Journey Home and Farewell

The journey home was long and bumpy, but after the first 20 hours, we all had a fairly relaxed outlook and I heard students talking about their jobs, their families and their lives back in the US.  I could tell that they were ready to re-enter, though I felt that Dennis and I were just getting our South African pace going.  My ability to re-enter should be strengthened with each visit, but I find that I am still unready to pick up the tempo of American life until a few days pass.

Appalachian class with Bhekani Buthelezi (2nd from left back row) and Herman Oosthuizen, far right front row)

South African colleagues used the phrase "2nd home" referring to our welcome in South Africa, and it truly has become a second home country for us.  Around every corner, I found little sights and tastes that I wanted students to see or try.  A spice, a condiment, a musical genre, an unofficial language, a custom, etc. Even at the last moment, my friend Herman appeared in Durban ready to cheer us on home with a round of springbokkies (a South African drink) for the gang and some great stories about everything from Bhekani to Botswana.  Bhekhani is the choral director for  University of Zululand Choral Society, and his friend Herman became our friend in 2010 during my Fulbright visit.

The Association of Tertiary Zion Students Choir

True to the spirit of African experiences, the farewell concert at the University of Zululand held a great surprise.  It wasn't a VIP or a sacred dance or anything like that.  It was the experience of the electricity going out  all over campus right at the start of our concert.  Dr. Rob Baum, the new Head of Department for the Creative Arts at UZ, Bhekani, and I all decided to continue, though challenges of darkness (performance was held in a black box theatre), lack of ventilation and the over-capacity crowd  gave a few of us some adrenalin-filled moments.

In this setting, pre-concert festivities are the most fun, as students and visitors geared up for the event by singing short solos, or performing 30 second dances, while everyone clapped to give them some rhythms.  It doesn't matter if you are American, religious, in a heritage costume or what-what, because everyone participates in this anticipatory set in whatever manner the spirit moves them.

Dominique giving a snippet of her repertoire to the people gathering for the farewell concert

There isn't much in the way of photos or video from the concert, since it was performed in the dark, but outside the building, the full moon shone brightly enough for the last minute exchange of emails, little gifts and hugs to take place, moving me beyond words.  I realized that my students were finally able to have the experience of an African farewell that they will never forget.

The Hluhluwe Game Reserve Safari