Arrived in Johannesburg this morning (Joburg or Jozi to the locals). Really has the feel of NYC but with the sprawling layout of LA (which David had told us before). Its a rough city but we both really love the feel of it. The neighborhood that we are staying in is more integrated then any place we've seen in South Africa so far, which is so refreshing. Still not very mixed by another nations standards, but any integration at all feels like water to a parched throat. We were walking around our town when we got recognized on the street by someone who had seen us in Cape Town. A remarkable experience, being recognized in a city we have never been in, in a country we were strangers to but three weeks ago.
Yesteday, we stayed at the farm of David's neice, Marium Botha, a couple hours south of Johannesburg in the Free State. It was a huge industrial corn farm (corn is called "mealie" here). The farm was in the middle of harvesting the year's crop and we got to swim in huge trucks of corn kernals ("mealie pips", it felt like the ball pit at Chuck E Cheezes) and each of us got to try driving a huge industrial harvester down the rows of mealie stalks (a remarkably empowering experience).
We got to have dinner with Marium's father in law, Andre Botha, who recently finished a term as a member of the national parliament. Marium's mother-in-law has just started serving as the South African ambassador in Prague and Mr. Botha was leaving to join her later this week. Amazing to get to hear stories of the government from the inside, which I shall try to put down later. What a strangely powerful and influential family David has. Marium is an activist lawyer working to improve housing for the poor majority, but even with this noble task occupying all her time, it still feels strange and somehow immoral to sit in a house of such incredible wealth while so many here suffer in the cold (the family lives in a glorious mansion on the land that 7 generations of Bothas have farmed, with black staff doing much of the menial tasks). Petty moralizing is easy to do in South Africa but it is inarguably a country of the most severe inequities, such that I don't even know how to adequately describe it.
Tomorrow we perform at the Market! We are very excited....
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It's hard to even imagine the amount of growth you both are deriving from this adventure. It's even harder to imagine what you two will come up with for future shows -- your new repertoire will surely be amazing.
ReplyDeletePeace and love to you both .... Ron Rink