We danced, we chatted, and saw some new faces that'll start to recognize in the future. There was an event that happened afterward which was sort of frightening, I won't talk about it here.
uMgqibelo - Saterdag - Saturday
Party party party - today is a day of partying...African style. At around noon, Buyiswa came to Makazi's guest house to pick up me and Anna. After a bit of shopping at the local liquor store, we headed to the party house in Buyiswa's car. The thing about her car is that it is like the Toronto Maple Leaf's goal-tending, inconsistent. We never made it to our destination - Hazel's house, we had to walk the last bit of our journey. Soon after we reached Hazel's house, Mike (Buyiswa's driver) and I went back to push the car. As curious as someone like me could get, I can't help to pop the hood to see what the problem was. With a bit of examination, I found a broken connector. I fixed it with the help of a handy knife and the bad boy was up and running as if he's uner police pursuit. Now for the party! But no...not for me...yet.
Buyiswa pulled me out to go with her to "get something". I asked "where", but her reply was "Don't worry about it". VERY satisfying and clear. As the story unfolded, we went to an ATM, then gas station, corner store, and BBQ court to buy some tasty-meaty, and.....that's when the car failed for the second time, this time, it's the battery, dead. Thankfully I'm a runner and I was able to push a car for about a kilometer before Buyiswa's patience gave in and she called for backup.
NOW the party began! The men sat outside in the fenced yard while the women had their own circle in the house. Conversations carried on, I had a nice long chat with one of the oldest men there, Wilber his name was, he taught me the bits and pieces of the South African culture. The drinking began as soon as the ceremony was on its way. A bucket of home-brew beer was passed around as each man takes a long gulp of it before passing it to the man sitting on the left. A few rounds of drinking this thing, the average tipsy'ness level reached a point of no-return. Luckily for me, my alcohol tolerance was enough to get me through the rounds and recall the events; thanks McGill!
A few hours of drinking finally silenced the men, and it was the women's turn to turn it on. They began singing, dancing, clapping, stomping their feet, banging the bottom of a bucket...you see, there's a bit of college in everyone. I joined the women in their dances, the house was loud and lively of music, even without a stereo. As the sun hid itself in the background, people began to leave, the men first, as they were first to be drunk. A gang of women and me hired a minitaxi to take us back to the guest house, the long ride was accompanied by singing and cool wind through an open window. This is as good as it gets for a night.
Sunday
It's a windy day in the township, I'd say its about 50km/h. Although windy, the sun is up, keeping us warm. I figured today is going to be a relaxing day to sit around. As I'm writing this, Anna's sitting behind me on the balcony bench, reading some traveling book about a guy who traveled from Cape Town to Cairo to get over a break-up. Certainly, spend some time in Africa, you can clear up any knots and blocks in your life. Today is a very good example of it.
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