Last Thursday-Saturday, we took the Resident Little One to visit his grandparents and aunts in his mom's village, Ga-Ramoshoene. It's about 4 hours north of here, outside of the town of Polokwane/Pietersburg in the Limpopo province.
Wendy prepped me before we went, to some degree. It IS a rural village. Electricity, yes. Running water, not so much, but there is a well. Outdoor "facilities." All doable, right?
Years ago, I overheard my friend Allyson describing the drive to my hometown in PA. "You just keep driving, and you notice that civilization keeps dropping off. Eventually, when you notice you're in the middle of nowhere, you turn left, go up a little hill, and a town appears out of nowhere, like Brigadoon."
Ga-Ramoshoene.
While a lot of the geography of this part of South Africa has a similarity about it (relatively flat plain, grassland), there's a definite change as you drive north. Trees here are generally rather short, but they get more sparse as you go. Mountains appear, but not necessarily as part of a range; you'll get one random mountain here, one there. Steep, rocky sides. We discussed whether it was some great upheaval in one spot, or an erosion of the rest of the world.
The roads go from wide highways… to two-lane roads….. to unpaved lanes. And, as Allyson said, you make a left-hand turn and a village appears. But unlike my hometown, unpaved roads, sheep in the yard, not much in the way of grass.
We were greeted by Phil's mother and father, followed by 3 sisters (Titi, Kolope, and Noko), and 2 very young nieces. Long catch-up sessions, greetings by neighbors (or were they relatives??), and then a chance to watch the whole rural-village dynamic.
- women doing pretty much all the work (well, forget "pretty much")
- cattle coming down the street every once in a while
- interesting variation in housing: some rather modern, others, less so
- dust. dust. more dust. Not a surprise, of course; been here before, but there just seemed so little vegetation to hold it down
The women were able, between the outdoor kitchen (with open fire) and the hotplates in the kitchen to whip up quite a feast… for 10 people. Wendy agonized over the fact that we got to meet our entree a few hours before dinner. I tried not to think about it, but we did get to see her shortly after her demise, soaking in a pan of hot water.
Friday was just a variation of activities.
Morning presented its challenges:
- Being presented with a large wash-tub with 3-4 inches of water for a bath
- A mug of water for brushing teeth. (The Boy did show us the pile of rocks outside where teeth were brushed, when we got there)
First of all, the 3 sisters, Wendy and I went off to Polokwane for a short shopping run. Mr. Mashita, the patriarch, was sure it was about 25 km, and we'd be there in 20 minutes. Never take directions from someone who doesn't drive. Closer to 52 km, an hour. But no matter. The area around the supermarket was lined with street vendors: hats, scarves, backpacks, fruit/veggies… anything and everything. How anyone made it through on foot was beyond me. But the general busy-ness was great to watch. Insane traffic, intersections clogged with cars and not-so-defensive pedestrians.
Upon returning to the village, we took a sad side trip to The Boy's mom's cemetery, where he and her sister placed flowers on the grave. Yes, I know it's Africa. Yes, I know it's rural Africa. But the starkness of the cemetery struck me. Very small, with mounds of dirt marking the graves. Less than half had headstones. Sometimes, even when you're prepared a mental image of something, you're still not prepared for the reality.
We DID consider visiting the local witch-doctor/fortune teller, but ALL of Phil's sisters were up in arms over it. She HATED that woman! She wouldn't speak to her! Oops. No swimming against THAT stream.
While the women cooked up another huge meal, Wendy and I took the kids for a long walk around the neighborhood to get them (and us?) out from underfoot. Trips back and forth between outdoor/indoor kitchen, veggies everywhere,
And mopane worms.
Titi spotted the worms in the veggie market and threw them into the cart. It became a running joke all afternoon about who would(n't) eat them. Noko and Kolope both referred to them as "revolting." I'll admit…. didn't look very inviting. Titi eventually called me into the kitchen to show me how they're cooked. Boiled in water, twice, draining each time. They need to be re-hydrated. Then, once that's accomplished, sautee in oil, add salt, and voila!
I was served four with dinner. I ate half of one. The Boy wasn't very interested in trying them, but I told him it tasted like nuts. Not totally untrue, but I didn't tell him that it tasted like a nut that I'd rather never eat again.
Can't say I didn't try it.
Can say I'll look for it in my neighborhood supermarket in Indy.
I got up early Friday. As I was sitting outside, looking for sun to warm me up, two men entered the yard: Dan and Steven. Now, in the tradition of nomenclature of relatives, I don't know if they were Mr. Mashita's brother/cousin/nephew/what. All I can say is that Dan was older than Steven. Were they even related to each other?? Don't know. All I caught along the way was that Dan said that Mr. Mashita called and said they have to come over and see Wendy/The Boy before the trip home. We went to visit their homes in a nearby village.
Interesting contrast. One home was very small (2 rooms?), but another home is being built on the property. The foundation and the first few rows of bricks are down, but construction is stopped. According to Wendy, it's the normal pace. If one gets all the materials for building a house, they're are apt to be stolen; therefore, you get a little, build with that until that stage is depleted, get more… etc.
The other house, belonging to Steven (a police detective) was strikingly "western" and modern. Tile floors, satellite tv, leather furniture. Still wrapping my head around the contrasts.
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