The Cricket

I can’t remember if I’ve gone off about The Cricket before, as during the past two years I’ve generally tried to remain somewhat “culturally sensitive”. But no more! Not since the ICC World 20/20 Cricket Tournament has hijacked regularly scheduled programming on SABC 3, everyday, for the past TWO weeks.

First of all, its never just referred to as Cricket – always as “THE Cricket”. This is something that people here do when talking about all sports (THE Rugby and THE Soccer), and I’ve had enough.

Second, Cricket is unnecessarily long – one game lasts 4 hours! And it’s not like much even happens in those four hours, making it also an extremely boring sport to watch. At least with baseball games (which can also be unnecessarily long and boring) there are fun songs in the middle when things get slow, and of course the 7th inning stretch. Not so with Cricket – when they need a break the go out for tea. TEA!

Third, they wear sweater vests as part of their uniforms.

Fourth, a tournament drags on for two weeks and will be televised on SABC 3 for that entire time – and they show all the games, not just the games in which SA’s playing. I guess I can’t really blame the “sport” of Cricket for this since it’s actually SABC that decides what goes on the air. But come on, during prime time?

South African Celebrity Sighting

This occured last week on a lunchtime trip from my office to The Centre (aka the mall). I was walking with Heather and my two co-workers Lungile and Phumelele, who recognized her first. I looked up to see a familiar face approaching on the sidewalk and thought, “I know her, who is that?” just as Lu and Phu breathed an awe-inspired, “Buuuuuuusi.”

Leleti Khumalo plays Busi on the insanely popular South African Soap Opera, Generations, which is on SABC 1 weekdays at 8pm. When I lived in Limpopo during PC training, part of my evening ritual was to watch Generations with my host family – and I kept up the habit for pretty much the entire first year I lived in Durban.

The show is set in Joburg, and all of the starring characters work for a large (fictional of course) magazine publishing/advertising company. Khumalo plays one of the bosses of the company, who when I first tuned in had just lost her mind and tried to kill herself (drowning)- thanks in part to the meddling of a scheming co-worker. Since then she’s made a miraculous recovery and is back on the job, and rekindled a potentially disastrous former relationship with dastardly gangster and diamond runner, Jack Mabaso. Despite Jack’s untimely death a few months back, Busi has managed to keep it together and is doing quite well these days.

Leleti Khumalo (aka Busi) played the title character in the movie Yesterday (2004) which is about a woman living in rural Kwa-Zulu Natal who learns that she’s HIV positive. The film was nominated for an Oscar in 2005 and I would recommend it. She’s also been in Cry the Beloved Country with Richard Harris and James Earl Jones and Hotel Rwanda with Don Cheedle.

Khumalo got her big break, however, in 1985 when she was cast in the leading role of the musical Sarafina!, which went to Broadway and then finally to the big screen (1992) where she starred opposite Whoopi Goldberg. I’ve also met the author of Sarafina!, Mbongeni Ngema (Durban is actually a pretty small town).

I guess as South African actresses go, Leleti is one of the most popular and best known internationally. When we saw her on the street, she didn’t seem too excited to be recognized and just sort of walked by ignoring us. I can’t blame her though. She must get recognized everywhere she goes (South Africa is actually a pretty small country) and that would get annoying after awhile – that and being called Busi when it’s not your real name. So if you ever see her on the street I would advise calling her Leleti instead.

The Comrades Ultra-Marathon

Congratulations to Kristi for finishing the 2007 Comrades Marathon! The Comrades is an 83 km (56 mile) race from Pietermartizburg to Durban. The starting point alternates between the two cities each year- so next year it will start in Durban and finish in PMB. The route ending in Durban is considered the “downhill” since the elevation drops, however, some people claim that the uphill is “easier”. A special medal is given to people who run it two years in a row thus completing both the uphill and the downhill. The race is in its 82nd year.

This year’s winner was a Russian guy who finished it in 5 hours and 20 minutes – breaking a 20-year-old Comrades record for fastest time. The female winners were two identical twins, also from Russia, taking first and second place. They ran in at 6 hours and 10 minutes – about 29 seconds apart. Kristi finished in just over 11 hours – finishing at all is quite an acheivement not to mention INSANE. I’m still having trouble believing that people can run that far in one day.

According to the newspaper 12,000 people were crazy enough to start the Comrades, but it was silent as to how many of them made it across the finish line. In order to officially complete the race one must finish in 12 hours and there are various checkpoints along the way where runners who fall too far behind, to the point of having no hope of finishing in 12 hours, are eliminated. One man died.

One does have to qualify to run the Comrades – a major prerequiste being the ability to finish a standard marathon in under 5 hours. As we were hanging out at the finish line waiting to see Kristi run in, I observed that many of the other runners who were able to complete Comrades did NOT appear to be in very good shape. There were a few people who looked like they hadn’t run a lap around the track since Mandela left office. Then there were the handful of South African runners who cracked open six-packs of beer and lit up cigarettes within minutes of finishing the race!!! Unbelieveable.

