my first white girl moment

So I have so much to talk about and don't know where to start!  I definitely want to talk about the amazing Zulu people, but think I have to talk about my crazy day today, and save the Zulu lesson for later.

I went out into the field today to observe an IT class.  Computer education is an important part of Mpilonhle.  It helps avoid the stigma of being labeled as solely an AIDS organization in the community, it draws people in by providing an opportunity to use computers for the first time (what person doesn't want to try a new gadget?), and it provides job skills, which is incredibly valuable in a country plagued by unemployment, which has been linked to the vicious cycle that makes HIV so prevalent here.  They are currently trying to incorporate health education into the IT curriculum in order to protect the PEPFAR funding, which is potentially where I may come in.  Just a little background.  Realized I hadn't filled in everyone reading this blog completely, so I'm going to try and explain a little more about what we are doing exactly.

Anyway, today we were doing a computer class for out of school youth, trying something a little different.  We held the class at an elementary school.  First, we pull up in this bad boy

Yeah, we roll deep in our military edition Land Rovers.
And to continue introducing you to the cast of characters...

This is one of our awesome drivers Bheki (pronounced like "Becky") who was such a sport with us today.
Anyway, so we show up at this school, and the power is out, pretty standard Africa.  Only problem, we didn't have any of the generators that we normally carry with us when using the computer units.  So, poor Bheki had to drive all the way out to get one of the generators and then drive it all the way back, an hour to an hour and a half each way.  Poor Bheki!  It also meant that we were just chilling at this school until he got back.  All was find and dandy, until the chillins got let out for recess...
It started with just one kid doing a walk by, stealing a glance, and then they started walking by in groups.  I waved and smiled at a few.  They were so adorable!  And then they started to post-up.  At first, they kept their distance, smiling and giggling with each other.  I wanted to take a picture so badly!  They were so beautiful with amazing smiles (and yes, I did threaten to steal one... or two), but I knew from prior experience that if I made a point about taking a picture I could truly start a scene.  Slowly but surely, they started creeping closer.  And they multiplied.  And soon enough I couldn't help myself, I had to take a picture, they were right in front of me.

I mean, come on!  How cute!  And I was being so sly... using my iphone instead of my digital.  But, I couldn't just take it and keep it to myself.  That felt wrong.  I had to show them the picture, to get their approval, obvi.  Slash to see those awesome little smiles light up when they see themselves.

Anyway, the second I truly acknowledged them by showing them the picture, letting them know I was safe, they began to gather to indulge their curiosity.  As I became surrounded, I tried to take pictures to document the onslaught, all while hilariously laughing to myself out loud.  At some point as the crowd grew, my buddies from work, Sifiso and Mpi, had moved inside, and I had become an open target.  They didn't want anything in particular, but were just truly fascinated by me, mainly being white and blonde.  Literally anything I did or said they started laughing hysterically.  I took a page out of the book of Peter Leimena and started just having a convo with them, knowing full well they spoke little to no English.  It was hilariously awesome.  I was just laughing out loud the whole time.  Soon enough, in classic mob mentality, they started closing in, pushing each other to get closer, getting as close as possible to me without touching me.  It was around this point that I opted to stop taking pictures to try and plot my escape.  This is the last one I got:

Now imagine that on all sides... closing in.  I just kept laughing, having no idea what else to do.  Some of the people who had been waiting for the computer class to start were witnessing this all with pure entertainment.  Eventually some of them tried to shoo them off, and others were definitely encouraging them from what I gathered from their Zulu, probably compeletly entertained watching the white girl squirm.  Finally, as the crowd became more mob like, the comp students stepped in and really shooed them off.  This involved a few of them taking off their belts and threatening a good whipping.  One woman even picked up a chair in her other hand, resembling a lion tamer.  As they dispersed I jetted inside, with one lady very poignantly stating "I think it's better if you stay inside".

Once I got inside, the madness continued, the kids rushing the building:

Freaking ridiculous.  Our comp students continued to chat with them through the windows for continued entertainment while waiting for the generator.  If I had to guess, again being as all of this was in Zulu, I'm pretty sure they were telling tall tales about the white girl, who she was, and why she was there.  The kids were thoroughly entertained, cracking up at every statement.  Eventually, recess time was over.  Thank god.

It was a hilarious experience, and a good reminder of my place in all of this.  Though it's situations like this that sometimes make me want to be invisible for a bit and see how it works when I'm not there causing a distraction.  Also I feel like I cause trouble for the poor instructors, and I hate feeling like a bother.  Though I did realize some of my value when one of our students sought me out to ask me an HIV question about viral load.  I felt like "Oh! Yes! I can do this!  I can actually answer this! I have a purpose!", which definitely felt good.  He then proceeded to tell me his story about how he is traveling an hour and a half each way to come to these computer classes that are about two hours long because he believes that it will truly help him get a better job.  He told me how his job now is watching security cameras in a grocery store and so kind of uses computers, but doesn't really know what he's doing, and he really wants to learn how.  He had heard that if you learn about "this program, Excel" that you can get a really good job.  This is why he opted to wait with us for the generator for over three hours, along with 20 of his classmates.  His story, and the way he told it, I felt like I was watching one of those commercials where they try to get you to sponser a family for just 5.99 a month or whatever, but he was there, in front of me, telling me his story.  No matter how many times I've heard these stories, everytime it still manages to touch me and remind me why I find myself doing this.

After our shortened class due to limited generator power, we had some more hang out time waiting for our ride to come pick us up, which of course coincided with school letting out, and yet another mob scene.  This time my buddies stuck it out with me, and explained in Zulu to the kids that it's rude to stare.  It was a this point that they decided to tell me that these kids rarely see white people.  Really?!  Thanks guys... Haha.  Nah, they are my new best buddies after hanging out with them for many hours in the heat waitng for generators and rides.

Sorry for the long post, but felt it was a worthwhile story.  Can't wait to see what tomorrow brings!