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Why be black?
Feb. 8th, 2009 12:19 pm"Eish bru, your soul is SO black!" - My colleague Stefan, when he saw me dancing toyi toyi steps from joy when i saw 'Tso' Vilakasi scoring a winner goal for my fave Downs against the Arrows.
"You're more Zulu than Boer." - Wife Karen, often saying this. The last time was earlier this week when I instinctively picked isiZulu over Afrikaans from the 'language' options on a street ATM, in order to collect money.
"What do you mean?" - Sander, friend back in Holland, of half-Afrikaner origin, with whom I chatted recently and I used a Tsotsitaal punword which is very popular here. And he's supposed to know these, since he moved to Holland just 5 years ago.
"And now, congratulations to the White Zulu and his beautful wife!" - 'Fubu' Fumbani, the DJ who was at my wedding with Karen last year, speaking in front of the audience after the official ceremony had ended, being performed by pastor Ntsele.
"Stijn... You should give grammar lessons to my daughter when she starts to go to school." - Mrs Sewale, a cook at the local kindergarten in the south Alex township where I spend most of my work time. She meant lessons in isiZulu, because I had corrected Lanny several times.
"Man... You've GOT to change your color just like Jacko did." - My neighbor Rudy, during a braai with some friends in the park last month. I had been humming a TKZee tune for hours...
The most recent one, which came as a shock to me:
"Are you ill? Your skin is so pale..." - 6 year old Amanda, the daughter of Ron Fadana, my colleague from the social department at the Ekurhuleni municipality. In context, she meant I'm supposed to be as dark as her dad, since she somehow regards me part of her family.
The list goes on and on, and on.
So, yeah This is just how things are. I don't feel ashamed of anything. And certainly there's no need to change anything, least of all my color. It's enough that on the inside, I'm as black as king Shaka :-)
I even have a small shield with my personal colors now. Dave & Siso, two guys from Empangeni made it over a week and they brought it home on Friday. Isn't it a beauty?
( Behold the beauty! )
"You're more Zulu than Boer." - Wife Karen, often saying this. The last time was earlier this week when I instinctively picked isiZulu over Afrikaans from the 'language' options on a street ATM, in order to collect money.
"What do you mean?" - Sander, friend back in Holland, of half-Afrikaner origin, with whom I chatted recently and I used a Tsotsitaal punword which is very popular here. And he's supposed to know these, since he moved to Holland just 5 years ago.
"And now, congratulations to the White Zulu and his beautful wife!" - 'Fubu' Fumbani, the DJ who was at my wedding with Karen last year, speaking in front of the audience after the official ceremony had ended, being performed by pastor Ntsele.
"Stijn... You should give grammar lessons to my daughter when she starts to go to school." - Mrs Sewale, a cook at the local kindergarten in the south Alex township where I spend most of my work time. She meant lessons in isiZulu, because I had corrected Lanny several times.
"Man... You've GOT to change your color just like Jacko did." - My neighbor Rudy, during a braai with some friends in the park last month. I had been humming a TKZee tune for hours...
The most recent one, which came as a shock to me:
"Are you ill? Your skin is so pale..." - 6 year old Amanda, the daughter of Ron Fadana, my colleague from the social department at the Ekurhuleni municipality. In context, she meant I'm supposed to be as dark as her dad, since she somehow regards me part of her family.
The list goes on and on, and on.
So, yeah This is just how things are. I don't feel ashamed of anything. And certainly there's no need to change anything, least of all my color. It's enough that on the inside, I'm as black as king Shaka :-)
I even have a small shield with my personal colors now. Dave & Siso, two guys from Empangeni made it over a week and they brought it home on Friday. Isn't it a beauty?
( Behold the beauty! )
