leaving joburg...

joburg or they also say jozi here rocked me! as i venture off to another town..i will never be the same. i know that sounds so melodramatic but it's the truth.

i feel extremely grateful that i was in the good company of locals who spent time with me and showed me the 'gateway to africa,' as joburg is known to be. i appreciate their friendship more than they'll ever know. i am relieved to say that i have not been exposed to any gangster shiet because that is the mainstream perception of this city. it is true that statistically the crime rate is high but any big metropolitan city with a lot of poverty is going to have its share of problems. as long as you steer clear from it as much as you can, you will have a wild time.....as i have! i can say that this city is a great place and i would definitely go back.

one of the latest highlights for me here was going to a shebeen. a shebeen is a place where you can purchase alcohol in the townships (the slums) when all the legit liquor stores in the city are closed. i went to one on my first nite in diepsloot township but didn't know what it was called at the time. i was in the car that time so did not actually go in one. it was a scary experience then so i thought i'd consciously experience it once again and actually step foot in one. yes..not the brightest idea but felt ok about it because i was with my friend lwazi, who is a local. otherwise, it's downright dumbass to stroll in alone as a foreigner late at nite.

we needed to bring some 6 packs of beer to a friend's place for a gathering and it's just plain rude to come empty-handed, so it was our only viable option. for a moment, i was thinking of staying in the car again while lwazi went in to do the beer run, but said it be safer to go with. i was thinking of wearing a big hat and to go incognito but again my idea was shot down because it would draw attention. but then im thinking im going to stick out like a sore thumb anyway so it was a double-edged sword. so i figure, whatever i'll go in a sore thumb and make this the fastest lightning transaction ever at a shebeen. hehe.

the township we were in is called tembisa. apparently it's not as bad as diepsloot. i had heard from my friend who was at a shebeen in diepsloot recently that someone was on the ground bc that person got stabbed there. with that in mind, even though we were in a different one.. i felt paranoid. random acts of violence can happen anywhere.

so, i walk in and was in a line of peeps waiting to get their goods. naturally, im being gawked at for obvious reasons but i ignore it all. a couple budded in front of me and normally i'd get a 'lil ticked off but in this scenario i was more than happy to oblige. heeh.

the man that served me and lwazi had one eye. i couldn't even speak or even look him in his only eye..so lwazi ordered for us. we got our beer and all was good and i wanted to bolt..but had to be calm and cool at the same time. how do you do that? i must have looked handicapped.

after we got in the car..lwazi told me that i looked really stiff with my arms crossed, head down and lips pursed while we were in line. he said it was funny and i don't blame him. i guess when there's a possibility that my life could be on the line all in the name of beer..my body language inadvertently reacts that way! it really was paranoia..otherwise we wouldnt have gone. im happy we left tembisa township unscathed. the shebeen trip was really an eye-opener (pun intended).