ngeSonto eKasi
you know it's funny how i started getting phone calls from friends and family in england this week after spending ten months in this country. suddenly because i'm coming back, they want something!! ahhh, khohlwani.
nonetheless, i went to do some really last minute shopping in harlem and down in midtown. midtown's all touristy with white peeps flashinf their cameras and flaunting their cash. boring stuff. you know, grand central, empire state building, 42nd and park, times square, broadway and shops like saks fifth ave and macy's. but ngapha, this end, phezulu, up, kubo 125th, kuseKasi! yah. this is the place to be.
the unique smell hits you as soon as you exit the subway station, bawos' umumbu! carry on down martin luther king blvd, kulabafana selling da vinci code on dvd. hang on. that movie came out last week. yebo, sibonile. go a bit further, caph' isistridi, kulempahl' ezicayiweyo konapho ku-pavement. jeans $15. and it's akademiks! mina thinks: prob'ly fong kong. then ekhoneni, uspoks tries to sell me i420. all around walking past me are omama smartly dressed from eSontweni with little kids in sharp suits lamabhothayi. the old man across the street could pass for a Dlamini and umama loyana looks like umaSibanda.
i was impressed. faces and places are same wherever man. as long as you're black (sorry for the generalisation) they'll always be something familiar about your neighbourhood anywhere on this planet. even in england. another funny thing is that i was stopped by this guy giving out fliers protesting against the redevelopment of harlem. apparently, they are gentrifing the neighbourhood, cleaning it up and improving the housing. but they don't want the face lift. they want to keep the grime, the dirt and the smells. that way, according to this gent, rent will stay low and it will keep the black folk in and the white folk out. after all, ngobani abafun' abelungu eKasi?
nonetheless, i went to do some really last minute shopping in harlem and down in midtown. midtown's all touristy with white peeps flashinf their cameras and flaunting their cash. boring stuff. you know, grand central, empire state building, 42nd and park, times square, broadway and shops like saks fifth ave and macy's. but ngapha, this end, phezulu, up, kubo 125th, kuseKasi! yah. this is the place to be.
the unique smell hits you as soon as you exit the subway station, bawos' umumbu! carry on down martin luther king blvd, kulabafana selling da vinci code on dvd. hang on. that movie came out last week. yebo, sibonile. go a bit further, caph' isistridi, kulempahl' ezicayiweyo konapho ku-pavement. jeans $15. and it's akademiks! mina thinks: prob'ly fong kong. then ekhoneni, uspoks tries to sell me i420. all around walking past me are omama smartly dressed from eSontweni with little kids in sharp suits lamabhothayi. the old man across the street could pass for a Dlamini and umama loyana looks like umaSibanda.
i was impressed. faces and places are same wherever man. as long as you're black (sorry for the generalisation) they'll always be something familiar about your neighbourhood anywhere on this planet. even in england. another funny thing is that i was stopped by this guy giving out fliers protesting against the redevelopment of harlem. apparently, they are gentrifing the neighbourhood, cleaning it up and improving the housing. but they don't want the face lift. they want to keep the grime, the dirt and the smells. that way, according to this gent, rent will stay low and it will keep the black folk in and the white folk out. after all, ngobani abafun' abelungu eKasi?
