On Sunday I went with petunia to a child’s birthday party after church. Petunia’s neighbor Ellen had invited her, so petunia offered me the chance to come along. It didn’t matter that I didn’t know the birthday boy. We pull up to the party and, even though the music is still blaring, it’s almost as if everything freezes. I know it’s because a white person (me) just got out of the car because everyone is staring at me, especially the little kids. I try not to mind too much, and hug Ellen as she offers me a seat. Then comes time for birthday cake. At this party, the purpose of the cake was just as much to serve as a centerpiece for pictures as it was for eating. I was hanging back while the kids gathered around but suddenly Ellen, petunia’s neighbor, pulls me in and says “Emily, they want you in the picture!” talk about jumping in the game without knowing the rules! I had arrived not 10 minutes earlier and I hadn’t even met the two hostesses of the party. Yet, they wanted me in the picture with them, the cake, and the birthday kids. So I obliged. When a random guy came up and said he wanted a picture with me, that’s where I drew the line. After this, I asked petunia “so, am I like a party clown? Some kind of entertainment?” she said “no, it’s just an honor to them for you to be at their party.” Imagine that, all because of the color of my skin. About an hour later, before we left the party, I made sure to actually introduce myself to these ladies, so that when they got the pictures and showed their friends, I wouldn’t just be a nameless “lekoa.”
Now, I realize of course, that my presence is not automatically seen as an honor to everyone. Race is a topic here loaded with generations of painful baggage. So part of my experience has been similar to that in Oakland or New Orleans, where I am aware of my difference because everyone else points it out. But it’s also very different just because of the racial history of this place. This place is sprawling, with about 1 million people living within Soshanguve township. Still not sure of the physical size of the place, but definitely smaller in area than New Orleans. And all of the people are black African. This is just not a place that you would be passing through to get somewhere else, so to see a white person not only walking around but living in a township is quite radical. As much as I’d like to assimilate and be “normal” that may never be possible because of the context I’m entering into. In fact, last week when I went into town, I was taken aback that people weren’t looking at me funny in the mall. Like, it didn’t surprise me to see other white people as much as it surprised me that I was suddenly right in the mix again.
Let me try to describe this place in a way you can picture…. In many ways, the neighborhoods of Sosh look and feel like a typical inner-city…..but we’re located 30 miles outside of the nearest city. The main roads, either two lanes or four, are paved, but the side residential roads are dirt. Lots of people walk, though there are not always sidewalks. Most of the women walking have a child wrapped by a towel on their backs. (Side note: I am amazed by this….it seems no matter the size of the woman or the child the towel still fits & wraps around perfectly! Must be a secret trick I have yet to learn) Occasionally the women are carrying things on their heads—piles of sticks, a shopping bag of groceries, etc. Another secret talent! Lots of people also take mini-bus taxis, which operate on a hand-sign system to indicate what direction you are going in. the taxi ride may take 5 minutes or 45 minutes, depending on how full it is, how many other passengers are picked up, if the taxi needs gas, if the driver feels like driving fast or slow, etc. Occasionally I have seen goats sharing the road with people. Today there was a herd of cows crossing. most people live in brick & cement houses of varying shape & size. There are still plenty of tin shacks, but the government is doing its darndest to build four-room brick houses to replace the remaining sheds. I heard someone say that that building process is moving particularly speedy right now because elections are coming up! A lot of those tin shacks have really nice wrought-iron gates in front of them. One of my challenges is not to judge how people spend their money. There are several shopping centers, gas stations, and plenty of informal business along the roads. It seems like each shopping center has at least 5 furniture stores—this I can’t quite understand. This is one of the paradoxes of South Africa—it is certainly seen as a modern, developed country by the rest of the world, but the disparirty between rich and poor is growing each day. There are people in Sosh without electricity and running water, so you can imagine what it’s like in the really rural areas. Oh yeah, KFC is super popular here, though the only McDonald’s I’ve seen are in Pretoria.
I have been told, and I’ve seen, that people here operate on a system of “abundant time.” Many times I have heard “In south Africa, there is no rush.” If someone says they will do something for you or pick you up, that could mean anytime between right now and 5 hours from now. Or maybe tomorrow. Or maybe next month. The mindset is that we have all the time in the world, so eventually it will happen. This is a particular challenge for me, especially remembering not to expect things to happen right away, even when the person says they will do it “now.” Perhaps this is one of the reasons God had me living in New Orleans, before South Africa?? J
