My Life in Mzansi

World Cup Hunks...

Its impossible for one to be in South Africa and not talk about the world cup right now. Its crazy, noise everywhere, excitement in the air. Most of all, how can one not talk about the hunks at the WC. There are so many to choose from like Brazil's Daniel Alves, Kaka, Robinho, Spain's Fabregas and David Villa, Cameroun's Nkoulou, France's Gourcuff and Henri, Australias Tim Cahill, the list is endless. Here's my list of top 5 hunks at the World Cup. It is mine, so the views expressed in this blog are the blogger's and do not express those of the reader's. Enjoy!

5.Spain might not have won their first game but they still have Fernando Torres. If you ask me, looks make  up for all the losses in the world.

4. I'm not a big fan of the Portuguese team, but I admit that they are hot. So on behalf of my dear friend C, who is madly in love with the Portuguese and their leading man, I present to you Cristiano Ronaldo.

3. He might be arrogant, mean, whatever...he is still hoooooot! Didier Drogba from Cote d'Ivoire is my number 3. He can run, he's got physique and he can score. I'm no soccer expert but I know that not many soccer players come close to Drogba.

2. He might be the only goal keeper to receive a red card in the 2010 world cup but he smokes like a cigar. Itumeleng Khune the only hot goal keeper in the world. The rest are rather geeky...eugh

 

1. Ladies and gentlemen, the moment you've all been waiting for. The number one, the hottest of the hotties...none other than Mexican defender Rafael Marquez. Oh yea, this dude is fiiiine!

Intrinsic Racism

There is something that has been bothering me lately; I kept talking about it to a friend of mine. Until he suggested that maybe I should write about it, because I was nagging him...he didn't use those words but I figured that’s what he meant. Anyway, back to what has been bothering me; I have decided to christen it intrinsic racism.

I come from an all African country, and by all African, I mean mostly dark skinned. The issue of racism had therefore never really been a point of discussion for me. The only white or colored people I ever saw while growing up were tourists. So I've always been part of the majority. I have never questioned being dark skinned; I've always known myself to be that way. Of course I often stared at white people and wondered what it felt like to be white, but it never went beyond an idle thought.

Fate has recently led me to a mixed race country. At first I was excited about seeing the new culture, learning a new language, making new friends; I bet everybody who has moved to a new country can understand what I'm talking about. Unfortunately, things have not quite turned out as I'd expected. I found something that I'll call Intrinsic racism.

See, I'm in South Africa; a country well known for its apartheid regime. Although apartheid was abolished over a decade ago, there's a new kind of racism. It’s not an obvious kind of racism, the kind where you tell someone I hate you because you're black or white. No. This is a different kind. The kind where school kids only make friends of their own race (consciously or unconsciously). Where grownups of a certain race tend to go to a certain bar and not another, where neighborhoods are predominantly white or black. There are really no rules about who goes where or who makes friends with whom, it is all intrinsic. I think people here have grown so accustomed to racism that it’s viewed as normal. I guess it take a while to erase the past.

It’s been two months since I came to South Africa and during that time I've only seen two mixed race couples in public (You can’t imagine how excited I was when I saw them). I do see mixed race kids (mostly teenagers) but rarely do I see mixed race couples. I wonder why. On the surface everything looks ok, but probably if one dug deep, they’d find festering wounds that need to be healed and scabs that keep being picked. A couple of times I have been to events and I was the only black person. I wondered if I had made a mistake to attend. Why didn’t any other black person come? Am I ignorant of what to do and where to go? Or am I thinking too much into the situation? It is all so confusing. I must admit I haven’t experienced any racist treatment. All the people I’ve met are extremely nice but I’m not sure how they feel deep inside, I keep wondering if they are thinking “ok, we’re just being nice because we don’t want to look racist”. I’ve never been as self aware (of my race) as I am in South Africa. South Africans pride themselves in being friendly; If only they were friends with their own countrymen, the pride would be well deserved. How do you expect me to think you’re friendly if you’re only friends with your own race? Is this conditional friendship? I’m still trying to figure it all out. I hope that at the end of my stay here, I  will have found my place.

Ailurophobia

Ailurophobia is the fear or intense dislike of cats and I am a victim. Yes I'm afraid of cats and I'm not ashamed to admit it. Napoleon the great and Julius Caesar were afraid of cats too! Look it up. Cats frighten me! They look like they have something up their sleeve and most of all, they are evil! Oh well, I know a lot of people who would disagree with me but who cares, get your own blog!

Last month I moved to a new country and I'm still coming to terms with a lot of things.This wouldn't be so bad if it weren't that I live right next to a cat farm! That's right a cat f****ing farm!! Guess you're wondering; "why would anybody have a cat farm?". I ask myself that question everyday. Truth, its not really a farm, just a couple of cats that have shades built for them by some psychos. Apparently they are doing PHDs in feline behavior. Gross.

The first few days I moved in I was so frightened, I couldn't sleep. Truth is, the cats don't usually come close to where I live but knowing that they are a stone's throw away is bad enough. As the days wear on, I'm learning to live with the idea of them being so near, and every evening I stare out my kitchen window and see them being fed. Its not so scary when they are far away.Its just that when one of them looks my way, I look away very fast. Most of the time I get a little accident and hit my head on the wall or trip on my own feet.

Last weekend, I witnessed some interesting animal drama, call it "Animal Planet by Joy". A large black dog bulldozed its way into the "cat farm". As soon as it stormed in, the cats scampered off. It turned the little cat shelters upside down and ate all their food. I stood there and kept musing at how God-sent that dog was. I even wished I could pat that dog on the back. That day, the cats kept away from the "farm". I only saw one again this morning. Today, I noticed that three birds had invaded the shelters. That's right , birds. Not the kind that cats like to eat. The kind that scream and shout and have long beaks and are bigger than cats. So again, the cats were keeping away.

I am hoping that this trend goes on. Maybe tomorrow it will be mice that invade the cat farm or the dog will come back or bees or even elephants. I don't know. All in all, I am praying that they keep away from me and that by the time I leave this place, I will be free from ailurophobia.