Saturday, June 30, 2007
Friday in South Africa
Well, Friday was just wonderful!!! We really experienced Joburg and saw that it is truly the most AFRICAN city in South Africa.... downtown Joburg is GRITTY, swarming with people, impromptu stands set up everywhere that sell everything from fruit to clothing to even a single cigarette. It's not a pretty place, but one must experience this to truly understand the country and Apartheid and its ending. The contrast of the dirt and grit of downtown Joburg with the King-of-Prussia-style mall where we were dropped off to find a bite for lunch was pretty extreme!My radio interview was fine... (thankfully not too long!) Reminded me of the experience Anne Mooney and I had with our 1992 radio interview in Dublin.... RACING to find the radio station, arriving JUST in time... that's exactly how this one unfolded!) The highlight of the day was unquestionably the workshop in St. Mary's Cathedral with Sidumo Jacobs, director of the choir there. Sidumo is an effervescent, warm and energetic young man who can communicate more with his eyes than most do with their entire bodies. As jet lagged as the choir was, they did everyone proud over the 2+ hour workshop in which they learned BY ROTE numerous pieces in Zulu.... a few brain dead by the end, for sure! But, Sidumo was thrilled, thrilled, thrilled.... so much so that he turned to me and said, "Jeffrey, I have an idea for ANOTHER song they might sing in ZULU." I probably gasped, then replied, "yes?" The choir was probably having other thoughts at that moment!! ANYWAY, he said, "I'd like them to learn 'Amen Siakadumisa"! I could only whoop and holler, since THAT was the very piece we had learned before the trip to use as a blessing at our communal meals. Everyone was thrilled! He taught us an additional verse in Sutu... not too difficult! Dinner was at a great place on Nelson Mandela Square... much glorious conversation and bountiful laughter, especially when the face painters decked Nathan, Jim Batt's and my face (and head) with ultra elaborate paintings.... pictures will follow!Love to all...
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Amazing concert tonight at the Methodist Church. Wish I could post a little snippet. Anyway, nerd stuff.
Pam's Creche:
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=26+16.546S+027+53.162E&ie=UTF8&ll=-26.267249,27.886047&spn=0.142236,0.2314&t=h&z=12&iwloc=addr&om=1
Methodist Church:
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=26+17.846S+028+23.430E&ie=UTF8&ll=-26.288798,28.390388&spn=0.14221,0.2314&t=h&z=12&iwloc=addr&om=1
BTW, if you are having trouble with those links it is because blogger is not posting them as a single string. Copy and paste the individual lines into your browser to make a single long string for each address.
Saturday in Soweto
My shoes are dusty from playing soccer with the children at Kliptown, an impossibly deprived section of Soweto. Tiny shacks with corrugated metal rooves; no running water or electricity. Muddy, rocky paths wind through Kliptown. Though we must have been a very strange sight, nearly 100 of us picking our way along these paths, the people greeted us warmly with smiles and waves. Pam runs a pre-school- 3 rooms for over 100 children (0-7, with very little financial support and an enourmous amount of determination. Three teachers preside. When we visited the school was spotlessly clean, the walls were adorned with children's work. A small teacher's desk was the only furniture. Tulani directs the Kliptown Theatre Group for young people age 6 to 25. We were treated to boistrous singing and dancing The perforance took place outside on a concrete slab that acted as a crude stage. The group sang and danced with such joy and abandon! Nearby a group of small boys played soccer with an old plastic bag filled with newspaper. I asked to join them and they generously tolerated my silly attempts to handle the ball. The folks we met seemed so happy to have us visit. The littlest children reached up for hugs and high fives. Many asked for their pictures to be taken and were delighted to see instant results on digital cameras. We only visited Kliptown for about 2 hours, but it is a lesson in humility I will never forget. To see dancing and singing and laughing in the midst of such poverty tears at my heart, but in an unexpected way fills me with hope.
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