Thabo Turkey

Happy Thanksgiving from South Africa! I celebrated last weekend with some friends up at St. Lucia – a wildlife refuge and vacation spot on the Kwa-Zulu Natal North Coast.

Finding the turkey for dinner was an interesting undertaking – since I would estimate that the average South African eats turkey once for every like 10,000 times they eat chicken. I started by going to a a couple shops near my house in Durban only to find a selection of rather puny and pathetic birds. This did not bode well for the T-day feast, but I pressed on and evenutally found a nice 13-pounder at the local supermarket butcher shop.

We hauled “Thabo Turkey” (Thabo being the best translation for Tom I could think of which is in no way intended to reference to the president of South Africa 😉 ) up to St. Lucia where he was the centerpiece of a spread that included; stuffing, mashed potatoes, pumpkin curry, pie and soup, chocolate chip cookies, salad, green bean cassarole, corn, cranberry jelly and rolls. Yum!

The best part was that I cooked the turkey all by myself! Well, I got a few pointers from Alycia so I didnt seriously screw it up, but basically accomplished it on my own. Mom, if you’re reading this you’re probably having some incredulous thoughts – but it’s true – I cooked the bird. Someone there said that they thought cooking the Thanksgiving turkey for the first time is like some American rite of passage. Hmmm…does it still count if you do it in another country??

Cross Cultural Exchange: Johnny Appleseed

It’s typical for South Africans to start and close most professional gatherings with a prayer and/or song. The beginning of a recent meeting in Pietermartizburg was no exception. The group – it was about 20 people total – began by singing, “Siyabonga Nkhosi” which means We Thank You King and is similar to the ever popular, “Siyabonga Baba” or We Thank You Father.

I’ve heard this particular song a few times now and can sort of sing along. In general South Africans are naturally talented singers and everyone always somehow manages to sing in perfect harmony – which I find impressive since most singing is done a cappella.

This meeting was attended by another American, Justin who is also a volunteer with the you-know-what and is based at an organization that is in part supported by AFSA. Being new to the group (he’s just arrived a few months ago) he was invited to lead everyone in the closing prayer.

Justin, however, didn’t get a chance to answer (or was cleverly keeping quiet), because I suddenly heard myself blurt out, “Ooo do you know Johnny Appleseed?” As it happened he was not familiar with this particular tune which I know from my Chruch Camp days – we used to sing it before Grace. I was ready to ask someone else to lead the singing when I discovered I was being gazed at with the group with a look that firmly said, “you better sing now white girl”. I then realized I was not getting out of this and had no choice but to serenade them with the following lyrics:

Johnny Appleseed

Ooohhhh….(this Oh can go on for as long as 30 seconds when being sung by a group of 10 year olds) the Lord’s been good to me,

And so I thank the Lord,

For giving me, the things I need,

The sun and the rain and the Appleseed.

The Lord’s been good to me.

Amen. (Amen Amen Amen)

After I finished singing the look I got from the group clearly said, “hnmmmh, why did we want to hear that?” I have to agree that I also prefer the African songs.

Johnny Appleseed was a real person; an American pioneer who was one of the first white people to settle in what is today the wonderful state of Ohio. His claim to fame was the apple trees he planted all over Ohio, Indiana and parts of Illinois in the early 1800’s. He was also a conservationist, a protector of animals and a deeply religious man. Johnny has been become a bit of a folk hero in the US, so I would guess that most of the stories that are out there about him are more Tall Tale than fact. He’s most often depicted barefoot, wearing clothes that have seen better days and a pot on his head.

This is the cover of a book about Johnny Appleseed that I had when I was a kid, so this is how he looks in my head whenever I think about him, poor guy.

Finally Some Good News

There are two things that came to my attention recently that I would like to highlight. As this is my blog on South Africa I will start with the good news from SA first. If you’re not interested in politics I suggest you read no further.

