I rolled out today to the South African Museum and the art gallery and botanical gardens (thank you, Cecil Rhodes, you crazy old racist, you do plant a lovely garden). In the museum I was looking at an exhibit on the Bantu people, which is what they lumped all the native South Africans together as for a long time, and they called them bushmen. And there were video interviews with them and I noticed these clicks and pops in their language and all of a sudden I went OH MY GOD, IT'S THE CLICKING BUSHMEN! I mean you've heard of them all your life, but sort of as a mythical thing, and then there it is. Then I noticed that all the people walking by me were clicking too, because it's not a dead language, folks! I could not have been more surprised if a dodobird had waddled up and laid an egg next to me. It's very fluid and part of a recognizable language, not just a series of clicks and taps like I'd imagined (yes, Sonia Sanchez, I'm talking to you, and Mijha, you know I immediately re-indicted her).
Now let me take a minute to say that the British and the Dutch are some devilish people who have committed some heinous human rights abuses in their time, but those people can build you an infrastructure. They are some managerially gifted people, because by sheer dint of will they looked at the land and said, "We will build another Amsterdam, it will just be hotter than the one in Holland." And folks, they did it. You've got to admire that kind of drive. You're particularly grateful for it when you're finding that ATMs, grocery stores and Internet cafes are readily accessible, and that planes run on time and the roads are decent. Have you noticed that the former French colonies are all falling to crap and the British ones pretty much thrive? I mean, France: Algeria, Morocco, Haiti, Vietnam. Shitholes all. Britain: USA, Canada, Australia, India, Zimbabwe, South Africa. All thriving, except for Zimbabwe, and we blame that squarely on you, Robert Mugabe. The French can't get anything right.
To cap the day, I was walking through the botanical gardens and joined a pickup soccer game with a few guys. Soccer in the park in South Africa, in the shadow of Table Mountain, with some guys who a generation ago I wouldn't have been able to speak to. I played till it was dark. A perfect moment.
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4 comments:
i LOVE your blog!! hooray for it! please be far more current than i am with civil rights watch. did i ever tell you that i did a piece in high school in which i had to repeatedly say "Victoria Mxenge"? it is pronounced like "Bick-tor-ee-ah M-CLICK-en-gay", not "M-click, click, clock clock clock bam boom bop-enge", Ms. Sanchez. hee hee. now post pictures!
Shan, you're going to teach me all the khoisan swear words you learn, right? (If I remember my southern african history correctly from Swellesley, I think is what the click-accented language is called. All praise Lidwein Kapteijns and Hist211 (yes, I looked up her name; couldn't spell that off the top of my head if I tried).)
Sonia Sanchez sounded like she was calling her dogs, I scoff at her.
I haven't mastered posting photos because I didn't bring the digital cam, just the old point-and-click so that if it gets stolen, I don't care. If I'm able to develop them to a CD then I'll upload them.
Spiff, I will make an effort to learn swear words and pass them on to everyone I know. I'm pretty sure I heard some in the soccer game last night and should have pressed them on that.
I am Baron of the province of Slack Bastardy as usual, but your blog is entertaining and educational. You're well on your way to being an entrepretainer like Nick Cannon. *laugh* Anyway, more comments as I continue. Hope you're well.
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