Mzoli's, August 16

Yesterday I spent my day in the township of Guguletu. (I also volunteered in a township on Saturday…it feels like I spent my whole weekend in townships :) I took a minibus with some newly made friends to Mzoli’s. Mzoli’s is a crazy bbq party, that happens every Sunday. It is a time where township residents, other Capetonians, and lots of students go on Sundays to stuff themselves with meat and party. You order raw meat, pile it into a huge bowl, and send it off to the oven rooms. The rooms with the ovens are stockpiled with wood, and smoke is pouring out of them. Inside, the walls are lined with cooking meats, its crazy! The tables and the place (can’t really call it a restaurant) of Mzoli’s itself is super dirty. There are no utensils given or napkins. The experienced Mzoli’s goers bring picnic baskets with utensils and plates. I was with a group of ten people, we order 500R (about 70$) worth of meat. We got a huge bowl with chicken, steak, pork, lamb and sausage. After you purchase your meet you have to go and snag a table, and steal some chairs from neighboring tables. Most people don’t get to sit down, because it is so crazy crowded. Music is blaring and the whole place smells of delicious smoked meat :)

It took about 2 hours for our meat to come. Once it did, we all dug in (using our hands of course). It was extremely messy, and not for the germaphobic, but super delicious. The meat was barbequed in some sort of a sauce. I ate so much meat my stomach hurt, lol. After five hours of eating and hanging out, I left Mzoli’s, stuffed and in desperate need of a nap. It was a super fun experience, unlike any other I have yet experienced. Definitely not a habit to get into going to…not too healthy!

After Mzoli’s I came home, napped, and wrote a paper. I am finally having to start doing homework…not fun!

Today was relatively uneventful. I went to class. I also discovered that I have a really intense two weeks coming up due to multiple papers and presentations, time to buckle down! I was invited by Deborah Bliss to spend the weekend with her and her friend this upcoming Saturday and Sunday at her home. I’m excited, she is really nice :) After class, I went down and played the piano for about an hour. And after the piano I went and did my laundry/studied for my MCAT’s. And that is what I’ve been up to thus far.