The Next Best Thing

The SA government is finally doing something right when it comes to addressing the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the country (see my previous post, “Manto Must Go!”). While SA President Thabo Mbeki has failed to sack destructive and idiotic health minister, Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, he’s done the next best thing – sidelining her in favor of Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka who he has appointed to head up the National AIDS Task Force. Incidentally, I think if Mbeki had his way he would choose Phumi for the next president of SA over ZUMA, but that is another story. This is what Phumi was heard to say to a crowd of health professionals and church leaders shortly after her appointment:

” We must take our fight against Aids to a much higher level. We must tighten up so that ARV [antiretroviral] drugs are more accessible, especially to the poor. Education and prevention of HIV infection must be scaled up. Our people want us to unite on this issue in the best interests of the health and wellbeing of our nation. Working together we can defeat this disease.”

These statements are actually coming from a high-ranking member of the SA government! I’m so excited!!! It might be a bad idea to get too optimistic at these early stages, but at least things appear to be moving the right direction. I doubt, however, that everyone is quite as happy as I about the changes…

Poor Manto doesn’t demotion suck??

Luke’s Favourite Guy

Last night was Guy Fawkes Night in SA, which was celebrated in Durban by a few isolated bangs of fireworks. I think the contingent of English speaking South Africans in Durban felt it necessary to set of a few of these lameass booms to at least make their presence known after the much more impressive Diwali celebrations a few weeks back. But in reality no one here really gives much of a crap about Guy Fawkes Day (or Night for that matter).

As I noted in a previous post (which I later deleted) English speaking South Africans LOVE everything British; from Robbie Williams to Cottage Pie, and try to revel in whatever remaining vestiges of Britishness they can find. Why you ask? Beats the hell out of me.

Guy Fawkes Day is not without true fans, however. One of its biggest, although unbeknowngst to me until today, is my younger brother Luke. As he was born and raised in the USA, poor Luke has been deprived of every opportunity to truly participate in this most British of holidays. But these unfortunate circumstances have in no way decreased Luke’s enthusiasm for the Old Guy, see the excerpts from Luke’s Myspace blog below:

“Haaaapy Guy Fawkes Day!! Don’t forget to burn your effagies!

Happy Guy Fawkes Day everyone!! At long last, my favorite holiday of the year has arrived. For those of you not familiar with the holiday and it’s traditional burnings, allow me to explain: Guy Fawkes was a militant English Catholic who spear-headed an ill-fated plot to literally blow up Parliament with several tons of dynamite while the Protestant King, James IV, was on site to give a speech. Exactly 401 years ago today(Nov. 5th, 1605) the “Popish Plot” was foiled and Fawkes was captured and eventually executed along with several other conspirators. Now for the fun part; so every year to date all across Great Britain they ceremonially burn Fawkes in effigy to celebrate the failed attempt to blow up Parliament and the King. Everywhere, that is, except in Cornwall, there they burn the Pope!!! Suck on that Benedict XVI!!!”

Isn’t the resemblance to Ali G uncanny?? And rather frightening.

Apparently the whole 1605 affair, known as The Gunpowder Plot, was not the first attempt on the life of King James I (he was King James IV of Scotland); there were earlier attempts such as the Main Plot and the Bye Plot of 1603 . The Gunpowder Plot was particularly dastardly because if it had succeeded not only the King and the Houses of Parliament would have been blown-up, but the royal family and the entire Protestant aristocracy as well. The effigies of the Pope are burnt in Lewes, Essex where the event coincides with the anniversary of the martyrdom of 17 Protestants during the Marian Persecutions of 1555-57.

In modern day Britain GFD is also known as Bonfire Day and Fireworks Night, when as already noted by my somewhat verbose sibling, effigies of the Guy are burned at bonfires and fireworks are set off.

Before the effigies are burned young children are said to go around with them and use them to extort money from people by saying, “a penny for the Guy.” Probably in a fashion similar to our American custom of “Trick or Treat.” And like many a holiday I can imagine that Guy Fawkes Day would be just another excuse to get drunk for lots of people – hopefully not the young children, though you never know…

But all that would be happening in the UK, not here in SA where at least in Durban, GFD is really only celebrated in a half-assed kind of way. Shame.

Something tells me Luke wouldn’t approve.