ocean's view

This past weekend was spent in a homestay in a coloured neighborhood called Ocean's View. For those Park Slopeans who are now pulling out their hair, hold on. Just in case you didn't know all of this already--because I definitely didn't--I'll BRIEFLY try to explain the little I've come to understand about "Coloured" (it's really quite complicated and varied). I'm sorry if this gets lecture-y. It's just some necessary, very simplified background info.

During apartheid, those of a separate mixed-race ethnicity, which makes up over half of the South African population, were segregated and removed from their homes--just like Black South Africans. Unlike America, which, due to the economic and political incentives of slavery, equated mixed-race individuals with "Black," mixed-race individuals in Southern Africa have a separate racial/ethnic identity. Coloureds occupied and still occupy a complicated place in racial politics. Though they were oppressed by the white Afrikaaners, were forced to leave their homes, received inferior education, and were given less job opportunities, they were regarded as slightly better than Black South Africans and were given a few more privileges. Of course, mixed-race individuals already existed, however, apartheid's labeling of "Coloured" and relocation to what were called "Home Lands," really solidified a unique Coloured identity. Because of its history, some embrace the term as a culture, while others completely reject it. Some view Coloured culture as separate and choose to identify with it, while others feel more culturally tied to other races and ethnicities (which also has to do with socioeconomic status).

Funny tangent: Dicky is one of our bodyguards at the house (yes, we have bodyguards; this is South Africa). Dicky is a proudly self-proclaimed "Cape Coloured," which is a subculture of Coloured that's tied to Malay culture in the Western Cape. In addition to wrestling my friends, Will and Brett, and having late-night educational sessions on the dirtiest words in Afrikaans (one of the 11 official languages in South Africa), Dicky occasionally talks about what it means for him to be Coloured. One of the intriguing things I've learned is that "bling" is a big deal. So much so that it's considered fashionable to lose teeth and have them replaced with fake ones (gold's the best). Some people actually pull out their own teeth to do so, but thank goodness (!) his daughter's teeth fell out naturally. So apparently, the THANG to do is to french kiss people who take their false teeth out. Dicky spent a good 30 minutes radio-ing the other security guards at the other houses, who all told us that it's "Lekka, bru" (cool, bro). And "see-rrree-us-lee," you really haven't had a real kiss until you've tried it.

So, anyway, one of the areas that Coloured people were relocated to during apartheid is called Ocean's View. We were paired with another study abroad student and randomly assigned a family to stay with for the weekend. It was a really amazing, unique experience, and one that I found to have a lot of confusing contradictions. There was a lot of pride and a great sense of community that was constantly displayed in Ocean's View. When we first got there we were greeted with a variety of performances in the local school's auditorium: from amazing little kids who danced exactly like Michael Jackson, to church songs, to a mother-son amateur waltz to a song that was a little too romantic to sit comfortably. Parts of Ocean's view feel like very nice suburbs, while other sections are completely run-down. "Tik," a drug like crack, is a big problem in the area. And though the government occasionally sends people to help with drugs, rehab centers are really too expensive.

My family was incredibly hospitable. Diana (the mom), Abe (her husband), and her daughters, Tamara and Andrea, were all really welcoming and warm. They took us in with open arms. Abe showed us around a nearby beach town, Fish Hoek, and talked to us about his family's experience with apartheid. Then we checked out the charity shop that Diana worked in, went for a wine tasting festival, and ended up back at their house for a braai. Their cousin and Diana's mom came over for some karaoke afterward; they insisted I sing some Celine Dion--though I'm sure they immediately regretted it. Then we went to their family friends' house for a high-school style house party. We all sat around the living room in a circular formation, while an older man danced half-disco, half-house in the center. We then went to a local bar/club, called Suzie Q's. On Sunday we woke up early and went to Catholic Church. It was my first sermon, so that was cool, but it was much too fire-and-brimstone for me. Then we returned to the house and watched Lovely Bones, which is Abe's favorite movie, and ate amazing chicken curry he cooked for us.

Outside of some uncomfortable culture-shock events that occurred (including a few around money, a couple around discipline, and another around the bathroom) it was a really enjoyable, and--more importantly--a very interesting stay.