Cancellations put a new spin on things

I had a busy day with an unexpected ending.  We had service meetings in the morning on campus, and we had to be back in the afternoon for lit class.  So, despite the extreme heat at noon, I really wanted to get in a good workout.  So I ran intervals home with some body circuits in between.  I arrived back very hot, feeling accomplished, and pleased to find a relatively quiet flat with only Taylor home.  After a satisfying lunch, Taylor and I took a nice nap before heading back to campus.

We were meant to meet the Zimbabwean author-turn-film-maker Tsitsi Dangarembga for a class discussion, but after waiting about 45 minutes, we got a call saying that Tsitsi was in the country, but refusing to speak to our class and the public address scheduled for the campus that night.  Our professor found her hysterical at the airport and she wanted the fastest flight back to Zimbabwe.  And that’s all we heard.  We were disappointed about her cancellation but overall confused. I don’t know if we’ll ever hear the real story of her refusal.  Since we got out of class early, I walked home, grateful for the beautiful day. 

We had a chill day in bio on Thursday morning because our boat trip got cancelled.  We watched Oceans, a French film with minimal narration (in French with English sub-titles) and beautiful ocean cinematography capturing interactions within and between species.  I was surprised that the film evoked emotions about some of the scenes depicting seals with dog-like qualities, a comical turf war between a (bigggg) shrimp fighting a crab, and tiny turtle hatchings scurrying to the sea to save themselves from birds of prey (only 1/1000 sea turtles make it to adult-hood). 

After class, we walked to Super Spar to get some groceries.  I got lunch at the new sushi counter =D (Spicy tuna “sandwich” with layers of sticky rice and nori with sushi fixings in between and cut into a triangle and a Rainbow Roll).  In the afternoon I made spiced custard from a South African magazine which turned out all right, but I could have been better.  After trying to get ahold of team members for a few hours, we found out that we had a volleyball game at Missionvale campus Thursday night at 7.

The bus picked us up in front of Langerry and brought us to the game location.  While we warmed up the alarm sounded for a half-hour.  Once it stopped we cleared our heads before playing.  I played utility known as right side in the States.  I liked it a lot better than libero because I was able to serve, pass, and hit.  I surprised myself and the team when I made about five kills for the match.  I had so much fun playing.  We had great competition and won the match in 4 games (it’s best of 5). 

I was absolutely glowing when I got home because of the fun of volleyball and the great relationships we are building on the team.  At the flat, I found four inebriated roommates at the early hour of 10pm (We don’t’ normally go out until 11:30 or midnight because the bars and clubs don’t close until the people are gone around 4 or 5am).  They went to a music release party put on at a local club, Gondwana, by a friend’s producer.  The producer wanted him to perform and gather feedback from the audience.  Because they were his private guests they received a complementary bottle of champagne in addition to the normal BOGO (buy one get one) deal between 5 and 7pm.  So, unable to resist two chocolate martinis for the price of one, my roommates were quite funny to come home to.

Culture for Bruce and Norma

The volleyball game was against PE College whose students grew up alongside many of the South African NMMU students.  There is almost a cut-throat level of competition between the women.  A few weeks ago, Lauren, the team captain, came out of practice berating PE College for sending spies.  Apparently some girls were filming our practices to get a leg up on the competition.  Lauren had nothing but disdain for their Bring it On bull shit, and smelling their insecurity, she told them, “Do what you want, we’ll kick your asses anyway,”  leaving them to their filming.  On top of the normal level of competition we had higher stakes.  Nottttt to mention, ahem, during warms ups, some team member who may or may not look, smell, and sound a lot like me was kind enough to shag a ball for PE College and upon returning it, beaned a day-dreaming opponent in the face.  Talk about upping the ante.  In the beginning huddle it sounded like we were defending our lives on the court.  Not literally, but there was a lot of trash talk from the other team about what they were going to do to us.  However, we made it through alive and proved ourselves to be the better team.

Maybe I’m under some kind of Midwestern, passive-aggressive illusion.  But it seems to me that people outright-ly betray one another here with no qualms.  In Sizwe’s Test we read that no one in the community has the power to stop gangsters from robbing old women who have known them since childhood.  Everyone knows who the gangsters are, but no one talks, and they continue to get away with murder, literally.  In Rian Malan's My Traitor's Heart the Alcock's who raised Zulu boys from starvation to strong men were brought down by those same boys when one stole from them and another gave gangsters all the information necessary to take large sums of money.  I realize that these people were desperate and that is much different than a volleyball match, but the theme of turning on one's closest kin remains.  

One may not realize that PE is a smaller town than it let's on, perhaps because the townships grant little privacy.  But in the Midwest small towns it seems that we don’t betray someone out in the open, nor do we talk about it afterward.  Our passive-aggressive nature just keeps it behind one another's backs.  In my experience here, the PE College women who filmed us came in to practice, sat on the chairs right next to our court and just filmed.  It doesn’t even seem like they tried to hide it.  Perhaps they were a better team in the past and relied on intimidation factor, but how is it that someone can hurt someone they know well, and act like nothing has happened the next time they see them on a taxi or at a braai?  I’m unsure, but I think the method and ease of betrayal has something to do with using power and intimidation as tools for meeting needs when the resources and infrastructure aren't cutting the mustard (like in Msinga in Malan's book).  And maybe once those tactics are learned they just perpetuate into situations that are not about food and money but about a simple game.  And maybe I am just wrong, and things do happen in the same way where I'm from, and I just don't realize it.