Partying It Up In The Townships

This afternoon I found myself talking to South Africans and going up to strangers asking them to teach me how to dance. Today was a day full of music, food, and dancing. Some of our “SOLmates,” our orientation leaders, took us to the popular Mzolei’s, a restaurant in one of the townships in the Cape Flats. We arrived early afternoon where we first went to the liquor store to by drinks to go along with our feast of meat. As I was standing there, amongst the sixty other Americans, I was wondering what lay ahead of us. I did not know what to expect from this township braai (barbeque) style restaurant. I had heard from many that Mzoleis was fantastic and the food was superb. When I told my host parents that I was going into the townships for a meal their mouths opened wide in excitement. They said that I was going to have so much fun experiencing something new, telling me that the townships was a whole different atmosphere. And they were right.
After everyone purchased their drinks, the sea of white people started heading over to the area where music was bumping out of the speakers. Many other people, six packs in hand, were traveling to the same place as us. From that point, I could tell that Mzoleis was a popular destination on a Sunday afternoon where people could get together, dance, and eat before the start of a brand new week. As we walked in, heads turned, not due to our unbelievable good looks, but because there were so many white kids, standing there awkwardly. As we stood there for a couple minutes, we all started to get our bearings and started to relax and feel the rhythm of the music. We all started to scatter from one another and wondered around this tented area that was Mzoleis. Some people started to dance, but I thought it was a good idea to start bobbing my head and awkwardly move to the music. My friend did the same. Not even thirty seconds later, a black South African came up to us asking if we were ok. I was having a blast, but I guess we looked like idiots trying to dance and fit in with the crowds. But with everything we do here in South Africa, we pretty much stick out like sore thumbs. And with the moves Mary and I tried to pass off as dancing made us look even more out of place. So we replied back that we were fine, but instead of walking away from us, he engaged us in a nice, long conversation. I came to the realization throughout this exchange that South Africans do not share the same concept of personal space as Americans. I am one who enjoys my “personal bubble,” but by bubble was defiantly being popped this afternoon. He enjoyed touching my shoulder, which I did not mind. But, it was when his hand kept on brushing up against my chest, I found myself saying This Is Africa. Due to the loud music and his accent, I was only able to get bits and pieces of what he was saying. He was talking about the differences of living in South Africa in 1994 to the present day. For example, in 1994 black people and white people were not allowed to touch each other. He proceeded to touch my shoulder as an example of this forbidden contact. And he touched it again to emphasize the fact that touching a white person was a new revolution in South African society. Even though I could only hear every other word that was streaming out of his mouth, he did say some very interesting things. At the end when Mary and I were going to go our separate ways with him, he said, “We will see each other again. Mountains cannot see mountains, but people can see people.” Than I began to think, people are not bounded to the earth like mountains. We have the ability to move and discover new lands. That is the beauty about the human race. We have the ability to move, discover, and converse to other people in order to discover the beauty in the world.
Mary and I said goodbye to our new South African friend and went over to the others laughing. We recounted our conversation with laughter. We then decided to explore this venue and we walked over to the dancing area, we saw this older man with some great moves. Since Mary and I have none, we decided to ask him if he could teach some of his. When we asked, he just looked as us, took out his dentures and cross his hands to form an x and smiled. My mouth dropped in bewilderment. I had no idea what this was supposed to mean so I just kept on walking.
The promoter at Mzoleis for that day was Jack Daniels. So an hour later, we found ourselves standing in a quie (line) to get a tour of the Jack Daniels bus. In the quie, I was able to talk to many different South Africans and even a white boy from Zimbabwe about life in South Africa. This was my favorite part of the day because I made friends with people much different from me that I will be able to learn from in due time. When the group left Mzoleis, I received a nice big hug from one of the South Africans I befriended. It felt really good to know that I am able to make a connection with people of all shapes and sizes and I am glad that people feel comfortable around me just in one meeting.
So enough talking about the people, the main attraction to this day was the food. We waited about two and a half hours for the food, so everyone’s mouths were watering as the bins full of braai style chicken, sausage, and lamb were carried to our area. Eyes grew wide as the meat was placed on the ground and everyone made a dash to the bins. I was able to slink my hand through the bodies and grab a piece of chicken that was covered in sauce. I went to the side and started eating. There was no lady-like way to eat this piece of meat. I felt like such a carnivore, ripping apart the chicken hungrily as the sauce stained my cheeks and lips. We all looked at each other with satisfied grins because the food was absolutely delicious. When I was finished I threw my bones on the ground and went for my second round. This was my first experience of eating and discarding the bones like an animal. For my second round I decided to try the lamb. It was pure ‘deliciousness.’ The lamb was dripping of sauce and it was so tender that my teeth just sunk in. Eating this meat caused clear nirvana after waiting three hours to eat, I was absolutely satisfied. In the end, I ate entirely too much. I have never indulged in that much meat before in my life, but I can truly say that I was my father’s daughter today, eating an exorbitant amount of meat. When I was finished indulging, I just stood there completely content and with a huge smile on my face. I was full, happy, and tired.
After we were all finished, it was time to leave this beautiful Mzoleis. But once I stepped a foot out of the venue, it was hard to get by due to the long quie that contained eager people ready to eat and drink. We came at the perfect time because hoards of people were lining the streets in order sink their teeth into Mzolei’s meat. As we drove through the township, I could sense the neighborhood’s atmosphere. People were braaing on the streets and dancing and conversing with one another. The sun was heavy in the sky, beckoning the moon to rise, but the party in this township still was not over. People were laughing and dancing. As my head was bopping up and down in tiredness, I looked out the window, watching in amazement the joy and life in everyone’s eyes as they came together in this open atmosphere to share their last hours of their weekend together. Even though they have very little, their lives are full vivacity because of their attitudes and pride of their home. I hope to spend many more Sunday afternoons at Mzoleis, dancing and laughing while making new friends.