Clicks and such

So I am trying to learn the local language called Xitsonga, and I can tell you that it is very difficult. I speak four languages and I can’t seem to pronounce anything correctly or remember more than a word or phrase every week. Let me give you an example.

Let’s take the relatively basic question: What is the time? The translation would be: Xana i nkarhi muni? Sound easy? Not so fast. The letter x is not pronounced phonetically the same as English, it is actually what is called a lateral click. That’s right, a click. Here is the instruction for the lateral click:

“To pronounce the lateral click, x, place the tip of the tongue against the hard palate as if you were going to produce the n sound. Press one side of the tongue against the side of the jaw. Then, without shifting the tip of the tongue from the hard palate, withdraw the side sharply from the jaw. This sound differs from the other two [clicks] in that the release takes place at the side(s) of the tongue and not at the front. This sound is sometimes made to express regret or to spur on a horse.”

So if you read that carefully you would have noticed that there are two other clicks. These are the dental click and the palatal click, both of which are not easy to master. Fortunately, those clicks do not seem to be used as often as the lateral click.

As far as interesting news goes, I can’t say a whole lot has been going on while Lili has been away. I have been working a lot and developing a routine here. I get to work around 8 and leave around 4:30 p.m. I walk home for lunch and make a nice avocado and cheese sandwich with plenty of fruit on the side, and a nice coffee from my stovetop contraption to get me ready for the afternoon. Everyone who works around me, not just my organization (AWARD) but all the workers, including the grounds keepers and administrative staff, have tea at 10:30. It is a nice break and we all sit around two round concrete tables with benches outside the offices. There is a magnificent lemon tree that seems to have an endless supply of sweet lemons next to the tea spot, and most people cut a lemon and squeeze some juice into their tea. Most of the workers speak Xitsonga together, so I am often left out of the conversation. But it is really nice to listen to them speak.

After work I usually go for a run through the bush trails and watch the sunset, and then come home and start to make dinner. I have been trying all kinds of new recipes, mostly Indian or Iranian food. I then read or write for a few hours and hit the sack listening to the hyenas woop in the background.

As for news about South Africa, there is a lot going on. The most troublesome news is the threat of a media tribunal. The politicians are so fed up with being exposed on a weekly basis for their dirty dealings that they now want to enact a tribunal for the sole purpose of stifling free press. They have summarily dismissed other obvious routes to address their discontent, namely to stop their blatant corrupt practices. Let me give you another example. The premier of the province where we live, Mapumalanga, is one of the darlings of the investigative press. A few weeks ago the paper exposed a shady deal, where the government was going to buy a building for 5 times the value of its appraisal at the instruction of the premier. Of course, the building owner it turned out was friends with the premier. Or just last week, the media did a huge story on the current president’s son whose company was paid over US $100 million from a mining company for “strategic purposes.” That company had just lost a concession to mine ore, and was trying to get its concession back. So, it is pretty clear why the politicians don’t like the media here (because it is doing its job). Despite the obvious absurdity of this mock tribunal, there seems to be a serious threat that these tribunals will come to fruition.

There is also the matter of the public sector strike, which is in its third week. I was caught in the middle of this two weeks ago when I met with a government official (one of the few who seems to not be on strike) in her office in Nelspruit. After I got to her office, strikers surrounded the entrance to her building and started blowing their vuvuzelas and chanting all kinds of slogans. Oddly enough, despite this incredible distraction we were able to continue our meeting. I was a bit worried about leaving the building amidst the strikers, but thankfully they decided to move on to the next building by the time I was ready to leave. The strike has had a devastating consequence on society. All of the teachers and hospital workers are on strike, and the few that do not want to strike are threatened if they come to work. The result is that students have no place to go and hospitals are literally shut down. Patients are being sent home and turned away at the door. How these professionals can ethically do this baffles me. I really hope the strike ends soon because a lot of people are suffering from it.