Thankfully Kristi is still alive, although on this morning after she may wish she wasn’t. She’s glad she did The Comrades but has vowed never to do it again as long as she lives. Her sights are now set on entering the Boston Marathon. Go Kristi GO!

Leanne’s Loteni Life

Loteni village is in the Southern Drakensberg about 30 km from South Africa’s border with Lesotho. There is no electricity in Loteni, nor is there running water, indoor toilets or paved roads. Leanne lives there, and I had fun visiting!

The whole area around Loteni is beautiful, being so far up in the mountains and all, and people there really still live the simple rural lifestyle. All the water used for cooking and washing is fetched from the mountain stream. Leanne’s host mother, Florence, cooks everyday over a fire in the rondavel (hut) on the family farm that serves as a kitchen. While I was there she made traditional African sweet bread in a big round pot. She also made samp and beans – one of both Leanne and my favorite South African dishes.

Leanne stays in her very own rondavel beside the family’s house. She cooks on a gas stove but has to buy the majority of her food at the nearest town, Underberg, about 55 km away and brings it back to Loteni on public transport (mini-bus taxis). She boils water fetched from the river before she can use it for drinking or washing dishes. She claims to have learned to carry water home in a bucket on her head – a feat I didn’t actually see her perform with my own eyes. I will take her word for it however, since I didn’t actually help with any of the water-fetching during my visit. Laundry day is particularly dreaded in cold weather as this requires lugging alot of water around.

Leanne’s House (aka Rondavel)

Its been almost a year and half now that Leanne has lived in Loteni, but she still doesn’t complain much about the the lack of modern conveniences. Her rondavel is cozy and pretty well insulated from the elements outside – except for the winter cold. Snow does fall in the Drakensberg in the winter and temperatures can get as low as -4 degrees F (or -20C)…not pleasant when all you have are a few blankets and a hot water bottle to keep warm! My visit happened during what is only the beginning of autumn, and it was already uncomfortably cold at night and in the morning, so winter must really suck!

In addition to doing a little subsistence farming, most families have some livestock like cows, pigs, goats or chickens that can be found around the farmyard or grazing in local fields during the day. At Leanne’s house Florence’s husband Justice looks after the livestock and crops with the help of their two sons, Sifiso and Lebo.

Livestock theft is a major problem in Loteni. Basotho men cross the border at night, break into local farms and stealthily herd cattle back into Lesotho under the cover of darkness. And when I say dark, I mean it gets DARK – like you cannot see a thing at night except for stars – so I’m kind of amazed that these guys are able to pull that kind of thing off as often as they do. In response to the problem, residents have organized Citizens’ Stock Theft Patrol groups that go out at night (between 10-2am) to keep watch over a group of their neighbors’ animals. The responsibility rotates between families and family members living in close proximity – and I hear that pretty soon it will be Leanne’s turn to go on Stock Theft Patrol!

Nursery School Building

When she’s not chasing cattle thievin’ Basothos off the family land, Leanne works for a literacy NGO. This work requires her to travel frequently between the three nearby villages…well maybe the villages aren’t actually that close together….sometimes she has to walk upwards of 10 km during one day if she’s not lucky with transport. Walking that far is pretty typical for most people in Loteni lots of kids walk that far to school – one way.

Grannies attending Literacy Group – and sporting new glasses!

Because Loteni still doesn’t have electricity it’s pretty unique in SA – almost all of the rest of country is electrified (most of the time anyway). There’s talk these days that power will be coming soon, but Eskom has yet to do more than talk at community meetings and people are getting frustrated. Another point of frustration is the poor quality of the roads. During the rainy season some sections get so muddy they become impassable and all year-round the potholes are formidable. People complain to the powers that be but see few results and hear a variety of excuses for the lack of action.

Change is coming but its coming slowly, and whether or not that’s a good thing is debateble. People want access to some modern conviences, but at the same time they value their rural way of life – something that will be irrevicobly changed when Eskom finally gets its ass in gear. I guess finding the balance between those two things is the real challenge.

Leanne has become part of the Loteni community and in alot of ways and it will probably be difficult for her to leave in October. But, she says, she’ll always feel like she has a South African home to come back to.

My Boss is a Gospel Singer

My boss Dan is very involved in his church. He also enjoys listening to gospel music. I’ve been aware of this preference ever since we moved into our current offices and I’ve been able to hear his daily musical selections through our shared wall.

South African gospel does not really resemble American gospel very much. There some similar elements like singing about god and having choirs and other smaller groups of singers back-up a soloist…but for the most part the energy, harmonies and songs common to American gospel aren’t there. Also South Africn gospel isn’t in English.

What I didn’t know until recently is that Dan also moonlights as a gospel singer – he’s even part of a gospel group in his home province of Limpopo (which he visits frequently) along with his wife and three other ladies. I was even more surprised to learn that Dan is not only a part of the group – but is the lead singer – with his wife and the other ladies serving as back-up vocalists.

These new discoveries came during this week’s staff meeting when Dan announced the impending release of his self-titled (and self-recorded) gospel CD. I’ve been hearing it through the wall all week and I can honestly say its not half bad, considering it sounds alot like all of the other South African gospel recordings I’ve heard. It is a little weird though to hear him talking on the phone and then at the same time hearing his voice emanating from his computer where he plays his CD. Just a little bit more Dan than I’m used to!

