I really need to be better about writing immediately after an event that throws me into a pensive state for hours. It’s better that I write down all the those thoughts and feelings instead of waiting a week allowing them to get muddled in mundane thoughts of everyday life. Here I am a week after having one of the most interesting weekends of my life and I am already struggling to remember all of the details. An abridged version of the story has already been repeated over and over again turning my experience into this short and uninteresting narrative. I am going to correct that now by writing about my incredible weekend sparing no details. Sorry folks it’s going to be a lengthy post but it’s for posterity (hopefully most of you know me well enough to know that’s a joke).

Friday

By Friday morning I had only known about my involvement in the Vredendal 2011 Arts & Cultural Festival for two days. I also had no idea where I was going or who was to be picking me up at the gas station where I arranged to be picked up. I was told they needed my help all weekend and that I should brace myself for an intensely busy weekend. So I headed to the gas station with my heavy duffle (I always overpack) whilst trying to convince myself that it was a good idea to get in a car with a stranger and head to a town that I had never heard of that I thought started with an “h.” By the time I made it to the gas station I still had a few minutes left before our scheduled departure time so I decided to get some cash for the weekend and a Coke Light for the ride. I assumed that the person I was supposed to be meeting would be able to easily determine that I was the young American he was supposed to be picking up. I was right. As I was getting my cash I saw an Audi pull up to the station. My thoughts went something like this, “Hmm…that would be interesting if a representative of an NGO picked me up in a fancy Audi…that can’t be him.” Although secretly I was hoping it was because that meant the three-hour ride would be spent in nice chilly air-con. Soon after the Audi pulled up a man approached me and asked if my name was Susan. I’m sure I looked confused because his follow-up question included my last name. Oh right, yes I am the girl you are looking for but my name is Sarah. Vukele laughed and apologized for getting my name wrong. I assured him it was “no biggie” as both names are very common American names and I probably look just as much like a Susan as I do a Sarah. We had a quick intro and I told him I was going to grab a Coke Light before we headed out. As we were walking out of the station he directed me to his car. I started walking towards this older truck with writing on the side and he corrected me by pointing to the Audi behind it. Yes! I opened the passenger side door ready to climb and that’s when I met Songezu. He started to climb out to let me sit in front and I insisted he stay put and that I would be perfectly fine in the back (a less awkward seating arrangement for me).

We were finally on our way! The anxiety I always feel before throwing myself into a potentially awkward situation soon began to subside. Both of these men seemed non-threatening and pleasant. The small talk and chit-chat soon started and my anxiety was replaced with pure joy. I LOVE talking to South Africans (this is the term I have decided to use for everyone I meet here unless specifying a race is essential to the integrity of a story). People here seem so much more involved and interested in the social aspects and politics of the country than anywhere else I have ever been. I guess they have to be as many people rely heavily upon the government to deliver basic needs and improve their impoverished situation, as it has been promising for years. Everyone has something to say, positive or negative, about the current state of South Africa. Vukele and I chatted about such things as the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), his past involvement with the ANC, land reform, books he has written, and so many other topics that I can’t even remember. After about an hour the conversation was halted by a phone call and I was somewhat grateful because I wanted a chance to observe the scenery as it passed by my window. The topography of the area reminded me of parts of Wyoming and parts of Arizona. It was beautiful and the mountains were surrounding us. We drove without conversation the rest of the way. Vukele was playing South African music, which was great because up until this point I hadn’t heard anything besides American Top 40. At one point we were listening to a song called “Nelson Mandela” with the chorus sung Xhosa choirs. The combination of the African scenery, the music, being in a car with two Africans, and the conversation left me in a moment that reached me on a visceral level. I was suddenly stunned. I couldn’t believe that I was finally experiencing this moment. The moment I had been dreaming of for years now. The dream of being in Africa hanging out with local people while enjoying breathtaking scenery. I was wondering if this is that “African experience” everyone is seeking or if it is different for everyone. It was definitely one of the African experiences I came here for.

We made it to Vredendal around 15:00 and we went straight to the township where the festival was to be held. I met the director of the event, Nicodemius, and he promptly gave me instructions on my where I was to go and what my responsibilities would be. While I waited for him to be ready to take me to the venue I engaged in a conversation with Songezu for the first time since we met awkwardly three hours before. He told me how the township he was from was on an even lower socioeconomic level than the one we were standing in. He told me about how they didn’t even have a local clinic and so in the case of an emergency they have to drive an hour to get to a hospital (it is the same for my family where we live). He told me that they don’t have paved roads so when it rains everything turns to mud and it makes it really difficult for people to get to work. He told me a little about his initiation and the rites of passage tradition for his tribe. The details he gave on the initiation process were limited because of the sacredness of the ritual. I was unaware that such rituals still existed in the modern world. I want to learn more about traditions that are not being abandoned for the sake of modernization. It’s fascinating to me that certain cultures are able to maintain their cultural traditions in the face of a world of such rapid globalization. I love it.

