Sept 26 Township Music

On the same day I had  to race back to the ship to try and get on a 6pm FDP trip for another class. It was a trip into the townships of Cape Town and hear their music. They had an extra bus so there wasnt a problem. As we started toward the townships, what we thought was an hour long ride was actually a tour of a couple different townships. The main bus  had someone telling them about each of the townships we went through (Lunga, Gurugela, Khaytelitcha). We got to see a memorial for the Guru 7, which were seven young boys who were killed by the police during the apartheid for no reason. ( For those of you that dont know what apartheid is, it was a time in S. Africa much like our segregation. Blacks and whites did not mix and blacks could only live in a certain place and use certain facilities. They couldnt have any jobs or businesses and were forced to work for the white colonists. There were constant fights and brutal beatings on the blacks by the police especially. Blacks were arrested and tortured for no reason. Many many died. It was much more brutal than our segregation, very  very sad). Seeing the townships is unlike anything you will experience. If you think you have seen poor...think again. Houses are made from tin, brick, metal and wood. Basically anything scrap the people can find. They are everywhere and over crowded. It is said that the govt still needs to build 2.4 million houses to get everyone a "sturdy" house. Some of the people in the neighborhood have started building their own houses out of cement and cinder blocks or brick. This is done given the time and money of those building. After a while we stopped at the youth center. As we entered 4 kids were playing the xylophone and macaranas for us. They were so good, everyone was dancing and clapping along. Come to find out they have just been playing 6 WEEKS and they were only 13/14 yrs old. Then we were led into the gym where there was a huge circle of chairs with drums, cow bells, and macaranas. Everyone got an instrument. Sara Jocie and I got macaranas. The head teacher Kaya, led us in playing our beats. We played about 5 different songs. There wasnt any singing per say but we chanted, called & responded and yelled things. All were in their language so I dont know what we were saying. They taught us a dance as well and we were split into 2 groups and battled against each other. All the SAS kids got really into it and the little kids loved us. They thought we were very entertaining. When we were done with our dance session it was time to go to the Stellah, which is their word for the bar/pub. This was no ordinary bar. It basically was a garage with three rooms in the middle of the ghetto. There was about 35 of us and there were people visiting the bar besides us! The place had to be made to fit only 20 and there was a good 50. They cooked us dinner and so it was a home cooked meal of A. African food ( spicy beans, porage, cow tongue, frog legs, sausage, salad, and bread). It was interesting and I tried almost everything but I wouldnt say I ate it all or liked it very much. The older kids and teacher set up  3 xylophones, a drum set, and played for a straight hour and a half. The music was very upbeat and up lifting and had some great beats to dance to. It was sad to go but also kind of scary because no one was on the streets and i mean not one person was out in the town. Granted they dont have lots of transportation, electricity, or running water, the town was eerily quiet. Got home at 11:30 pm and went to bed to get ready for an early morning!