Oh where , oh where did our blogger go ? (Part 2)

Some years ago I read Maya Angelou's  'The heart of a woman'  and  many years later Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's 'Half of a yellow of sun'.  Though the books are very different I  have the same fantasy about a particular subtext. Both books give descriptive accounts of parties held by dynamic African  intellectuals, attached to institutions of higher learning,  some spotting  afros, some spotting  stone washed jeans and dashikis, some accompanied by strong opinions, some seeking to establish life long relationships and   all participating in the play befitting such a scene .  I always imagined myself at one of these parties , wearing a calabash print maxi dress with  thick braids swaying on  my back , a satchel full of books and virgin  ideas.  I didn't have the dress nor the braids and my bag was full of uncharged electronics but...I got the party.

My friend Reneilwe hosted one such party at her house which is on the premises of  The University of Limpopo in Turfloop. Which of course was the perfect location for my fantasy.  She had a friend visiting from Uganda and had invited us for a polite dinner on a weekday evening.  The guest fiber consisted of a writer, a geologists, two scientists,a civil servant, a sanitation guru, a film specialist, an energy expert, a lawyer or two and one very happy blogger. 

Graciously, our new friend from Uganda laboured  in the kitchen creating a marvel of a three course dinner complete with paired wine. It has to be a good meal when honey,pear and coconut are going into the savoury dishes.  In between the eating  and drinking and general merry making I watched my fantasy unfold .    We debated, we danced, we dug up old songs, we spilled drinks , we made speeches, we found answers to questions nobody asks and made proposals to change the world. I lived my fantasy. 

This post is dedicated to Reneilwe Malatji and Ron Sessanga.

and living my fantasies