I was brought to the Catholic Church where I was to be venue manager for the drama groups. Nicodemius gave me a five-minute briefing on my responsibilities before leaving to take care of other business. The first show was supposed to start at 5pm but it didn’t start until almost 7pm because of technical difficulties like the sound and light technicians not showing up until 15 minutes before the show was supposed to start. The audience for the first show consisted of five whole people. Yep, that’s it. The kids performed for five people. They still put on a great performance and enjoyed doing it. None of the plays had elaborate sets or anything resembling a set for some of them. The set for the first play consisted of a trash can. The children from the first play stayed to watch the next one to show support for their friends. I really appreciated this. The children were the biggest supporters for the whole weekend. There was a sincere sense of community between the kids and it could be felt through every laugh and smile given for the performers. The next play was disturbing to me only because it was based on such heavy material and the actors could not have been any older than fifteen. The play included themes of spousal and child abuse, rape, murder, and other issues that make up a severely dysfunctional family. All of the plays were acted out in Afrikaans, which I do not understand but it was impossible to miss the message of this play. However, there were parts where the child audience laughed and I didn’t understand why. I was just kind of awestruck by the fact that these children just sat there in complete comprehension of the plot of the play and it didn’t seem to phase them that such a story isn’t so common in every community.

So the first night wasn’t a great success but I was assured that Saturday was expected to have a better turnout. The night ended with extremely tired me and a handful of other weekend volunteers listening to two singers sing karaoke style to some South African songs I didn’t know in Afrikaans. By the time I made it back to the hotel it was midnight and I was wasted and ready for bed. I went to bed and subsequently had the worst night sleep since I arrived in South Africa.

Don’t give up now! There’s a surprise ending!

Saturday

I woke up at 6:30 or so am to Vukele swimming in the pool that was located right next to my room. I tried not to be bitter but it was difficult. I haven’t said enough about Vukele yet. He is an extremely gracious and intelligent person. He takes about 10-15 minutes to answer questions because he doesn’t spare any details (much like this blog post J). He was born in Soweto and I told him that that must be where he gets his revolutionary spirit. He was a journalist but is now a businessman who dabbles in several industries while working with RUDNET (the NGO putting on the festival). He is a good friend I hope to keep.

We left for the township in high hopes for a successful and fun-filled day at the festival. It took about an hour after starting the day to realize that the day was going to be just as bad or worse than the day before. All but two events were cancelled due to zero attendance. I spent my day with an adopted puppy that I snatched from a neighbor and one of the sound and light technicians, Ian. We spent an hour or so discussing his very interesting political opinions while watching over the napping puppy that I named Klaus. Eventually we decided that we were thirsty and needed to find Nicodemius to ask him what to do with our situation of no audience for the drama group. We walked to one of the other venues to find Nicodemius. He wasn’t there so we got his number and called him. He told us just to wait at the church and carry on. Well, we decided to go get drinks first and I wanted Ian, a local, to show me around. I wanted to buy my drink from a tuck shop, which is a shop that is attached to someone’s home. The shops just carry basic supplies, such as, cool drinks, foodstuffs, soap, etc…. I bought 2 liters of orange Fanta and we continued our walk around town. While we were walking we were getting the strangest stares from people. I asked him about it and he told me it was because he was walking around with a white girl, which never happens in this town. I failed to mention before that I was the only white person in town for the whole weekend besides the RUDNET secretary. People were asking Ian who I was and why I was walking with him. Every conversation was carried out in Afrikaans so I have no idea what his replies were and I had to trust him that it was all honest. We made it back to the empty church and were hanging out with the kids when Franzel came to pick me up to take me back to the hotel. She told us that nothing was going on at any of the venues so we were just going to go get lunch and freshen up at the hotel. I was all for this since I had just gone on a walk through the desert in the blazing heat of the sun and air-con was sounding like paradise. I had to return Klaus to his owner first though. I went to the house I thought was the owner’s but it turned out to be the neighbor. He was strange from the very beginning but he brought me over to Klaus’ owner’s house. He just walked in and started shouting the owner’s name that I can’t remember. The owner was preoccupied and so the neighbor-man began to show me around the house and introduce to me his family by the pictures on the wall. The owner finally came and I told him I named the puppy Klaus and thanks for letting me keep him for the afternoon. He liked the name and said he would keep it. I was in a hurry so I thanked him again and started walking back to the church. The neighbor man caught up with me and started asking me all the usual questions. When I told him I was interested in learning about different cultures he mentioned that his brother-in-law worked for the Ministry of Cultural Affairs before and that I should come in and talk to him. I told him I was in a serious hurry as people were waiting on me. He told me it would only take a minute so I agreed. I wasn’t worried about anything happening because besides that fact that I did not receive any creep vibe from him it was broad daylight and my peeps knew where I was. So I went in and had a quick chat and right when he offered me a glass of water I told him again that I really had to go this time and that I was sorry because I would actually really love to stay and chat. I couldn’t believe how comfortable the people were with so freely allowing a stranger into their household. I mean I am sure I don’t usually come across as a very threatening person to most but I have a feeling they will be just as hospitable with the next stranger who comes along.

