Thursday, April 15, 2004  

After visiting some mediocre animal sanctuaries and an excellent arts bazaar, we went over to Thuli's mother's house: the indomitable Nomavenda Mathiane---aka Momma V.

It's totally clear now where Thuli gets her spark.

Momma V is a former journalist with an independent black newspaper out of Jo'Burg, but she has now retired and become a writer---"I've moved up," she says. She's published several books about her experiences as a person and a journalist under apartheid, and today her business card lists her as a Media Consultant. I would love to move up to the level of Media Consultant one day. It seems so rich and yet so nebulous---two things to which everyone should aspire.

But Momma V is more that just a writer; she's as lively a personality as I've ever met. She teases her German son-in-law, Rolf, mercilessly---and he teases right back. She makes fun of white folks and then kisses them on the lips (well, at least us white folks). She sings---we got some snippets of Zulu tunes as well as "Just the Two of Us"; who knew I'd get some Grover Washington Jr. & Bill Withers in South Africa? She shimmies her booty while joking about her tummy. She speaks her mind politically and does a wickedly funny impression of Nelson Mandela.

She's just about perfect.

Momma V cooked us some ox tongue---I tried a corner of one silver-dollar-sized slice and nearly threw up; the sensation of tongue on tongue should only be felt while kissing, not eating. There was also a tasty bean dish that is popular in Zulu culture, but the other food was a bit more typical of Western fare: spaghetti bolognaise, corn, salad, etc.

But it was the camaraderie, the stories, and the jokes that made it all special.

Thank you, Momma V!

We fly home this evening, and I'm pretty excited about being back at home with my girlie. We've had an excellent time, but 10 days is a long time to be away from your sweetie and your usual surroundings. I'm a creature of habit who loves to travel; if only I could have brought MR and my Playstation to South Africa, I could have stayed another week, easy.

Photos to come soon; I took almost 400. L8!

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