The 2010 WORLD CUP FIRE

It is the week of the World cup and even though I am not a soccer fan I seem to be stimulated by the excitement around me. Our city is covered with colours and flags of different nations and every now and again I catch that tourist. But for now ...at this moment the South Africans are dominating and are stirring up the coals for the FIFA Fire and it is hot. Cars are zooming around with one or two flags on them. There is this new thing where the car mirrors have flags on them like a cover. If you see the car coming towards you the flags look like little wings on the edges as if the car is going to take off any time soon.

I admire the energy of the supporters from the clothing to the instruments. Probably for the past month and a half every Friday companies have asked their employees to wear Soccer Jerseys.....it was an official Football Friday. For me it was funny coz everywhere you went people were wearing they yellow and green football shirts....as if it was NORMAL. If you were not wearing it you did feel a bit out of place.

Every household has a Vuvuzela the long plastic trumpet which can make noise for miles. Even this morning when I woke up I thought I could hear the vuvuzela. On Sunday I just saw a man walking with his Vuvuzela and blowing it like no mans business.....ON HIS ACE. I can only imagine how it is going to be when the real games start and the fans are going wild in the street. Imagine when your country wins and you see that other car covered with the same flags as your country, I am sure you would just die to blow that VUVUZELA with VUMA. I am sure there will be some sense of WE ARE ONE :) as the trumpets and music come together. People are really worried about the noise levels in the stadium and just yesterday I heard that there is a thing called the Tulazela. Which are ear plug/muffs that will block out the sound when you are at the games. lol.

On an even more positive side our Transport system is finally getting their act together. Our roads are finally starting to clear up and be fixed. Its like Gauteng has been under construction ever since I moved here and for the first time today my drive to work (N14, N1north) had all lanes open and it was even more smoother sailing. Yesterday the Gauteng Train (GAUTRAIN) was opened to passengers and people could travel from Sandton to the airport in 15 minutes at a cost of R100. I know of people who just went to the airport for fun....just to see what it was like and so far the feedback is good. South Africans are even proud of it as if they had built it together :). I just can't wait till they finish the train from Jozi to Pretoria. Maybe my rides to work will be on a train. It would be like travelling on the GO train in Canada from Missisauga to downtown Toronto. No more traffic, no more smash and grabs maybe I could even catch a nap. Wow that would be amazing.

For Avon, my husband and media manager for Montecasino, the past couple of months has been non stop WORLD CUP preparations. From learning the Diski dance, to advertisements, to camera purchasing and setup. For him it is work but I slightly envy his job because he is really right in the heat of it all....he has been working that FIFA Fire and the coals are now ready for the tourist meat (lol). From organising what games should be shown on the big screens to how the stage should be laid out for entertainment and the fan area should be. Montecasino is already packed with tourists from all over the world and I am sure they are going to be in awe of what Montecasino has to offer. .....even I get surprised by it all and I practically live there. You can check out the Montecasino commercial for the World Cup on youtube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7GVD7VG1Sik

With all this gearing up for the world cup....I can't help but think about all the people that are going to be watching the games on TV, on the radio they said it would be approximately 3 billion. Will they be shocked at what South Africa is like, are they only interested in the games? All my friends that I left in Canada; would they feel a sense of closeness to me when they see exactly where I am living. I am sure the very streets I drive and walk on will be filmed on TV. Might they understand why I am here? I pray that the energy, the fire and flames of the 2010 FIFA World Cup heats up their hearts with a desire to come and see for themselves. Who we are ......and where we come from.

GEAR UP WORLD!!!!! IT IS ALMOST TIME!

My first Middleton Funeral

There is a deep spiritual vibe experienced at a funeral. Avons uncles mother had passed away and we were to attend the funeral early Sunday morning (6am). I had never been to a Swazi funeral before and was curious to experience it.

The air was so fresh and the sky was cloudy as we walked up a narrow path to what appeared to be a grave yard. We had come a couple of minutes late so everyone was there already. The women stood on one side of the grave while the men stood on the other side.

The Swazi women sang so beautifully as if thier voices came from the beauty of the mountains that surrounded us. Their voices trailed through the maize fields and trickled through the streams. It was so hypnotizing that it took me into a day dream far back into time. I looked across the landscape and saw pockets of sunlight light up parts of the fields located on the mountains. I thought of the British colonizing the Zulus the Siswatis. I couldn't even put a face to the lady who had died but I felt a strange spirit pass over with the cool morning breeze. It was like there were spirits all around this land moving through the landscape with the wind.

Who was this lady that had died, was she white was she Black or coloured? These people that were here to wish her farewell were mostly Swazis yet the children she had were coloured some light skinned some dark (approx 8, I was told). If she was Swazi how did she come to love a white man? was it love that she experienced? In Swaziland, back in the days, it was common for the White men to have children with the Swazi women. Why wasn't it the other way around in those days? I was reminded of something Avons mom told me as was drove through the maize fields to the funeral she said..."these lands were now mainly run by the Chinese. You should see what kind of kids are born of a Chinese Swazi, there skin colour is just different!" She looked at me with a strange eye. I guess I had never seen a Chinese Swazi mix. But yet again it was the Chinese men that were having kids with the Swazi Women. You rarely see it the other way around. The funny thing is although there are coloured children and families in Swaziland...you tend to get a sense that they are a race of their own. They are not White and they are not Black. Yet as I looked at the faces surrounding the open grave it was clear it began with Black and White. Maybe I was questioning the beginning of it all because I was a first generation coloured. What would my children think they are? But to tell you the truth the body is just a shell for our spirit because once you die there is no colour.

I was brought back to reality when Avons mom tapped me on the shoulder and told me that I was standing on someone's grave. Yikes these piles of stones were someone's grave. I was so ashamed of myself. But had a bit of a giggle thinking gee "kanya.... trust you not to know".

After the funeral we went to visit another grave yard to pay respect to Avon’s Granddad. This Grave yard was a lot better demarcated with graves labeled with large stones and tiles. The air was a lot more misty and cold. Avons Gran was with us too and that was when it really hit me that gosh we are visiting her husband. How would I be if this was my husbands grave I was visiting.....I got chills down my spine as I limb onto Avons back because the grass was too wet for my new Christmas sandals. Avon’s dad told me who each person was. As I read each stone...Middleton,.... Middleton....Middleton, I stood proud and lifted my arms and said "Hi everyone I am Kanya, Avon’s Wife. Pleasure to meet you."

We then drove over to Aunty Maggie's house for breakfast. It was a huge house and breakfast was Chicken curry or Beef curry. Not your typical breakfast but when you are hungry anything goes down no matter what time of the day it is. We were all pretty hungry. I spent time chatting in the kitchen with the ladies. It was interesting to listen to the family stories and some of the unnecessary drama. All the women in the kitchen were all Middleton’s but we were all so different. We all got married at different times. Some had straight hair some had curly hair. We were all customized to different things some did dishes some didn't some talked more than others some didn't talk at all. I was the only one that hadn't had kids yet and there were chats of the when when when can we expect a baby. The Men were more similar in looks but very different in Character from DJs to race car drivers from Fathers to guys that are not fathers or some that are Fathers but still act like they are not.

This was the first real family gathering that we had had since our wedding and I really felt part of the family. Aunty Maggie even gave me violet shoots...which I am still trying to get them to grow (must be the Joburg air lol).