You didn't think we'd actually go to check out the puppets, did you. Wow, do you look like a dork.
After dropping Nathaniel's name about a dozen times, we arrived on a floor covered with newspaper, dust, and tape. Scurrying around were a lot of . . . puppet makers, I guess. I don't really know what to call them, because all the people I know that are involved professionally with puppets (I should say both of them) are really pretentious about their craft. They toss around words like "manipulation" and "architecture" and called their job their "craft." These people, though, were awesome. Nobody seemed to know who Nathaniel was, though. Maybe I got his name wrong.
You can skip to the next paragraph if you're not into 12 foot-high puppets, but I thought this stuff was incredible. In one room, a woman was taping together some water bottles. Nearby lay a completed version of her project: a beautiful, lightweight, perfectly-proportioned hand. In another room, we saw small sculptures of heads -- kids, adults, muti-practicing old people -- next to some of their much larger, painted, papier-mache counterparts. And of course, around every corner, people welcoming us, thanking us for coming by, and telling us to please, take pictures.
One of the performers, Terrence, saw me and said, "we saw you yesterday. You looked very excited."
Instead of playing it cool and muttering, "that must have been someone else," I actually came out and said, "well, of course! It was magical!" Nice, Mielke.
Either way, Terrence (who wasn't playing a person -- he was playing an amplifier. I mean, obviously) was nice enough to take us along to the gigantic workshop where they assemble the pieces. I think they kind of freaked Alexis out, but all in all, great success.
The sheer luck of seeing the puppet team prepare for the World Cup was only outdone by the luck of seeing the South African national team preparing for the World Cup. Apparently, Bafana Bafana (the team's nickname; it translates to The Boys) selected Wits University as its training ground, so we watched with a bunch of wide-eyed security guards, grounds crew, and students as the team practiced set plays and long distance shots. A couple of the grounds crew guys tried to talk their way in, but were rebuffed by a team staffer. So of course, they hopped into the back of a supply truck that was heading through the gates, and looked like they knew what they were doing. Unfortunately, they didn't -- the truck sped in, made a turn, and went out another set of gates that was locked behind them. I was like Mom had just taken these guys' favorite cookie out of the cookie jar, eaten it herself, and laughed in their face with an open mouth.
Later in the day, we went to Johannesburg's Apartheid Museum, which is one of the most thought-provoking places I've been in a long time. It was also nice to be in a place that demands contemplation without a throng of tourists around.
I've never been here, so I have no idea what the people of South Africa are coming from. But from the little I know of the country's past, it's amazing to see how friendly, generous, and kind the people are here. Nearly every person we walk away from ends with, "Welcome to our country!" Especially in a city that's known for crime, scams and violence, a lot of moments pop up that remind you how much we have to learn -- about forgiveness, about stewardship, and about living with open arms. In Bantu, it's called ubuntu, which roughly translates to humanism, and I've seen plenty of it in action.
With that sincerity out of the way, let me just mention that dinnertime-for-hippos is upon us. We leave for our safari tomorrow. I'm assuming there's not a lot of internet access in the largest nature reserve on Earth, so things might be quiet online for a few days. See you then!
