A Saturday Braai at Nyanga Township

Late last week, Andrew, and employee from our landlord's company invited us to his place for a braai. He posted a sign-up on the fridge for anyone interested at the various houses in the area that they manage. At $15 a person... the price seemed a bit steep. After thinking it through, though, we realized that it covered transportation there and back, all the food, and all the drinks. Only three of us decided to go... not sure what to expect. Kara and I figured it was definitely worth it to attend at least once, so her, Justin, and I went.

Definitely the best thing I've done since I arrived. It was at the Nyanga Township, a 20 minute drive from where we are. As we arrived, it was pretty obvious that most of the houses were shanties, with poorly pieced together metal, wood, and whatever else they had. It was pretty busy with people in the streets, different vendors set up along the roads. Despite being a van of white people rolling in there in a big converted Sprinter van, we got lots of waves and smiles. I felt very welcomed for the most part, as well as struck by some of what I saw.

When we got to Andrew's house, we were greeted by a woman named Ivy and lots of adorable children. She welcomed us in Xhosa, and introduced us to the house, township, and family. She said something like "Thank you for coming! We want you to have fun, be comfortable, and enjoy your time here. Feel free to look around, but don't leave this street without asking one of us to show you around. Food will be ready in a while, and later on you'll be treated to a Xhosa song from some of my students. Most of all, be comfortable! Let us know if you don't like something, and ask any questions you want!" So that was pretty neat. I don't want to give the wrong impression, though, this house was pretty well off. It had a big stereo, TV, laptop... a nice house. It was the only one of the block, though, with bars on the windows. So I was trying to get a sense of how well off people were. A lot of the children weren't wearing shoes, and the ground was pretty hazardous. Not sure if that was preference or not, though.

What ensued was over five hours of dancing, eating, and playing with the children. I got to know most of them, and even showed off my backwards legs as an icebreaker. They loved everyone's digital cameras, and borrowed them for like and hour to take pictures of everything. I deleted lots of odd photos, but kept lot of others.

The food was great (for Jacob). I've been to something like six or seven braais this week (omg South Africans love to braai), with varying degrees of delectability. Some were good, others were sketch, this one was bomb. There were carrots in a sort of African curry sauce, potatoes with a honey mustard sauce and what looked like sesame seeds, chicken, beef, salad, and pop. Pop is a cornmeal type thing, which is made almost like instant mashed potatoes, by stirring the mix into boiling water. Quite plain, but a good staple food.

Strong as hell.

By the time we left, the children were giving hugs and saying goodbye. One of the frustrating things about the last few days, which was expected, is that we've done so many things it has been difficult to focus on one. It's been a survey, of sorts, of many activities. Here I got to hang out for a long time and actually connect with people. Before I left, I talked to an old man named Joe who, to start with, reminded me that Bush and Blair have ruined the world. But then went on to say that although Obama isn't actually black, he thinks he'll do good things. Next month there will be an election in South Africa, and he'll be voting for the third time since the fall of apartheid. He said, "I've voted three times, and nothing has changed for me. The government gave me this shanty, where I live, and nothing has changed for me."

A South African friend that was over at our house, Siya, put it into perspective: People think that as soon as you defeat apartheid there will be quick results to end poverty and what happened during its oppression. The people of South Africa could have revolted in the 90's and forcibly removed people from their expensive homes, but they chose peace, and it has its price. The government can only do so much, and simply voting won't change things, as many expect.

It was interesting to see and hear. Despite the situation and conversations, though, it was awesome to bridge barriers and spend the day together. Joe finished with hugging me and welcoming me again to the township, and invited us back for another party. Here are some photos from the day:


Clicking on a photo will bring you to a larger version.