July 10

It's been awhile between blogs, and the one I've been keeping on my lap top is getting uploaded today because I didn't want to carry my lap top all day at the festival. So, this is just about yesterday. I'll catch you up on the trip down when I get to Durban in two days.

My day started yesterday at 6:30 am, when I got up and did laundry in the dorm. We arrived early evening of the 9th at the Grahamstown National Arts Festival. We didn't have time to do much except eat dinner and lug my 50 lb suitcase up three flights of stairs *whew*! We did have a two hour dinner at Calabash, a South African cuisine. I had the Xhosa chicken curry pot with rice and veg. Xhosa is pronounced with a side click where the X is. I can't quite do it right yet myself, but I'm working on it. It was delicious. They also have an all you can eat buffet, which I didn't get, but sat right next to.

At dinner the buffet attendant got a bit flustered and began pointing to the man sitting behind us. She brought her coworkers out of the kitchen to see him. He was a character from a local Soap Opera. I told Melanie and Amy, my dinner companions, that the host had sat him by the stupid Americans so he could eat undisturbed :-).

Today, after doing my laundry, I hit the road. I began with a walking tour of Grahamstown and Rhodes University. I learned about the battles between natives, British, and Boers. I took a few pictures, but since I'm not on my lap top, I'll have to upload those when I get to Durban.

After the tour, I saw a cute little three man play called Meneer, which means "Sir". It was about a school boy convincing his teacher to be tested for HIV. The teacher was kind of a player. 21% of the teachers in SA have HIV. They have begun a new free testing program, even had tents set up in one area of the festival for free tests. It was pretty funny, at one point they said AIDS was an American conspiracy to keep the blacks down, it's American Identity Discouragement.

Next, I went up to Monument Hill, and saw three different shows and had lunch. Lunch was just a chicken burger with pink mayonaisse??? yeah, really pink. I saw the Eastern Cape Ensemble, a dance group, amazing! The rhythms and they way they move their bodies....WOW! The guys did this peck thing where their chest was constantly in motion.

After that, I saw a free show, called the Sundowners on the steps of the Monument arbereteum. It was really snippets from other shows around the festival, kind of an advertisement. One of the plays was done by convicts from an area prison. 40 of them share a cell here. They did a skit about ending up in prison, and as a rehabilitation program, they tour their show to local schools. At one point, the MC asked them where they were playing next at the festival, and one of the prisoners said that he didn't know because of security issues.

I also saw the South African premiere of the movie Disgrace. It's an independent film about SA after apartheid from a white perspective. A quick read for all my English teacher friends. I couldn't teach the whole thing, too much sex, but there are pieces that would be really good for curriculum. The movie had John Malkovich, and the girl who played Melanie was at the premiere.

I ended my night by going to the Bowling Club with Xolani, our South African student guide, and taking in the comic showcase. Every night when the comics finish their individual shows, they gather there to do some 15 minute routines and rip on each other. Since it was the last one of the festival it was really funny. I have to admit that Xolani had to help me a little with some of the more SA specific jokes, but just like everywhere, they love to rip on George Bush. He had is share of jokes. My favorite bit was a dancing through the decades bit by a young up and coming comic.

The funny thing about being in South Africa is when it hits you that you're in South Africa. For example, nearly all day I was in the minority, except when I went to some of the more expensive shows, like Disgrace and the comedy at the Bowling Club. In both cases, there were lots of whites. I didn't really notice at Disgrace, it was dark, but at the Bowling Club, it was obvious. When I remarked on it to Xolani, he said it was the ticket price R60.00 is less than $10.00 but it's more than most of the blacks who live in Grahamstown could afford for entertainment. Sometimes it hits you, you look around and you remember. That's what South Africa is like. Sometimes, you look around and you see a dassi, baboon, or an all white audience and you remember you're in South Africa.

It was a great day, but REALLY long. I got to bed about 2 am.