I am up early, and my host family has a computer with nobody else waiting to use it! I can't believe my great luck!
Last night we sang our 10th concert, only the 2nd one for a mostly white audience, all others have been for totally black African audiences; of those 8, six were in churches, two in schools. At every concert, especially the black churches and schools, we have been so welcomed it is overwhelming. People wave their hands at us while we are singing, call out, and often get up to sing and dance with us from the pews. After the concerts, many come up to us to shake our hands (special South African handshake is a 3-part affair, takes longer - invites conversation!) and all of them tell us we sing beautifully, wide smiles all around.
The homestays have run the gambit - upper middle class to a Township house in Soweto (night before last)... some have been gracious, some have been confusing for all (insufficient communication), but the experience has been unbelievable. The night before last, in our host family's house in Soweto, (Southwest Township of Johannesburg, where Nelson Mandela was living, first Apartheid protests began), a man asked me, "Aren't you scared to be here?" The truth is, I have not felt frightened anywhere I've been, as I've always been with gracious, caring hosts, who help us understand the parameters. In fact, Soweto is the only place I've stayed where there was NO security barbed wire!
Yesterday we went to the Cradle of Humankind, a World Heritage site where a complete skeleton of Australopithicus africanus, 3 million years old, has been discovered. The caves were amazing - beautiful calcium formations, some scrambling & crawling for us, but mostly high caverns, an underground lake; they showed us where "Mrs. Ples" was discovered in 1947 (at the time the oldest skull of Austraopithicus africanus). We sang a Corsican "Kyrie" in one of the bigger underground caverns... memorable! The museum was a bit over-the-top glitzy, but the setting was so beautiful¨- the African veldt, rolling hills for as far as you could see. The area is full of limestone caves, the site of quarrying in the late 1800's which may have destroyed some of the fossils - but the area now is magnificent to view and tour in.
Today we will go back to Soweto to experience the Apartheid museum, then a 3-hour drive to Nelspruit, on the eastern side of South Africa (see the map at the right), and then to Pietermaritzburg and Durban. We have 3-4 concerts left, and no homestays. Tonight I believe we are staying in a tent campground; in Durban it sounds like cottages. We never have complete information very far ahead; since most of us don't know the geography of South Africa well, we tend to forget what we've been told anyway! And... things & circumstances change often!!!
I am experiencing a bit of fatigue and homesickness; it has been a wonderful experience that I will never be able to duplicate, but it is tough travelling for hours in a small van, and we do a great deal of waiting around (ah yes..."African Time"!) Laundry is hit-and-miss, mostly hand-washing, clothes always wrinkled; sleep is often no more than 6 hours. But the people have been so warm and gracious. And the folks I'm travelling with are a great mixture of personalities (there are 6 beautiful American girls 19-22 who sing a heart-wrenching "Rock of Ages", and 4 South African singers, three of whom are of 19-22 age group, 2 singers from the UK, 1 from Switzerland, 1 from Norway, and an incredible guy from New Zealand). We of the older set spend a little time grumbling with each other at the inefficiencies, but once we are done venting for the day we buck up and move on - we're all grateful for this incredible opportunity, despite the inconveniences!
It feels like I'm trying to cram all of the experiences into one blog post, and possibly I am - probably no more internet time until my return on Feb 7. I cannot upload any pictures, as my camera got wet in a sudden downpour 2 weeks ago, and I have been unable to take in pictures.Everyone assures me they will share their pics, though, so I'll have plenty to share when I return.
I think of you all often, and wish I could share more of my trip more often, but I must go now, as I have 30 minutes to rearrange my things, pack, and eat breakfast. I will be home in 6 days.
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