A Vegetarian’s Nightmare

I recently purchased and consumed, pretty much on my own, a rather startlingly large amount of Biltong. Which looks like this:

At least that’s how it looks while its hanging up to dry. After the meat is dried, and thus ready for consumption, it will be rendered into bite-sized pieces either by going through a sort of meat chipper or chopped using the much more fancy mini-meat guillotine.

Biltong is basically cured and dried meat, which is similar in some ways to beef jerky in the US, but in my experience it tends to be softer, chewier and less salty than jerky. Sometimes Biltong is made from beef but can also be made from kudu or deer-like South African equivalents. Pretty much any meat can be made into Biltong.

No South African shopping mall is complete without at least one “Gourmet Biltong” shop – like the one to which I was drawn to in Kimberley’s Diamond Pavillion shopping centre last month. My thought process pretty much went like this…

“I’m Hungry. What can I eat for lunch?”

“Mmmm biltong shop.”

And before I knew it I had purchased probably close to 1/4 of a pound of beef biltong, which I proceeded to carry around and eat out of an exceedingly greasy paper bag for the rest of the afternoon. Disgusting you say? Not so much in South Africa, they have a great deal of pride in their biltong and its a completely normal snack, they even hand it out on airplanes. Maybe eating that much biltong in one sitting is crossing the line, or could it just be a sign that I’ve been here too long?

Ironing Intervention

I need help. It’s become a daily thing – i can’t walk out my door without ironing at least one article of clothing. I even ironed a pair of jeans the other day and it wasn’t even the first time!

I now have begun to feel extremely self-conscious when I walk around in public only partially pressed. South Africans are a little obsessed with ironing. Some have told me that they are embarrassed to be seen in public with someone who’s clothes are wrinkly. And there’s just something so satisfying about watching all those wrinkles – no matter how small – quietly disappear after one pass of the iron.

Ahhh! What is happening to me?? Gone are the days when my iron came out only on special occasions and I thought nothing of selecting the day’s clothing out of a rumpled heap on the floor.Moorma, where are you when I need you! I keep thinking about you for support, picturing you in your characteristic oxford button-down that hasn’t felt wrinkle-eliminating heat since the day you bought it. You’re my inspiration.

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.

A Very Auspicious Diwali

“Dīpãvali (also transliterated Deepavali; Sanskrit: row of lights) or Diwãli (contracted spelling) is the Hindu Festival of Lights and marks the victory of good over the evil. Held on the final day of the Vikram calendar, one type of a Hindu calendar that is followed by North Indians. The following day, marking the beginning of a new year, for North Indians, entitled Annakut.”

Or that’s what Wikipedia says anyhow. Diwali is a big holiday for the Hindu Indian community in Durban and the celebrations include lots and lots of fireworks. Heather lives with an Indian lady in a predominantly Indian neighborhood just north of Durban.

Last Saturday night when another friend and I ventured into Heather’s neighborhood to pick her up for a night out, the Festival of Lights was in full swing. The people across the street from Heather’s house were launching fireworks – like the rocket kind we usually shoot off over rivers back home in Pennsylvania – into the sky in the middle of the tightly arranged residential neighborhood.

Their neighborhood is high up on a hill, and at night you can see alot of Durban and the surrounding areas. Every few seconds there would be a huge colorful brust of light shot up into the sky from some part of Durban below. It was like the 4th of July, totally uncontrolled and chaotic – but what a view!

Mandisi and Thulani’s Wedding

The Traditional Ceremony
Mandisi and Thulani were married on the weekend of September 30th near Ndumo in the very northern part of KwaZulu Natal. Saturday was a traditional Zulu wedding ceremony, which as tradition dictates took place at the groom’s family home. I arrived there with my co-workers Mandla and Jan. Mandla drove the company 4wd the 5 hours up from Durban. Jan is 80 years old and works at AFSA part-time as a receptionist. He’s had a pretty remarkable life – born in Holland, prisoner of war in Japan during WWII, worked for a mining company in Botwana – just to list a few highlights.

Anywho the three of us show up a few hours before the tradiational wedding start time of 2pm. Nothing in SA starts on time – and the addition of the word “traditional” pretty much confirms without a doubt that said event will be LATE. So none of us were too surprised when we found ourselves hanging around for about 3 hours before things really got going. Jan brings a little camping chair along with him for times when he’s obliged to sit around and wait. He estimates that of his 60 years in Africa he’s spent about 5 of them just waiting.

We weren’t the only ones waiting though, there was a whole group of wedding tailgaters parked in the road leading up to Thulani’s parents’. Like us most of the tailgaters were on the “bride’s side”, as she and her family, bridesmaids, etc. were all parked out there preparing themselves for the ceremony. Things would officially begin as the bride and her entourage made their way up the road to the groom’s house. Also at some point during this period a cow was slaughtered in honor of the wedding. This is the job of the men – the bride’s father and brothers playing a very important role. The cow parts are then put into several large pots, cooked and eaten as part of the wedding feast.