After we freshened up at the hotel we headed back to assess the situation. At this point the festival hadn’t been officially cancelled and so we went to see what needed to be done. We arrived and everything was in the same state as we left it. We headed to the primary school, which was the venue for the dancing. When I walked in I was amazed to see people. There were a lot of teenagers and other kids in a circle formed around other kids having a dance-off. I’m not an expert on dancing but these kids had some serious break dancing skills. They were pretty creative with their dance moves as well. It made me wonder if they had ever seen the movie “Step Up.” After awhile Songezu told me that they were going to checkout some of the other venues and asked if I wanted to stay. Absolutely was my answer. I was having just as much fun as these kids. While I had been watching all this dancing my need to have to go to the bathroom was growing into an emergency but I was waiting for the right time so I wouldn’t miss anything. You know, it’s like when you’re watching the movie you just waited in line for two hours to see and halfway through it you realize that you actually shouldn’t have drank an entire gallon of Coke because now you have to miss the most climactic moment of the movie. Anyways, it seemed like there was never going to be a good time to go and it was only a #1 emergency so I went on a search for a bathroom. I eventually came upon a hallway that smelled like a septic tank so I decided to follow the smell and found a horrendous bathroom. Not only did it smell awful but there was also bathroom trash everywhere along with poo smeared on the walls and toilet seats. It was gross! Oh well I told myself and put some toilet paper down on the seat and made it quick. Not quick enough though. I heard the music stop followed by a rush of kids to the bathroom. Not just any kids though…boy kids. I was using the boys bathroom and now I was nervous. I didn’t know what they would think if they saw a girl walk out of their bathroom so I froze and just sat there! Someone tried to open the door and that’s when I decided I had to make a move. I was worried that some kid would climb up the stall wall on the other side and look in to see who was taking so long to come out. Having zero desire to be caught with my pants down I finally moved from my stunned state and pulled myself together. I will just wait it out I thought. I will just wait for all of them to leave and then walk out casually as if nothing was weird or wrong. I waited next to the door for what seemed like forever until I heard some noise behind me. There he was, the boy I predicted to climb up the wall and see who was taking forever in the bathroom. We made awkward eye contact as he tried to understand why I was huddled in the corner of the bathroom stall. I was busted so I saw no reason to hang out in the disgusting, foul smelling bathroom any longer. I walked out and went right past the little boy spectators not even bothering to wash my hands because there was not a chance that bathroom had any soap.

I walked out into the streets to hang out with the kids and very suddenly had a group of kids surrounding me. It was strange. I have never had any kids show any interest in me and that’s the way I typically like it. These little guys were curious and sweet. We tried to communicate with each other with hand gestures and eye contact, as I can’t speak a lick of Afrikaans and vice versa. Wherever I went they followed. I wanted so badly to be able to talk to them. I gave a little girl my beflowered bobby pin and put it in her hair. That was a mistake because suddenly every kid wanted a gift from the white person. Luckily and sort of unluckily my ride pulled up at that moment. I felt guilty climbing into this fancy car but I needed to escape the mistake I had made and get away from all the hands being held out. It was my first experience being a white and blonde novelty. It was my first experience standing out as white and feeling it. I needed a chance to regroup and assess the situation. I still wanted to be with the children but I needed to come back mentally prepared on how to handle myself in the situation. I am no expert on children; in fact, I have spent most of my life trying to be just the opposite so this was a good experience for me.

Later that night the 2005 South Africa Idol winner came to the primary school to put on a concert. It was the first time that weekend that a venue was packed. The kids were so jazzed about her visit. While we waited for her to arrive the same couple from Friday night sang a few songs. I sat on the floor with the kids and one of the little girls (I really wish I could remember their names) sat behind me and played with my hair while singing along to the song at the top of her lungs. She was the cutest and was always trying to show me how great her dance moves were. Another great thing about the kids was that anytime an upbeat song came on they immediately stopped what they were doing and started dancing. They danced like adults but not dirty (well most of them). They just loved music and dancing. Later, I went outside for a break to talk to my mom and a group of them followed after me calling my name and I don’t know why but it made me feel so good. I think I just really wanted to show them that interracial relations can be on friendly terms. Earlier, Ian told me that the typical white person that visits the town does not interact with the people unless necessary. I guess I just wanted to try and make a difference in the precious opinion of the future generation. It’s very naïve and idealistic I know but I think that’s just how the moment made me feel. It was so different from anything I had experienced up to that point in my life. I still can’t really sort it out, obviously.

After the concert, which was amazing, we went back to the hotel; I went to bed and woke up the next morning ready to be back in Stellenbosch. I left realizing that that might be the last I see of those kids. The first time any persons under the age of 13 have made a positive impact on my opinion towards children. It’s interesting because while I was trying to leave a positive impression for the children they were busy teaching me about the value of children. I wonder how long it will last. I do think that those children will hold a special place in that place in your body where memories of special people stay.

Ok here is a reward for you if you made it all the way to the end!

Some interesting South African language facts

Amandla means power to the people in Xhosa

Instead of saying “text me” people say “send me an sms”

The word “really” is replaced with “is it?”

Buying airtime means you are buying minutes for your phone

There were more but I can’t remember them now. Next time my preciouses!