south african patriot
yesterday, after an amazing day-long field trip to Robben Island (which is really worth an entry in itself) Carrie, Leah and I went to the 10 Years of Democracy celebration at Athlone Stadium, where President Mbeki was going to speak. I don't even know where to start explaining this experience. We met a really amazing guy named Sizwe who runs a hip-hop and Kwito program for kids in Khayelitsha, and he introduced us to some of his students, who showed off their moves and made fast friends with us ... as three of maybe ten white people in the whole stadium, we were constantly approached by people introducing themselves, surprised and excited, I think, that we were there. a newspaper reporter interviewed Leah and I - I think he was trying to get a white South African perspective, but when he found out we were American he was still interested. It's sort of sad that white people from Cape Town didn't show up while blacks and "coloreds" from as far as Plattenberg Bay took buses out to hear the president ... but the racial composition of events here is very heavily determined by all different kinds of signifiers - where they're held, the music, etc. It's hard to craft a truly "rainbow nation" event in that light. still, that doesn't justify the unwillingness of many here to cross their personal boundaries.
at the event I found myself astounded by the level of excitement about South African nationhood. high school kids shouting the national anthem, cheering on pictures of deceased heroes of the anti-apartheid struggle ... at one point I turned to Leah and said, "You know, I think I feel patriotic for the first time in my life." there was a drum sequence where dance troupes from many of the different cultures represented in Cape Town came onstage, and on the field the kids were doing all of the dances - Indian garba raas, Scottish highlander, Xhosa, Portuguese, etc.
Beth and I plan to interview Sizwe for our youth crime prevention project tomorrow if I can get a hold of him today ... we've got a basic layout for our documentary completed, and are going to start editing this week! it looks like we might actually get a finished product out of this, much to my surprise.
after the concert I joined Lannie and some friends for birthday karaoke at a highly archetypical bar, belted out some Sinead O'Connor and tried to survive swing dancing with Meghan Connett. she gets a little violent. it was wonderful :-)
today I think I'm going to take the train out to Muizenberg and see what it's like, then probably to Lush to party with Renee and her sisters who are here visiting her from the U.S. - time is running out, and I still want to see so much. it's the best possible kind of stress.
at the event I found myself astounded by the level of excitement about South African nationhood. high school kids shouting the national anthem, cheering on pictures of deceased heroes of the anti-apartheid struggle ... at one point I turned to Leah and said, "You know, I think I feel patriotic for the first time in my life." there was a drum sequence where dance troupes from many of the different cultures represented in Cape Town came onstage, and on the field the kids were doing all of the dances - Indian garba raas, Scottish highlander, Xhosa, Portuguese, etc.
Beth and I plan to interview Sizwe for our youth crime prevention project tomorrow if I can get a hold of him today ... we've got a basic layout for our documentary completed, and are going to start editing this week! it looks like we might actually get a finished product out of this, much to my surprise.
after the concert I joined Lannie and some friends for birthday karaoke at a highly archetypical bar, belted out some Sinead O'Connor and tried to survive swing dancing with Meghan Connett. she gets a little violent. it was wonderful :-)
today I think I'm going to take the train out to Muizenberg and see what it's like, then probably to Lush to party with Renee and her sisters who are here visiting her from the U.S. - time is running out, and I still want to see so much. it's the best possible kind of stress.