If I eat... I may slumber

The last couple of evenings I've taken whatever I was doing, writing a letter, working on knitting my scarf, reading my book, and sat on MmaDiapo's back porch for a couple of hours. The porch is situated so you're pretty well hidden while sitting there, hidden from the sun and passersby. Last night, within an hour, so many little things occurred that demonstrated South Africa, the extremes, the beauty, and the sheer amazement I find myself shaking my head at on a pretty consistent basis. Here's what I saw.
*Managed to stop writing right in the middle of a pretty intense paragraph in my letter to my pen pal/friend.... I had the perfect view of two women, who live in the house just a few down from mine along the tar road, hoeing their yard for the planting of mealies (corn). It's heading towards the later half of November, the rains have been pretty consistent for the last couple of weeks, and it's about planting time. Soon, in January or so, we'll have stalks of mealies filling everyone's yard.. crops that will feed people (roasted and as meal for porridge) and that will take care of the cattle/chickens of MmaDiapo. Large stalks that are perfect hiding spots for all the kids along my walk to the post office. Now it's gonna be extra challenging to see where all the yelling is coming from!
*A man showed up a few minutes later and asked if MmaDiapo was around. I got off my chair, headed through the kitchen and dining room, all the way down the long hall to her room to let her know a man was needing to talk to her. Most of the time, people coming to the back door, are in search of the airtime she sells out of her house, this man wanted to deliver a letter. They talked briefly on the porch, I went back to writing, and then MmaDiapo said "You may come with us, he is going to show us something", and we walked out the front gate. I got around the front corner of the house and Bam!, I start to quint... is that really what I think it is? Is this man's ride a JAGUAR? I mean, yeah, sure it's a nice car, but a Jag? Oh it's a Jag alright... and it turns out he's my brother-in-law. MmaDiapo's daughter, Maringe, is in the front seat. There's greeting, there's introducing, and then they're gone.
* The envelope Solley (brother-in-law) had brought contained 4 copies of a letter to Chief Letsoalo, the nduna, of Metz Village. A letter, which said that there was an interest in building a shopping center near the hospital around here... they were asking for some land from the chief... and if land was received, a ShopRite (grocery store) and some banks could be built. Things are changing. They've already changed a lot since I've been here.



* Told MmaDiapo that I really wanted to take a photo of her and her "child", the baby chick that follows her around everywhere. She laughed and told me she had a trick she wanted to show me. She sat down on the bench, crossed her feet, and stayed very still. After about a minute, the chick chirped its way over, hopped up, and settled in for a little nap on top of her feet. Pretty awesome.