Thursday, October 7, 2010

Live from Loopeng, It (Was) Saturday Night!

Last weekend I went out with my host sisters. It was surprisingly similar to any night out in the States, or at least it started that way.

We all started getting ready around eight o'clock. There was much commenting on make-up and changing of tops. A few major decisions about shoes and hair, the usual. Thirty minutes later than intended, we set off for the party.

I should actually say bash. A bash is a kind of village block party to which everyone is invited. A party is apparently invite-only. This bash was held on a corner of Loopeng's biggest thoroughfares (picture a dirt track bisected by a slightly bigger dirt track). There was a DJ all the way from Rustenburg set up under a cheer and a few dozen people milling about. As soon as I arrived, there was a flurry of picture-taking. Everyone wanted a photo with the lekgowa. That died out and we all had a good time dancing and chatting for a while.

The sunshine and rainbows came to an abrupt halt when my sister grabbed my arm and pointed at a shadowy figure hurrying away in the gathering darkness. "He's stealing your dog!"

We ran like hell after the dog thief, through the bush at night. It was probably one of the dumbest things I've ever done, but the thief was caught and my dog rescued. It was decided that Shaka would best be tied up, so we returned to the bash only briefly before heading home to properly secure the beast (and change our now thorn and pricker infested footwear). Several people asked us what happened, we related the story of dog-thievery and there was much tongue-clucking. If only that was the end of it...

Apparently, while we were at home picking out new shoes, a fight broke out at the bash between the "Poor Sego, what kind of evil being would steal her dog?" people the "Dog thieves for life" faction. This fight grew so intense, that the bash was broken up entirely by the time we returned.

No matter, we hit the tavern instead.

Loopeng: where the party don't stop.

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