Trying to take it all in
I think I will be full for the next three days, mmm. Divali was fantastic! Spent the weekend making sweetmeats and curry, watching fireworks and playing a billion games of patima patile (I don’t know how you actually spell that but it’s pronounced pati-ma-pa-tee-lay), which is Zulu “hide and go seek”. At first, four-year-old Thabo (which is his nickname, after Thabo Mbeki, since he’s the “president” of the house) was a bit nervous around me because I’m the first white person he had ever seen, but by the end of the weekend he was pulling my arm to hold him and wanting to play patima patile over and over...and over and over and over! He loved the fireworks too, and running from them. The Verlum sky lit up Saturday night for the Diwali festival: sometimes the crackers were so close their “boom” made me jump. An Afrikaner couple, friends of my friend’s family, came to share in the festivities as well. They commented on how nice our “safari’s” looked (ha-ha, sari) and Thabo thought they must be my parents. It was quite complicated in my very little Zulu to tell him they weren’t. While making massive amounts of food, we lit clay lamps that line the house (2 in every doorway) and I watched the family prayers in their small in-home worship room.
The festival comes from what is said to be the darkest night on earth when the rightful god/king Ram could return to India to rule. The people light up their houses and the sky to show the way for God to come into their homes. It’s a beautiful festival rich in tradition. I’ve still got the “gadual” on my eyes (black soot from vegetable fat that the family puts in the bottom of their eyes to ward off the ‘evil eye’). I wore the red and black sari the family had made for me for my birthday, and had tons of fun!
As much as I get confused sometimes by South African slang and cultures, its amazing to see the way some cultures here are also confused by each other, yet are trying to understand. Watching the Afrikaner couple speak with a Zulu mom and son, and speak and my friend’s Indian family was quite the cultural event. Honestly, there will probably be few instances in my life where I can watch such diversity in one room -- people so different yet having the same nationality. It’s heart-warming to see such goodness and interest in people and their cultures, and I will carry that memory with me for a very long time. The irony is that when the family tried to teach me Hindi phrases, it was Thabo the four-year-old Zulu who corrected my pronunciation. Ha-ha, I love it!
Sunday, I went to the nursery school behind my residence to volunteer with their upcoming play. I met the principal a while back who said they really needed a stage manager. Voila, a few days later I’ve got a script in my hand to direct “Luthuli Safaris” (the school is called Albert Luthuli) and each age group has a different animal they represent. The youngest are the monkeys, then hippos, elephants, lions, peacocks and zebras. They dance the most adorable dances! The play is on Wednesday for family and friends. It’s a fundraiser for the school and I’ll be there directing the kids. They’re so cute!!
We also spent suppertime at a restaurant on the harbor watching the ships come in and out. It was wonderful to sit and chat about South African politics (though that subject can be a bit scary sometimes), hearing stories from a former South African police officer, and getting confused by words I don’t understand. The way that Californians know basic words in Spanish is the same way people from KZN (KwaZulu-Natal) know words of Zulu and Afrikaans. I’m learning but it’s a bit over my head at times. Though thanks to this weekend, I know a dirty word in Afrikaans, a couple phrases in Hindi, and a game or two in Zulu. I also learned that the helicopters you see on from the shore are escorting the boats out, who knew?! The captain climbs up a small ladder to the chopper and signs the final paperwork before the boat leaves South African waters. Cool, huh? All in all an AMAZING weekend! Pictures coming soon!
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