A Quick Post from Amanda before we head to Kruger

July 18, 2009
Hey everyone this is Amanda (Naladi)
On Saturday, we learned how to do a little bit of the Quaito dancing. We then heard the boys singing, and stopping their feet, we all ran to see the boys come down from the mountain. Friends danced and chanted, around the two boys that were from the village. The boys were wearing brown shorts, and all of the carried a stick. As they approached the family’s house, someone would place a straw mat down, and the boys had to run to the mat and try to get hit too much by the sticks. Once the boys were on the mat the knelt down (like the child poise in yoga). The person who placed the mat down also put a dish down for donations. The boys would sing a song to get people to donate money. There were about 500 boys who went to the mountain, two from Komaneng, Mamablo. They had just come down after being up in the mountains for three months, these boys were starved, beaten, and circumcised. They came back dazed and ill. This was a journey on becoming a real man. Not all families participate in this journey to the mountain. Most families bring their boys to the doctor to get circumcised instead. It is a secret what exactly happens, when they are in the mountains. After getting donation they boys were welcomed in the home for food, and we offered food as well, and that is when we got to try our first taste of bogobe, we also had chicken, cabbage, and mashed potatoes. We enjoyed a great meal, and got to meet many new people. Vince loved the bogobe, and finished his, and ate the leftovers that we did not finish. The boys left after they finished at this house and the boys were chanting around the two that went, and they did a dance as they left, and they headed for the next house, and did this for many other houses too. That night we finished off meeting new people in the village. Erica and I met a friend of the LC’s, her name was Mary. Mary spent the night with us, and we talked, and sang, and Mary and Erica kept Ivy from sleeping the whole time.



Janet Mamablo, she is my new South African Grandmother, we call her Ma. You will never understand the way I feel about her, until you, yourself meet her. She is a wonderful lady that has accomplished so much. She is a member of the Zion Christian church, and has received a star, for being a member for so long. Ma is extremely funny, even when you are just talking to her she will say something, or make her ‘Ma face’ a go “mhmph”, and that can make you smile. Ma is a nice person you can talk to, she can be helpful with knowing information, but one thing she will never know is why we eat so little. We have a picture of Ma’s plate of bagobe compared to ours, and you can sure see the difference. Ma makes tasty bagobe, and always knows when you don’t salt the cabbage. I have not known Ma for long but, I have heard stories from the Lc’s and I know they are not lying. Ivy has always said Ma never liked children in her yard, and today we saw Ma yelling at a child to get out of her yard. Ma means well, and never gets upset for long. A way to make her happy is just the simple things that we have in America. When she received the pair of earrings, and cheap gold watch, she nearly cried, because she was so happy. She has been wearing them around town, and has received complements, and she is proud. She also like when she comes out of the car when people can see her. Ma loves to watch ‘Dancing with the stars (south Africa)’ Even though she thinks they are married. Ma loves to listen to her radio and you can hear it outside in the morning. Ma loves when people come over, or when she sees someone and they can talk about anything. Everyone has their stories of talking to Ma, and just watching her when they come over, and I hope you hear those stories when we arrive back in America. All of us have grown to love Ma, she is 75 and does not look it, we will all miss her greatly when we leave, but we will have the stories and will never forget them.
-Amanda