African Beeah

The most interesting experience so far has without a doubt been drinking african beeah and communing with the ancestors. What they call african beeah here is like no beer you have ever . Its not brown, it hasnt got any bubbles, its not even made with hops. I dont know what did go into it so all I can do for you is describe how it looked and tasted. It was in a 20 liter bucket before they divided into separate portions for the mothers and the fathers who then portion off some for the unmaried women and men. The stuff looked a little like a malted vanilla bean milkshake. It was a uneasy milky grey-purple off-white color with black speckles that could have been small seeds or bits of charcoal. I didn't really have time to make a careful inspection partially because I didn't want to be seen as suspicious and also, I must admit, because I just didn't want to know. It had an initial bite reminiscent of citrus. right after that came a sweet wheaty kind of wholesome taste and finally an aftertaste of burnt something-or-other. Im really curious to find out what was in it but Ive got a feeling its a secret reserved for the family elders. Apparently it is an ancient Bantu tradition that dates back to way before the US was even a sparkle in George Washington's eye. This was the first time anyone can remeber an "umlungu" (white person) being there, much less three, and everyone seemed a little excited about it.
The whole time in the back of my mind i was feeling a little like an intruder. I was half expecting one uncle or cousin to get half-cocked and cut me nasty glances but it never happened. All I got was kind words and smiles when words werent an option, repeatedly assuring me that I was welcome. The mothers were especially amused by having us in their midst though it seemed virtually none of them spoke a word of english. THey all wanted pictures with me and made me promise to print them and give them copies. They all found it especially amusing when I offered to help distribute the food. I was probably stepping all over time-honored gender roles but they got a good laugh out of a white man serving them. One sister dumped her gigantic one month old to Kourtney and he stayed with her the whole time.
I only got a partial translation of the speeches made by the grandfathers but the gyst of them was that they were celebrating the closeness of their family and of their community; indeed two representative members of the community were invited to the ceremony. They talked of the youth nowadays not respecting traditions and drinking their beer elsewhere, down the street in the pubs and so on (njalo-njalo in Xhosa). They also talked about how our presence was telling of how things are changing for the better. THere were other things that I missed or dont remember and all the while they addressed their speeches to the ancestors.
One grandfather, who I had met the day before when Siya was giving a tour of the different townships, was a real character. He was probably about 65, bald and barrelchested with a potbelly and a booming voice that reminded me of Jabba the Hut. He stretched out certain vowel syllabes and had a enourmous smile on all the time. He also didn't have any of the beeah and instead drank coca cola from his own 1 litre bottle. He was particularly overjoyed by my rudimentary Xhosa vocabulary and botched pronunciations. Xhosa pronunciations are a whole different story. It puts your tounge to work!
So I just realized that I haven't explained to you why I was here in the first place. Siya, my right hand man, has been working with GRS now for 4 months or so. He is an amazing character and I think I already said this but I was and am very glad that he is on my side. Hes got a lot of knowledge of the area and of the curiculum that I could not have done without. He has been around the same amount of time as everyone else but the difference in level of mastery of the curriculum between him and the vast majority of the other coaches is emormous. Titie is also well ahead of the pack and my bosses always comment on how she has potential to be a GRS country manager. She's not as remarkable a stage presence as Siya but she is more thoughtful and independant in many ways. Siys strengths, his charisma and hi uncanny ability to command attention and lead large groups are also his weaknesses. He has a tendancy to steal the show at the slightest hint of a loss of energy or direction. Im going on a complete tangent. Ill finish the story and ten talk about my difficulties playing to the coaches strengths.
Siya introduced me to his mother during the townships tour and she invited us over for the beer the next day. Siyas family is probably an exception in many ways and I don't believe that their unbridled hospitality is shared by everyone but It was a fun experience.
In the picture above, I was holding a tray of food getting ready to go distribute it when a sister unexpectadly took a spoonful of cabbage and stuffed it in my mouth. She held it there for about 10 seconds while Siya figured out how to use my camera so, as you can imagine everybody was just kind of staning around laughing at how rediculous we looked. fun times.