LOL... I open up this story with a laugh because its exactly that- funny
So here I am yesterday, I didn’t go to work because I wasn't feeling too well. But as the morning progressed I was finding it particularly boring being at home, cooped up. What even pushed me further to leave the house was because there was load-shedding in my area (so I thought by night time it turned out only our house didn’t have electricity because of the rats eating the cables. But in any case, that’s a story for another day.
So I decided to go to Westgate to catch a movie, buy a memory-stick to back up my volumes of music on the laptop, and just have a King Steer Burger- which I have been craving for days! (Yum!) There are two Steers franchise inside the mall, so I decided to go to the one further from the entrance, because for the first time I didn’t want to take a burger at home only to microwave it. Plus who knows if the electricity would be back on when I got home. But the most prevalent reason was, because I just wanted to hang with myself.
Most people are afraid to hang out alone in public places and I decided years ago that I would be that girl who normalises being a lone ranger. Now apart from being hit on all the time by men who think I am alone by circumstance, I felt liberated that there was no need to be with someone at that point in time. But any ways let me not delve into that, that point will make an awesome blog on its own.
So here I am I order my single King Steer Burger, without chips (Because those chips are so delicious, they are gonna cause me to have a low self esteem)and without a drink (yesterday was too cold for a drink, even if it’s a room temperature).
The less-interested lady at the till asks me in a rehearsed voice, "Take away or are you sitting ma'am?" With pride in my voice and a smile on my face I say, "Sitting, thanks"
She hands me that cold, metal ornament with the number 3 to place on my table, then I went on my way to go find a seat. I looked around the tables and there were only black people sitting there. but there were few people there, so my variety of seat was more than enough. So in my head I thought, let me try get a table that seats 2 people, so should a big family come I won’t feel selfish by occupying the whole table by myself. plus the second thing I had to consider before taking a seat was to face the opposite direction of where everyone passes, so that I won’t get hit on by some stud trying to save a lonely girl in distress.*Yawn*
So I find my two seater table and in a matter of seconds my Burger arrives. Excitement fills me as I am about to hold my burger in my hands and devour it. But then, just before the burger arrives, some lady approaches my table and pulls out the chair directly opposite me. She was a plump young lady, she looked 30, her hair was neither combed nor relaxed. She wore a navy blue jacket and was wearing a long skirt that deprived her of body definition. She looked rather warm, yet confused in her face. As she was pulling out the chair, she asked in Sotho, "A odotsi lebatho?" (meaning: direct translation- singakhathala yileslungu maan): "Are you sitting with people?" With a bit of confusion in my face I said no... and starred at her to justify why she would ask a total stranger that. At first I thought she wanted money, donations and everything else that they creative minds can extort from us. So I got ready to reach down my purse to give at least give her R5.00. But she just sat on the chair with a since-you-are-by-yourself-its-ok-to-chill-with-you look!
By that time, I am befuddled and a bit of "WTF" and I m looking at her thinking, "Really? You wanna be that girl right now?" Then I make my expressions stronger on the face, to try and show her that what she is doing is not appropriate, I don’t know her and that I didn’t come here to chill with her. Just when I thought men were a challenge when you out alone. She stared back at me with eyes of... This-is-a-perfect-spot-this-chick-has-chosen-for-us.
At that moment I realised that this lady sees nothing wrong with what she doing. So I immediately took my bag and metal ornament to another table far from her. When I got to my new table, I looked back at her, just to see what was going on in her head now that I have moved- she still had the same expression on her face, so there I was I burst out laughing.
Have I ever?
At that point I realised that its either I am too western and it has killed our inter-relational skills, or that girl is down-right rural... That was such an awkward experience... LOL (I am still laughing) Here I am reading a book on how to better network and how to make a great opening line when approaching people you don’t know at a public event. Then here comes this humble lady and her opening line is, "A odotsi lebatho?" ((((((Drops The Mic))))))
All in all, that lady is my hero and I love being black.
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