That Chicken was Good!

Capetown has a lot of homeless people and street children. They are usually posted at night outside all the nightclubs on Long Street, a constant reminder of the very real conditions people live in the midst of this great tourist experience. One in particular, a thirteen-year-old boy I call “little bro”, I’ve established a relationship with. Every time I go out and he sees me, he walks by and if I give him the look , he already knows not to ask for anything. On Wednesday though, he gave me a fist bump and asked for money despite the look. I told him, “I don’t have any money bro,” and he said, “Please man, I’m hungry.” The fact that he didn’t ask for money for drugs this time but for food struck me so I sent him to Nandos and with the help of one of my friends , I was able to buy him some chicken. 30 minutes later after leaving a club, he came up to me and said, “Brother, that chicken was GOOD!” and for the first time appeared to be a 13 year old kid, and not a hardened, wise beyond his years little man. He seemed happy and content in that moment. So much so that he did not ask a single patron for any change. His statement is one that I feel encapsulates my entire abroad experience, “Brother, that chicken was good!”

“Brother, that chicken was good!” is the spirit of Capetown, the appreciation of little sign of progress. Despite the fact that he was born addicted to a substance, became an orphan, and is seemingly condemned to a life on the streets did not stop him from appreciating the fact that he had dinner for one night from Nandos and that the chicken was GOOD! Despite the fact that the nation is still seeking to rebuild itself after apartheid and is still segregated in many respects, “the chicken was good!” Despite the fact that conventional wisdom would tell me not to feed the hungry or engage in conversations nor develop relationships with the beggars “the Chicken was Good!” It’s the little things, the things we take for credit, that in the end make all the difference.

That Chicken was good: The day after our visit to the townships my roommate and I decided to go check out the beach, despite the fact that we could not swim. The beach was incredibly beautiful, white sand, blue water happy families. Falling asleep in the cool shade to the sounds of waves was refreshing. With the mountains to my back and the endless seas in front of me, I was more aware than ever of the limitless possibilities God has placed in front of me.

That Chicken was good: The entire program went wine tasting (for free!) and had a fancy dinner on some vineyard in South Africa. The conversations around the table were great ranging from topics such as privilege to my love for the music of J. Cole.

That Chicken was good: Night after night, classmates (Gringos as I call em lol) come to my room and we have the deepest and longest conversations deconstructing race and just having “real talk.” It’s incredibly powerful to see so many different people in my room at night discussing issues that many of us would never touch in America, in a frank and often politically incorrect manner. Conversations like these allow me to believe that it is ignorance and not active malice that causes both internal and institutionalized racism in the states today.

That Chicken was good: On Tuesday Night, I went to a drum group and although the instructor was dismayed by my lack of musical acumen and forbade me to play or sing, I still felt the spirit of ubuntu staring at the gringos from Stanford drumming and jamming away. Music, Community, that’s a big part of Capetown, a big part of Africa, a big part of what it means to be human.

That chicken was good!