I have traveled quite a bit, so different customs don't shock me. But there is something I've seen here that is quite amazing. I know in the US, that sometimes at school when we teachers would have lunch, someone might share something with the rest, but something you could take individually. Here, sharing is on a different level. Lerato (on the right) and his friend Martin, are sharing their lunch and eating from the same container. They take a bite or two, and pass the food to the other. Back when Mpopo worked with us, he and Lerato would combine their lunches. They would add the sauce from the one onto the pap (cooked corn meal) of the other and then both eat from the one container.
What makes this so easy for them? I really don't know. I'd like to be able to do this, I think, or at least share in this way. There is something appealing in the simplicity-what is mine is yours and yours is mine. We'll eat and enjoy this meal together!
At Thsepo, Corné has seen the same thing. Two children will be sitting beside each other, and the one will reach over and take a hand scoop from the other, with no resistance! (Traditional African way to eat is with your hands. Wash them first, of course, then take the food with your fingers.). Imagine someone reaching into your dish with their hand-I think there would often be screams and shouts following shortly after!
Addition 18 July
Something else . . . at church, during the service, the ushers bring a glass of water to people that must be thirsty. We haven't figured out the code yet, there must be one! Yet again, there are only 2 glasses, and they don't get washed between uses.
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