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Driving up the M511 from Fourways to Pretoria, you come upon one of the harsh realities of South Africa, the squatter camp. Now called an 'informal settlement', Diepsloot is one of the largest of them in the Gauteng province with an estimated population of 150,000. Approaching the area, you notice the number of people walking along the side of the road, the makeshift shacks and tables with basic wares for sale, and the feeling of entering into another Africa, one of destitution and poverty.
“This is where the government has let them down. All the promises of '94 and this is what they get?” my host points out.
We drive past the camp, being sure to avoid the often reckless maneuvers of the many taxi buses turning into the camp. Carrying up to dozen passengers or so, the taxi buses themselves reflect an industry that began underground amongst the black communities in opposition to the public transportation provided by the cities. I am told the drivers are commonly uneducated and likely illiterate, not to mention terrible drivers.
I arranged to stay in a leafy suburb of Pretoria, which offered a stark contrast to what I had seen so far.
Some of the modest but elegant houses with well-trimmed lawns had the security gates of the Johannesburg suburb, but many didn't. In this neighborhood, a community watch program helps keep the area safe.
Pretoria is also known as its former name Tshwane, or almost. Tshwane (ts-wa-nay) is the name of a legendary tribal chief who may or may not have existed. Since the fall of apartheid, many place names have been changed to reflect the original meaning. With such a big city like Pretoria, they made a compromise and kept the downtown name the same, while designating the area around it as Tshwane. Oddly enough, some officials still insisted on changing names on the eve of the Cup, meaning every sign, map, municipal document and business address would have to reflect this change. Think again.
With limited transportation means, and plenty of writing and research to keep me occupied, I spend most days nodding off in the sunlight as it arcs across the cloudless sky to the north. Here are a couple of observations to fill the blank space in between some random pics.
Nature
The only animals I've really seen so far, other than guard
dogs, are birds. I'm often woken up by the sonorous squawk of an ibis, an awkward fowl with a duck's body, a crane's neck, and a hummingbird beak. One morning, I awoke to pigeons grunting rhythmically and flapping the tin roof.
Haven't seen any lions yet, although I hear there's a lion park nearby. I thought it might not be a good idea to drive my rental car through there, and have to explain to the dealer where the claw marks came from. Folks say not to worry, and that my best bet is go on Monday, the day after they're fed, when they're in a lethargic and photogenic mood. But then again, everyone has a story, like the time a colleague of a photographer I met went there to find that the lions were quite friendly with his machine, so much one of them gnawed off and ambled away with his side-view mirror.
Then there's the famous story I've already heard at least five times about the poor Asian chap who decided he had to be outside of his car and in the picture with the beast. It's now known as the “Chinese Take-away” incident.
Food
As mentioned before, the South Africans are nuts about their braais. (Or as an Afrikaans would say 'befok' about their braais. Take a guess.*) It is such an essential part of the cuisine here that one host made a braai out of the tumbler of a drying machine, setting it upright and placing the grill face into it over the charcoal. We sat around the fire one night and picked at our meat with plates in our laps, American-style, except without the paper plates.
Some South Africans swear upon their nightly rooibos tea, a red bush that is native to this area. Although deep red, it has more character of black tea and can be drunk with milk.
The ginger beer reminds me of its Caribbean counterpart, with an actual bite of ginger. I've also heard about sorghum beer, a traditional brew of the Zulus made from sorghum grasses, which is nowadays used in some gluten-free beers. They say it's drunk out of a large bowl and passed around a group, and is not as alcoholic as commercial beer.
I've also had a fondue, although not a cheese or chocolate one, but an oil fondue. Meat,
potatoes, zucchini, mushrooms... just toss it all in there. A first for me.
Lastly and fortunately, they rank among one of the more cultured civilizations on earth that enjoy peanut butter. I guess living here isn't that bad after all!
And don't worry, the next entry will be about the whole event that brought me here!
*article about the word: http://www.bizcommunity.com/Article/196/59/48368.html
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Fondue
non-member comment
I simply love fondue!
Now that you have mentioned oil fondue, I suddenly have a craving for it, lol! I miss tossing those beef strips around with veggies and sometimes even with sea foods. We haven't had oil fondue for a while, since my twin boys started joining us in our fondue dinners. I just thought, oil wouldn't be that safe for them, (call it paranoia, lol) I feel much relax if we all just share chocolate, cheese or broth fondue instead.